When Is Congress Going To Do What They Are Paid To Do?

The “talking points” scandal is ridiculous! The problem is too many trying to put in their own two cents or take it out! The dumbest part is that these emails would normally not be put out there for anyone to see like other presidents in the past never allowed them out! More is being made out of it then there is!
Then we have the whole AP scandal about phone records which was part of an investigation that congress wanted done and since it was they want to act like it was such a terrible thing! Gee make up your minds idiots!
Then we have the IRS scandal which if you actually look into this the actual problem started decades ago with how the rules are written. A one word change can make a lot of difference in how something is understood! I do not believe that any organization that is politically driven should get tax exempt status EVER!
The other scandal right now that is a definite problem is with the military and the sex crimes against women by me who were supposed to help keep this from happening! There is a major problem in the military with this problem and that it is not handled properly! The so called court system in the military is more like the “good ole boy” system than actual legal system!
When is congress going to get back to work about the budget, immigration reform and the other things that need to get done?
The tired old rhetoric from the house with wasting time voting for the 39th time to repeal the Affordable Health Care Act that was upheld by the Supreme Court and is law! The House has been acting like little kids and if they do not grow up then they should be removed from office!

Our government need to worry more about what is happening right here at home first and foremost before sending anything to other countries! To me they are beginning to make our country look very stupid since we cannot seem to take care of business here at home! Make things right here at home before you try to tell someone else how to act! If our government was doing their jobs properly and not acting like little spoiled brats then maybe other countries would have a better opinion of us and maybe diplomacy would be easier! You can’t have the attitude of do as I say not as I do and expect people to listen to you! I am so tired of the same old crap and whining coming out of Congress that I am about ready to quit listening to any of it!

ENTITLED CONGRESS!

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/congress-retirement-package-compares-yours-185406482.html

The above article brings up the point I was making with my last posting! I have always believed that no senator or representative should be allowed more than 2 terms in office just like the President! There was never the intent for any elected official to stay in office long term! They are making sure that their “entitlements” are always available for them yet the money we pay into SS and Medicare every single paycheck they have “borrowed” to the point that all that is left is a bunch of IOU’s instead of the monies that should be there earning to be able to pay out when we retire! They call the money we pay in and expect back later an entitlement yet why isn’t the money that WE pay in taxes that pays THEIR salary AND their retirement funds (think about it, the match is our tax dollars as well as what they put in because WE pay them) considered and entitlement? Because they think they are above the rest of us! They put themselves onto a pillar and look down on us even though they are acting like children fighting over a toy!
This whole sequester crap is because they cannot play nice with each other! I would love to see the WHOLE tax code thrown OUT! Start over with a straight flat tax and NO loopholes! Then everyone will be paying the same percentage all the time! I hate seeing the regular guy down the street who just squeaks by paying he bills and always pays in the full taxes he should yet the wealthy jerk who really doesn’t know what it is like to put in a hard days work and still worry where the money is going to come from to pay the bills pays in almost nothing or nothing because of all the loopholes!
There are many areas that the government could cut costs without cutting SS, Medicare, Military programs, etc.,etc.. Why don’t they begin with themselves and then REALLY look at the amount of redundant garbage they have all over the government! It seems a little strange that the more things are automated and online that the workforce within the government offices keeps getting bigger! Why is that? They forced those that were getting SS to go to direct deposit so they could “save” money yet there are more people added to these offices even though the hours have been shortened for the public to go into the offices! Hell, here the office used to be open until 5pm, then it was 4:45pm, then it was 4:30 and now it is 4pm and one or two afternoons are actually closed by NOON! Trust me when I say that it is not so they can “catch up” because the employee parking lot empties very quickly! The worst is when you call to ask a question or stop in to ask and you are told to call the toll free number for that info or to order a new ss card! What are they actually doing in that office anymore!?!?!?
Almost every government office could cut its staffing in half and some more and even some could be closed because they actually have no actual purpose other than wasting money! When the government cleans up its own “backyard” then and only then can they begin to look at actually straightening out budgets!
There are a couple of other things that do bug me and one is the amount of money we keep sending to other countries to “help” them when we cannot afford to do so! I would love to be able to send money to ALL the charities that I feel are important but I could not afford to do that and neither can our government! The Congressmen from each state sit and try to figure out how much money they can get for their state so they can say “see what I was able to get just for my constituents! How great am I!” even if it is for some museum that isn’t needed or some weird grants for studying something really out there like the digestive route of a grasshopper in that particular region and if it might be different than other areas of the country or not! (WHO CARES!??!?) I know that it is called “pork” but I call it all a bunch of crap! Wasting money and not really doing anything real for their constituents at all in the end except putting this country further into debt which of course is (I guess) doing something!

