Surviving the Circus

John McCain believes that the private sector can provide health care sufficiently for all Americans. Ideally, I would love for that to be true. Unfortunately, most companies are in the money making business without regard for the clients they serve. One can only conclude that John McCain is either... 1) not in touch or blissfully ignorant of our growing healthcare issues in America 2) he just doesn't care about our health ( survival of the richest doctrine ) or.. 3) he is protecting big business moguls following the example of many other republicans ( survival of the richest doctrine ) One of the obvious problems is that McCain's plan will allow insurance companies to cross state lines, which means that they could move their home office into states that have weak consumer protection laws, which translates into fewer services provided with increasing premiums. However, the insurance companies will increase their profits, which is in keeping with the survival of the richest doctr...

My daughter is a junior in high school and she has been working on two projects, both of which required Power Point Presentations in addition to the written papers, logs and reports. We have been using a demo or trial copy of Office 2007 and we were on our last permission to use it yesterday. No problem, we'll just leave the software running so we can finish tomorrow, right? Wrong. During the night, my updates or virus software which are scheduled for about 3am, and I'm not sure which one did it, but one of them rebooted the computer. In case you didn't know, once the program expires you can't even copy anything out of it. You can look at them, but you can't do anything with them. Since we left the project open, we couldn't burn it to a cd either. So tonight, I was feverishly searching for slide presentation software in the open source arena or a trial version, but I couldn't find one without watermarks. Then I saw Google Docs in the search results. I though...

My brother has been using Vonage for about 4 months and he is happy with it. One of his favorite features is that he can add a number from a different area code to allow his clients to dial a local number. Pretty cool feature, and it's only a few dollars extra, around $5, I think (don't quote me). I'm interested in getting some feedback about Vonage because I am trying to cut back on expenses and the land line telephone bill is just ridiculous. My daughter has a cell phone for her personal calls, but I still need a number where I can be reached - a home phone number. C/Net reports that Vonage is back on the upswing, after a little slackness during which time customers were reporting poor quality. Vonage is also entering into the broadband business, which should make things better. The new service, called Vonage Broadband, will offer speeds of 3 megabits per second to 6 Mbps to residential and small-business customers. It will allow Vonage to bundle its Internet telephony se...

Sign over a Gynecologist's Office: "Dr. Jones, at your cervix." In a Podiatrist's office: "Time wounds all heels." On a Septic Tank Truck in Oregon: Yesterday's Meals on Wheels On another Septic Tank Truck: "We're #1 in the #2 business" At a Proctologist's door: "To expedite your visit, please back in." On a Plumber's truck: "We repair what your husband fixed." On another Plumber's truck: "Don't sleep with a drip. Call your plumber.." On a Church's Billboard: "7 days without God makes one weak." At a Tire Shop in Milwaukee: "Invite us to your next blowout." On a Plastic Surgeon's Office door: "Hello. Can we pick your nose?" At a Towing company: "We don't charge an arm and a leg. We want tows." On an Electrician's truck: "Let us remove your shorts." In a Nonsmoking Area: "If we see smoke, we will assume you are on fire and ta...

The blogosphere is teeming with interesting blogs. I knew that. But, Entrecard and other blog networking sites such as BlogCatalog and MyBlogLog have enabled me to actually find some really interesting blogs. Problem is, I've been spending so much time READING blogs that I haven't been POSTING. One of the problems I have come across is the freezing of my browser. This happens when I come across a blog with more widgets and gadgets than content. It happens, believe me. The good thing about using the Firefox browser is that I can just click on the big red X at the top of the window, and ouila!, the busy blog stops dead in its tracks yet continues to load the textual content. Three cheers for Firefox! Other browsers just get stuck, frozen in la-la land and force you to end the task via the Ctrl+Alt+Delete window. Not a good thing. Yes I have DSL, but my poor computer is 8 years old, but still running great! I have Windows XP and an ok hard drive, but my ram is sorely lacking which...

An experiment - what will happen if bloggers start a friendship train? Thanks to YennyGirl we're about to find out. Note: Depending on your blogging platform, you may need to click "View" at the top of your browser window, then "Source" to properly copy and paste the code into your blog. Otherwise, you'll just have blog titles without the url, and that would defeat the purpose. Rules: 1. Copy code from http://yennygirl.com/?p=1896. 2. Add your blog to the bottom of the list. Feel free to add all your blogs. Just make sure to post this to each of the blogs you added in the list. 3. Tag other online friends you know. You don't need to be tagged in order to join. If you want to join just post this one in your blog. 4. Let me know your blog’s name and url by leaving me a comment HERE . I will add you to the master list. That way, everyone is happy and can meet new friends too! 5. Come back once in a while to get the master list! Let's see how this makes ...

