Since Becca's complaining that I am remiss in posting to my blog, I will rant for a few minutes just for her!
One of my latest real-world rants is about politicians not paying their taxes. I don't know how it came to be that congressmen who are discovered to have "made a mistake" on their taxes do not have to pay penalties and interest, along with the overdue taxes--like the REST of us! You see, I got burned when going through my divorce and my then-husband refused to file married jointly. I got his financial information all together, nagging him continually as extension after extension was filed, and then on the eve of the expiration of the last extension, he balked, saying "why should I file jointly--what's in it for me?" After an entire evening of this continual emotional abuse (he called every 15 minutes to justify himself), I finally had to file "married--filing separately" and pay $2,000 in taxes. A month or so later, along came the interest and penalty bill totalling well over $1,000! Again, we see that Leslie Q. Citizen is held to the rigid rules, while the privileged are exempt! This double standard infuriates me.
Here's the addendum--as part of the divorce agreement it was agreed that we would refile that tax return. But I bet you didn't know this! Even if you refile a tax return and come up owing no taxes, you do NOT get a refund of the interest and penalties that were already paid. So the government just gets to keep that money.
Now, my overdue tax bill was $2,000 for less than a year. These congressman who owe taxes owe in the six figures for YEARS (plural). And NO INTEREST OR PENALTIES for them!
The IRS better be on the ball and mailing them notices of interest and penalties due even as I type!
How do you like them apples, Becca?!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Friday, August 29, 2008
What is Wrong With America? or The Audacity of Barack Obama
After watching the Democrats’ convention last night, I am afraid for our future. There is something very wrong with what I witnessed, and the fact that half the people in this country are perfectly comfortable and feel it entirely acceptable to display their disdain and hatred for the other half of the country.
I’m afraid of people who allow their emotions to be so easily manipulated, who respond on cue to the frenzy of emotions that are whipped up by their leaders’ gross exaggerations and outright lies and who are in fact, sheeple, accepting everything they hear and vomiting it back without question.
How can I, as a Republican, feel any connection to the democrat leaders whose derision and hatred of me and the beliefs I hold is so visceral? I was chilled by Hillary Clinton’s statement “I haven’t worked this hard…to see a Republican [spat out in a venomous sneer] in the White House.”
I felt like the small child watching the emperor parade about in his birthday suit, while all the grown-ups swooned over the color and beauty of the fabric—which wasn’t there!
Barack Obama is an attractive man who knows how to give a speech—he caught the attention of his party and celebrity fans when he made a keynote address and was a good enough surfer to catch the wave of that attention, riding the crest all the way through making millions off his books and a bid for the White House. But he is an empty suit. We don’t hear much more than that he is going to change things; however, there is such a thing as a change for the worse. In fact, most of the things he brags that he will change are things he has no control over.
Hollywood is disdainful and hateful of us peons in the red states, and Barack Obama is thoroughly backed by that Hollywood. Note the Hollywood production that is the Democrat National Convention—stage-managed down to the changing of the signs, the choice of music to be played for the introduction and departure of, and the glitzy video productions spotlighting each super-luminary. This Hollywood spectacle culminated in the extravaganza at the Mile-High stadium, where Barack Obama took the stage in full rock star style, complete with a Greek-temple backdrop, fireworks, and smoke.
The audacity of Barack Obama is astounding. His campaign resonates of the Robert Redford movie “The Candidate” in which a man with no political ties, experience or ambition is engineered into the presidency by just such Hollywood theatrics, not to mention his just plain good looks. From his presidential-style trip to the Middle East to his self-styling of the presidential seal, Barack Obama’s audacity and arrogance is as plain as the nose on your face to people possessing common sense who aren’t wowed by the trappings of celebrity. What I want to know is why half of my country is so blind that they can’t see this. I’m afraid that’s what’s wrong with America—half of the people in this country are in awe of celebrities, be it Britney Spears, Paris Hilton or Barack Obama.
I’m afraid of people who allow their emotions to be so easily manipulated, who respond on cue to the frenzy of emotions that are whipped up by their leaders’ gross exaggerations and outright lies and who are in fact, sheeple, accepting everything they hear and vomiting it back without question.
How can I, as a Republican, feel any connection to the democrat leaders whose derision and hatred of me and the beliefs I hold is so visceral? I was chilled by Hillary Clinton’s statement “I haven’t worked this hard…to see a Republican [spat out in a venomous sneer] in the White House.”
I felt like the small child watching the emperor parade about in his birthday suit, while all the grown-ups swooned over the color and beauty of the fabric—which wasn’t there!
Barack Obama is an attractive man who knows how to give a speech—he caught the attention of his party and celebrity fans when he made a keynote address and was a good enough surfer to catch the wave of that attention, riding the crest all the way through making millions off his books and a bid for the White House. But he is an empty suit. We don’t hear much more than that he is going to change things; however, there is such a thing as a change for the worse. In fact, most of the things he brags that he will change are things he has no control over.
Hollywood is disdainful and hateful of us peons in the red states, and Barack Obama is thoroughly backed by that Hollywood. Note the Hollywood production that is the Democrat National Convention—stage-managed down to the changing of the signs, the choice of music to be played for the introduction and departure of, and the glitzy video productions spotlighting each super-luminary. This Hollywood spectacle culminated in the extravaganza at the Mile-High stadium, where Barack Obama took the stage in full rock star style, complete with a Greek-temple backdrop, fireworks, and smoke.
The audacity of Barack Obama is astounding. His campaign resonates of the Robert Redford movie “The Candidate” in which a man with no political ties, experience or ambition is engineered into the presidency by just such Hollywood theatrics, not to mention his just plain good looks. From his presidential-style trip to the Middle East to his self-styling of the presidential seal, Barack Obama’s audacity and arrogance is as plain as the nose on your face to people possessing common sense who aren’t wowed by the trappings of celebrity. What I want to know is why half of my country is so blind that they can’t see this. I’m afraid that’s what’s wrong with America—half of the people in this country are in awe of celebrities, be it Britney Spears, Paris Hilton or Barack Obama.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
My New Computer
So I finally made the jump from my old iMac to a Vista Notebook computer. I have now had it for almost two months and I spend most of my time customizing my google homepage, adding and running security software, downloading updates, troubleshooting incompatibilities and playing Spider Solitaire. This morning was spent setting up this silly BLOG! I'm supposed to be out running before it gets too hot! Gotta get going.
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