Congress! A Waste of Space and Time!

It amazes me more and more every day how completely useless Congress is! They continually act like little kids fighting over a favorite toy! I am sick of hearing the word “entitlements” when speaking of social security and medicare! Neither of those are the issue AT ALL!!!! Social Security and Medicare are seperately funded by us,the taxpayers! We pay into it all our working lives to be able to get this back in our retirement years, it is in seperate funds from EVERYTHING else! If the government would never have used these funds as a piggy bank it would not be filled with IOU’s! Stupidity runs rampant in Washington!
I think the biggest “entitlements” are the paychecks, pensions, health inurance, etc. of our “illustrious” elected officials! There was never supposed to be “career” politicians, ever, they should not be allowed to give themselves raises nor should they be allowed to take the number of vacation days they have been! They spend less time doing their job and more on vacations and raising money for getting re-elected! It amazes me how we are reminded of seperation of church and state yet Congress sure loves to take advantage of the Easter and Christmas Holidays and Sundays along with every single holiday they could possibly find! If the rest of us told our boss that we have to have the amount of time off that Congress does and that we will give ourselves a raise when we want to and they have to just deal with it, I guarantee that we would NOT have a job! Yet here we are, the taxpayers who pay their salaries (and all the other perks they get) allow Congress to do this!
I suggest that we start with holding their salaries until they do their jobs, we end lifetime pensions immediately, force Congress to pay into social security and medicare just like the rest of us, force Congress to pay for insurance like the rest of us have to do, Congress should have a HUGE cut in their pay and only receive he same percentage of COL raise that those on Social Security gets or doesn’t get according to the government! This year several people I know that are on SS received about a $12 a month cost of living raise! What a joke! How do they come up with their numbers anyway? COL is not determined very well AT ALL!!!!! I know for a fact that the COL has increase A LOT here in ND but more so in the NW and W parts of the state more than the rest but definitely has everywhere here and yet that extra $12 a month should take care of the doubling of monthly bills and higher gas prices (funny considering all the oil here) and all other expenses that are higher now!
Why should ANY elected official collect the huge pensions even after only one term in office? Right around $175,000 a year for life? REALLY?!?!!?! WHY?????? I don’t believe the President should be allowed money after their term/s are up! They make plenty in speaking engagements and why are they still covered under the secret service after their terms? Maybe the first year or so right after leaving office but why longer than that?
There are plenty of places to cut spending when you look at the amount of waste in government, itself! It amazes me the number of people that work for each elected official! WHY?!? The number of redundent positions and then they complain that they do not have enough in other positions, stupidity!
Congress right now is just a waste of space and time! Do your job right now instead of strategizing about the 2014/2016 elections! If you actually do YOUR JOB you don’t have to worry about getting elected again! DUH!!!! I am tired of hearing the whining about so and so isn’t calling for a meeting or this group is not doing anything, why not stop the whining and get off your asses and step up and take care of business! I don’t care who steps up I just wish someone would and get this crap done.
Everytime I hear another politician say cut “entitlements” i.e. SS and Medicare, I am going to call, email, etc. to find out when they aregoing to actually cut the real “entitlements” Themselves!!!!!
We as taxpayers need to make sure that those not doing their job knows that we will notstand for it and that they can and should be replaced if they are not willing to make the hard choice to cut their own pay, pensions, ins., etc.. Good Luck to us!

Troubled Or Forgotten

I am writing this time to wonder why everyone seems to get all worked up about mass shootings but doesn’t seem to get as worked up with all the other violence that kills children everyday. I not saying that these things are not a terrible tradgedy but where is all this outrage for the ones that die daily from the ones on the street, ones that die from child abuse and those that take their own lives! Recently my 21 year old son lost 3 friends to suicide in just a month and a half period of time. One hung himself, one shot himself and one from an overdose. All three were tradgedies and two were married, another had a child and one of them had a child due this Feb. yet they took their own lives. Why did it happen? My son has taken this very hard but we talk about them and honestly when you really look at it you see where there were problems. One was bullied from grade school all the way through college and even at Job Corp (where he met my son). My son is having such a hard time because they always seemed upbeat and having fun but obviously they were hiding a lot of pain. I have said over and over that parents need to talk with their kids openly and honestly and at the same time keep them on the right track. Now I know these boys were young men and 21 to 23 years old and definitely not at home but their problems started a long time before. One lived in a home with both parents and ended up on drugs for a long time before he cleaned up and started over, got married last July and had a baby on the way but something was still troubling him. Another came from a home where his parents were divorced and it was not amicable so the fighting before and after were definitely a problem along with the fact he was bullied for being different. His difference was that he had dyslexia and did not get help for it until he went to Job Corp. He did feel better after he got that help but there were problems with a former girlfriend and her child and whether it was his or not. The last was from a home where one parent had died and the other had to work two jobs to make ends meet just to put food on the table so he spent a lot of time dealing with everything by himself and he had married in the last year or so and had a child yet there still was something wrong.

I am not saying it is all because of parents or because of bullying or anything like that but these young men needed help and did not know where to turn. I cannot imagine the helplessness they must have felt to have taken their own lives, how they believed there was no other way to deal with whatever they were feeling. The tradgedy of these lives lost so early just shows how much our culture is changing and not for the better. Most of their communication was on social media and through texting and email so you can fake how you are through there very easily yet when you actually talk with people you hear the emotion and can tell how someone is really doing!

Ironic that as I write this on a blog that will be viewed online but I do believe one of the biggest problems anymore is the technology that does little to bring people together to just talk! You cannot show emotion through a typed word, ever. The more we push this type of technology the more loners and people who need help are not gonna be seen or heard. Those that are committing crimes against others and those caught in the middle are just as much a tradgedy than those involved in the mass shootings but they seem to get the attention more than those lone tradgedies that happen everyday. We need to look at the real causes and help all those out there that need it before something else happens!

ENTITLEMENTS! WHO REALLY GETS THEM!?!

Politicians keep saying that they need to do something to fix the deficit. The most popular seems to be what they consider entitlements, but what are these? To them Social Security and Medicare seem to be the most popular yet these are NOT what I would consider entitlements in a way. The social security trust fund is paid into by us and is a totally seperate entity that is not part of the deficit. Medicare is a tax we pay in also, so why do they believe that they should cut something that has nothing to do with the deficit? Because government has notoriously dipped into the social security trust for decades and used it to pay other programs instead of what it was meant for. Social Security and Medicare should not be used as bargaining chips between Congress because they were the ones to put all the “IOU’S” in the trust!

To me the “entitlements” seems to be what Congress makes both while in and out of their seats. Lifetime pensions, for what? The pay they receive and the raises THEY vote themselves seem t be entitlements. The “pork” they add to any and every bill they can is what I believe is and “entitlement”. The nonproductive offices they create are what I would consider “entitlements”. There is also the amount of money that we send over to other countries to “help” them instead of our own is what I would consider a definite “entitlement”! There are many areas of government waste and that should be the first thing looked at and cuts made there.

One other area that I believe would help the middle and lower class is putting a stop to the constant and astronomically rising costs of living. Especially for our elderly with the rising costs of medical care. Too many “non profit” hospitals with too many paper pushers that are paid way too much that do nothing productive. The so called non profits do not pay taxes but make a lot of profit and extend more and more in every city. We have two main hospitals here that are exactly two blocks apart in the downtown area and one was recently bought by the largest rural hospita system in the country just a few months ago the other is a Catholic hospital. Both non profit and both have expanded 10 fold plus. The hospitals have expanded so much you almost cannot tell where one begins and one ends except for the signs. They have expanded several blocks north, south, east and west of their initial spots. They have expanded to the very north and very south of town and many othe the surrounding small towns. This is a lot of property that these non profits now own and even more money they make yet they do not pay property taxes on any of it. They do not have to pay in like the rest of us yet they continue to hike up the costs of everything. When my son was small and hospitalized a tylenol would cost around $.50 each and the last time he was in a few months ago the cost of a tylenol had gone up to $12.00 each. That is one hell of a jump in costs and that is just for a tylenol. Compare that to every single thing they use in a hospital and every test they perform and look at the raise in all of those things. This has gotten ridiculous yet they claim they cannot afford to hire the staff they need to actually care for the patients who pay their salaries. To me it is a lot like government in that they get paid well but they forget that they actually work for us. They both are out to hurt the elderly and those that are on the lower end of the pay scale to save those that make the most money, including themselves.
I believe that Congress needs to look elsewhere for the cuts they need to do and that maybe if they went ahead with fixing our infrastructure (will add jobs) and up the minimum wage (which those making it will put right back into the economy) and assess what pay should really be in government (to make it more inline with what middle americans earn) then and only then will they begin to make some sort of sense in changing our deficit. Yes we need cuts but what they consider “entitlements” seems to be way different than what an average taxpayer would consider them.

My only hope is that common sense kicks in with the 113th Congress but I really doubt it with all the infighting and the refusing to budge on anything whether it is right for this country or not! Social Security Trust should have approximately 2.6 trillion dollars in it but unfortunately it is only paper which doesn’t mean much when the IOU’s come from government. Sadly I believe that this whole situation is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

TO THE 113th CONGRESS, DO YOUR JOB!

The 112th had the worst record ever recorded mostly because of acting like children! I hope for the taxpayers (their boss) that the 113th will do a better job, but I am not so sure with the attitudes of the House! Speaker Boehner did not win the re-election to speaker by much (220-218) and that shows te amount of discord with House republicans. As I have said repeatedly I am neither a democrat nor a republican although I live in a very republican state. I will always vote on who I believe will do the best for the country and not their wallets and ego! I can see alot of stupid fighting in Congress unfortunately and not for the better of our country! The back and forth of the republicans for and against each other is ridiculous! For instance one congressmans comments when Boehner did not bring the disaster relief bill up for a vote he was very negative yet the very next day he says he understands why and the reasons behind it. This is one problem with politicians, the total wishy-washy attitude about just about everything. The other is holding on to something so tight they are unwilling to compromise or look at the whole picture and understand the actual problem!
Why is it that the first cuts republicans want to make are to programs that help our elderly, like social security and medicare? Take away from those that are struggling, yeah that is always the solution. Maybe we should take away their pay until they learn to act like adults. Let’s cut their pay equal to what social security recipients receive and give them (or not) the so called cost of living increase (which this year was about $12) and make sure they need to use medicare(and pay in like the rest of us) and see how easy it is to live off this amount! They call it a handout yet we pay into these programs all our working lives and should not be made to feel as if they are just giving us a handout!
We could cut quite a bit of spending by cutting off all lifetime pensions, cutting the pay and making congress pay into social security and medicare like the rest of us. We also need to look at term limits to end these “career” politicians for good! These were supposed to be public service positions not a way to make money for life after even only one term! I get tired of politicians whining that they have it so hard yet they have no clue on how hard the middle to lower class have it at all. Even in our state te whining about not getting enough money allotted for housing while they are in session every other year! Are you kidding me? If you do not like it get the heck out of office! All politicians seem to want to do is take, take, take and give nothing back! They give themselves raises they say aare needed because of the cost of living increase yet at the same time they did not give SS recipients a COL raise for two years because they claimed the COL was the same! Really?!?!?
The so called “Tea Party” republicans seem to be the worst out of them all and in not willing to compromise all they do is get absolutely nothing done so this is why I say that if they accomplish nothing they get nothing. Hold their pay until they do!
If they think they deserve a raise then they should ask the taxpayers to vote on it and I would be willing to bet they would be more willing to work together since their raise would be a direct response on their job performance.
I love this country and I love the state I live in but there are problems and these need to be taken care of long before we continue to keep helping other countries! We need to solve the problems before handing out nonsensical pork to different states for stupid reasons like studies for some unknown plant, creature or process that is so obscure nobody but a handful of people have heard of it just so a politician can say look at the money I got for my state! That politician did nothing but take money for more needed programs to make a handful of people happy to sit on their butts and do pretty much nothing until the millions run out, including the politician himself! Before museums, parks, statues, etc. we need to upgrade our infrastructure which will create more jobs and we need to make sure our children do not go hungry and have a safe warm place to sleep. We worry about the hungry and homeless in other countries but it seems to have lapsed for right here in our own country. Mental health issues cause alot of problems also but yet we do very little to help those that need it. Instead of hiding this issues or sweeping them under the proverbial rug we need to take care of these things first and foremost. The billions of dollars wasted by our government is ridiculous and has gone on for too many decades! The republicans seem to have the stance that everyone should pull themselves up by their own bootstraps and those that are not working are just lazy, which is soo far from the truth it is ridiculous. I am not saying there are those out there that are actually lazy but in my opinion by percentages they are those that are in elected positions and have money then there are those that are lower income.
I was on assistance when I was a kid and it was not easy and I swore that I would never go on it again because we did not know if the bills could get paid or if groceries could be bought and it was hard! Unfortunately, when I came home with my youngest son who had many medical problems I could not work for awhile. I was even told by my social worker to not even bother because I could not find a daycare to take my son. I asked if there was a program that would allow me to work from home through social services that way I would not feel like I was not getting a handout. There was nothing, so after a year I was able to get a family member to take my son during class hours so I could go back to schooland while in school I was on the Presidents honor roll and the Deans list and had a 4.2 grade point average(I did every extra credit I could). Again a setback when I had to take my son out of state for surgery and instead of the week to week and a half we thought we would be gone it ended up for 3 1/2 weeks. I had turned in two weeks worth of schoolwork before I left and called and found out what I needed to do and handed it all in the day we returned. I was told that I would have to repeat the semester because did not have enough lecture time even though my GPA was still the same and I had come in and did all the tests in one evening two days after getting back. How is that fair? I quit and found a job that granted did not pay well but I was working. I have always worked until now when I ended up in the wheelchair and I would still love to work but nobody will hire me because of the heavy meds I am on. This is just a brief description and the fact is that I was not alone in the feeling of wanting to work or do something while on assistance. I take no pride that I had to be on assistance but I do take great offence to how I was treated while one it. People would find out one way or another especially when on food stamps(or whatever they call it now) and the clerks at the store would look at you funny and others would notice when they would say loudly “this cannot be purchased on food stamps, you should know that” in which I would reply “yes I know and I have the cash for that because I need laundry soap to wash my sons clothes”
and when you constantly get berated in these types of ways people become depressed and give up. No I never did but I have seen many who have and it is terrible. I NEVER thought of my son’s medicaide or food stamps or housing was an entitlement, ever, I thought it was just a hand up so that I could make it. I have not been on assitance in years and years but I have seen others not being able to move forward after all the negative attitudes toward them over time they just give up. Romney and his wealthy snob friends who have never had to ever worry about money can make a claim that 47% are lazy but they are VERY WRONG in that aspect and maybe should spend a little time living like the rest of us to see how life really works. The republican party have tried to back away from Romney but unfortunately they obviously agreed with his attitude or they would not have supported him while he was trying to get elected. Get out of that fancy office or home, take the time to really look around republicans because I will tell you this, your life could change in an instant and you could be the one needing the same type of help that you are trying to cut and then where will you be when that help is no longer there?
The 113th Congress has the chance to actually work together to push through some very non-partisan style bills if they will only work together. I am hoping for the best but unfortunately thinking it will turn out the worst, which would be so bad for our country! Good Luck 113th, YOU ARE GOING TO NEED IT!

Mass Shootings, Gun Control and Mental Health!

The awful mass shooting in Newtown CT at Sandy Hook Elementary School is horrible tragedy and my heart goes out to all the families and friends affected by this! It is hard to understand why someone would ever do something like this to anyone yet it does keep happening!
Although I believe in the 2nd amendment I also believe that the loopholes that allow Gun and Trade shows to buy and sell without a background check should be closed, permanently! Yes there are guns in our home, locked up and our boys took hunter safety and were always taught safety vigilance! I also believe that more gun control alone will never stop the violence. Many of the people who have committed these type of acts were depressed more than anything, and the weapons were purchased legally by the shooter or someone they know. I believe that the mental health of people is a far more important step in curbing these types of tragedies! Dealing with depression in families has always seemed like something done behind closed doors and nobody wants to talk about it outside the immediate family.
http://www.alternet.org/61-30-years-timeline-mass-shootings-america?paging=off This article is just one I found with most of the same info about the many shootings in the last 30 years. Most of these people who committed these either killed themselves also or were killed, a few have been or will be to trial. There are several missing on here including 2 recent shootings in ND. One was Oct 12 of this year when a freshman apologized in front of his class and pulled out a handgun and shot himself. He was taken to the hospital and according to many there were no obvious problems at home or school. Even though he did not shoot at anyone else the trauma in front of his classmates and in a small town of about 380 this took a toll. The other was in New Town, ND where a grandmother and 3 of her grandchildren were shot and killed and the shooter later sliced his own neck in front of police a while later. http://www.wdaz.com/event/article/id/15643/group/News/ This just happened on Nov 18, 2012, less than a month before the shootings in Newtown, CT. The shooting in New Town, ND was done with a hunting rifle.
The number of people killed daily by guns is way too many but a lot of these are done with illegally purchased guns so how do we control these? If a criminal wants a gun for any reason they can find them and it is not through any type of legal purchase or even gun shows. If someone wants to hurt someone there are many ways they can do this so people who follow the laws are given more laws to follow yet those who do not care about the laws will never have a problem getting what they want.
I truly believe that we need more mental health awareness and the ability to help those who are in need of these services and those that are close to them to be more careful about access to any type of weapons. No I do not believe that the high powered assault type weapons are necessary for any civilian but how does the government plan on getting them out of the hands of the criminals? I worry more about the illegally purchased weapons that all over this country and used everyday and I would love to see these disappear but how can this happen? The mass shootings are a major mental health issue more than anything so how do we change that? Questions upon questions and really no answers yet.
The shootings in Newtown, CT are terrible as are all those that have happened before this and one thing does bother me about the differences people put on this one more than the others, that because these were younger innocent victims it is more important than the others, it is not because all the other mass shootings were of innocent victims as well as those random drive by shootings daily that kill way too many innocent victims. Many of these are children playing in their yards or even inside their homes playing or sleeping when a bullet rips through the walls. They are all important and tragic! How can we as a country end the unnecessary violence? How do we change our country for the better without taking away law abiding citizens rights as well? These are questions I would love the answers to but so far I do not see how. We could make guns illegal and delete the 2nd Amendment but that will not get rid of the guns! The training and preparedness of the staff at this school helped save a lot of people and this will be needed no matter the type of gun control so this needs to continue, unfortunately.
Please keep those that have ever had to deal with these type of tragedies in your thoughts and prayers and let us as a whole nation try to strive for a better tomorrow!

Fiscal Cliff Or Curve Or Hill Or Slope??!?!?

I am so tired of the back and forth of what is really happening whether it is a cliff or slope!?! I believe that congress should quit acting like kids on the playground fighting over the best toy!
I wholeheartedly agree that the top percentage should pay more and not have all te loopholes that are out there. Just because they say they pay in what they are required to and not a penny less (or more). This may be true but why should they have all the loop holes that lower-income taxpayers do not have? In the end they pay less than middle-lower-income by percentage! I look at the 1% that certain people claim are job creators which really do not make the bulk of their money through actually creating jobs!
The same old rhetoric about entitlements cuts! Why don’t they start with Congress and basically they get no pay and cannot take their break until they settle this? Why not cut Congress and upper government pay instead of taking the social security from the ones who need it most! If we start by ending all lifetime pensions for all of congress and then require them to pay into social security like the rest of us. Take away their ability to stay in office indefinitely. I heard that one congressman’s term is up in 2014 and he has not decided whether he should run again, he will be 90 years old in 2014! Really? He has been in office a very long time! Part of the problem is us, so many keep voting in the same persons over and over and over just because they spend more on elections and they know the name instead of what they are really doing in office! Term limits are a necessity as well as a set COL increase in pay after dropping the base pay on all of them! I know people on SS and SSD I whose checks are around 580-800 a month and that is all the income they have! They cannot afford to not have medicare but that takes anywhere from 100-225 a month out of their check and if they have taxes taken out monthly instead of waiting until tax time that decreases the amount per month for all necessities by a lot! Some have only 350-550 a month to pay all living expenses, food, meds, utilities, housing, etc.. Why don’t we see how far our “elite” Congress could live off of these amounts for a while. This years COL increase for one person I know is very small. The current check is 637 a month and starting Jan. they will get 649, big WHOOP!
Social Security is NOT a handout, every person that receives it paid into it along with Medicare and too many times these were used as a “general” fund that the government used as their piggy bank an is now filled more with IOU’s than actual funds and this was wrong all along! Why is it the Republican party demands cuts in these areas instead of looking at what they themselves make and the lousy decisions of what they have pushed money at instead! With all the “special interests” funding they sneak into bills all the time for worthless, innocuous statues or museums and ridiculous research for their own states instead of using the money wisely and reducing what they spend to help themselves and those high income friends! We the taxpayers are their boss, we should be the ones to vote whether they get a raise or not, whether they have the pay they do and the retirement they do and that they should get no more than 2 terms in office EVER!
We need to make these changes and force them into the job they were elected to do, not their personal special interests!
I know I have written many of these things before but I will repeat myself until I see changes being made! Congress is a PUBLIC service position, NOT a personal moneymaking goal! I hope for the majority these things change! I definitely hope that congress quits trying to take away from those that need the most!

This seems to be a great thing!

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-cities-where-everyone-has-a-job-190824324.html

The above story is just one of many that have been written about North Dakota since the economy went south everywere else. Yes, I am glad that we are not having the struggles others have had; but in my opinion it is in a way a little false advertising for out-of-staters. Yes there are jobs available everywhere here but the housing shortage is a major problem. Even the hotels around here are full all week an have some openings on the weekends which is just the opposite of most other places. Building around here comes to almost a standstill in the winter so there is a shorter building season. Which of course means it takes alot longer for housing to “spring” up. There are a few man camps which does not lend itself to any family life at all. There are shortages in all the grocery stores, big box stores, dept. stores, etc.. It may seem weird but things like basics as toilet paper they contantly run out of and do not even stock on shelves but put the pallet out in he aisle and it is gone in no time. They cannot keep up with staffing businesses hardly at all. The costs of housing is high and if you are lucky enough to find a place you either take it on the spot or it is gone, no matter the rental costs. There has been more crime to the point that alot of the locals do not even go to the store alone anymore and never at night up in the Williston, Dickinson and Minot area, but you will not hear that from the mainstream news ever!
This has always been a very rural state and our state population has never come close to hitting a million! Many have been set in their ways for a longtime and the changes happening are quick and it gets a little crazy in trying to make things work between the locals and those moving into the area.
I hope that those thinking of coming to ND really look into coming versus just packing up and driving here in te hopes of a job and a home because I have seen too many people living in their vehicle or a camper and the winters here are not good. I have seen whole families living out of their car and that is not good anywhere. Last winter we were VERY lucky because the winter was so mild but not so usually and this year is looking like it may be more typical so living in a vehicle or camper will not be easy or even feasible. If you do not have a job before coming that includes some type of housing it would not be a good idea to come. Even the Menards in Minot is now having staff flown in weekly from the home office in WI because of the shortage of staff! They have said it may be a permanent solution!
It is kind of nice to see all the articles about ND in a good light BUT not if it comes with the expense of other people who want better for themselves and their families! I love the state I was born and raised in and after leaving for a few years and coming back with my youngest son I found how much I missed it and I never want to leave ad it is a great place to raise a family but I want people to understand what they are getting into before coming to our great state for their own sakes!

It Has Been Awile!

I know it has been awhile since I have posted anything but I have a good reason! There have been a few health issues with family members and to be honest I believe Romney has done good job of making himself look bad! I cannot wait until this election is over so that friend and family quit sending me everything political that they possibly can find! My recycle bin has been busy lately!
Unfortunately for me, I live in a VERY red state! Nonstop republican retoric! Now mind you I do not claim either party, I believe the best candidate should be elected but this time around the republican side seems to have forgotten who they really work for!
Finding that the billboards about voter fraud were instigated by the man behind Paul Ryan and the republican state attorney in OH trying to change voting there and the problems in FL are absolutely ridiculous!

I find it kinda funny that the one Detroit paper (Herald?) has backed a Republican for the first time since Nixon! Kind of a bad track record if you ask me when they go that direction! The fact that Gov. Christie praised Obama as much as he has is also a problem for the Romney campaign.
I am afraid that our America will change for the worst if Romney ever ends up in the whitehouse! I do not want my sons to lose the healthcare they are able to have right now through my hubands work, especially our youngest who was born with a couple of very rare genetic defects! I do not want our taxes to go up and those that can afford it to pay less then the rest! I do not want Romney to decide what I can and cannot do with my body as a woman! I have yet to see him stick with any of his ideals, he keeps changing his stand when and only when he sees the group he is talking doesn’t seem to like his first opinion!
Romney has ONLY been truthful about his plans when he thinks only the rich paying $50,000 a plate are hearing his speeches! He has never understood anyone under the 1% and how to live paycheck to paycheck! Lowering taxes for the wealthy will NOT create jobs it will only put more money in their pockets!
Our BIGGEST need is to change Congress as I have said in a previous post and only holding them accountable will they actually do the job we elected them to do!
Our youngest is voting for the first time and he is very into politics but asked me why so many lie and put down the opposite party without saying anything about what they plan to do. I told him it is going to be up to his generation to get in there and make the changes needed from the local level on up! He plans on running for an office next time and I believe he will do well! He has a good head on his shoulders and believes that common sense should be the standard in any elected office!
Again I cannot wait until this is over and Obama can continue the work he has started to turn our country around! I believe he will have a second term and we will see the improvements in jobs, healthcare, economy! When you start in the middle of such a mess it takes time to straighten it out but it has begun and is on the road up! He keeps trying even with the speedbumps Congress puts in front of him!!!!!