Entrecard is a social network of bloggers who "drop" by member blogs and help promote each other, while also reading some great blogs and making new friends. I just joined a few days ago and am literally amazed at all the great blogs I have discovered. I have found myself participating more by posting comments on other blog posts and subscribing to my favorite ones so I don't miss anything. Once you join (free), you can link up ALL of your blogs and create a 125 by 125 pixel card that promotes your blog titles. Then you just copy the snippet of code and paste it into your blog template. The easy add-a-blog feature makes it simple to switch between blogs and you can keep track of your "droppers" by selecting your Inbox. When another Entrecard member visits your blog, they just click on the "Drop" button and you earn credits for advertising your own blog. Once you click the "drop" it changes to "Thanks" which I think is cute *grin*....

Browsing through blogs today I stumbled on the National Review Online and read an article by William J. Bennett & Brian T. Kennedy about "Securing the Future" of America. The article outlined 10 recommendations for the next president as a national-security policy for 2009. Some of the recommendations were literally shocking. Not because they were outrageous, but because it is barely believable that these points are not already being implemented. America has some huge safety issues that need to be addressed. My question is why haven't they been addressed? For instance: MILITARY SPENDING I was shocked to find out how little we are spending on the military, especially when compared to previous times of war. Today, we spend less than 4 percent of our GDP on the military. That number pales in comparison to peacetime military spending in other eras. In 1961, for example, GDP spending on military was over 9 percent. In 1971, it was over 7 percent. In 1981, it was over 5 pe...

One day, when I'm rich, I want to have a boarding house for abandoned wives. I have a real heart for them because I am one of them. Too many of these ladies are ending up homeless through no fault of their own. I realize that marriage is two way street, but it's a dead end street for women when a husband just walks out without notice and without an ounce of effort because he wants a newer version. CNN did a spot a few days ago interviewing a couple of ladies who are living in their cars. These are not dead beat women, they work, but it's not enough to live on. It's quite interesting to me how America either isn't aware or doesn't care how many people are being forced into homelessness these days. Every time I see a clip like this, I thank God that I am not that person, yet. The sad truth is that I, and many more like me, am barely hanging on. I owe so much money I can't even begin to contemplate how I will ever be able to pay it back. Meanwhile, life goes on...

There's a new group for Moms that is just getting started over at LilaGuide.com, a place for real parents and local advice on the best pediatricians, clothing suppliers, photographers, and much more. Looking for advice? Want to share your expertise on one of the many and varied parenting issues? Then this is the place for you! Great new place for Moms who WAH or just SAH to talk about anything you'd like. Thinking about becoming a SAH or WAH mom? We've got tips and a helping hand when you need it. We'll cover work at home companes, Great Blogs written by moms for even more tips and even places on the web where you can make a few extra dollars. Join Now and get in on the fun. Join me and Nessa (the brain behind the group who is offering a contest for new members) at Lilaguide! Click Here to Join! Technorati Tags: parenting , moms , social networking

Six ways to make people like you Become genuinely interested in other people. Smile. Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves. Talk in terms of the other person's interests. Make the other person feel important - and do it sincerely. Believe that you will succeed, and you will. Dale Carnegie, 1888-1955 MOre on Dale Carnegie - Click here. Technorati Tags: self help , success

Recycling is great, especially when the recycled products make the original producer of the product just a wee bit angry. Apparently Target stores didn't like the use of their logo on the handbags, but who cares? Target and their legal department care so much that they have forced the handbag designer to remove all bags with their logo, which is copyrighted material. Not to mention that it kind of "hurts" their reputation to be throwing away so many plastic bags just because they didn't quite turn out right. You can see a picture of the offending handbag using the CNN.com link below. I decided not to post it here - don't want to infringe on any copyrights. American companies produce 7.6 BILLION tons of waste each year. During the past four years, Ecoist said, it has sold more than 100,000 accessories created by its designers in Peru and Miami, Florida. The bags -- some of them one-of-a-kind -- are priced from about $30 for smaller versions to about $180 for larg...

This first new treatment for depression is still in trials, but if you're desperate, you might can get into a clinical trial. It sounds too risky to me, but only time will tell. Option 1 requires surgery. Option 2 uses magnets Option 3 also requires surgery and is approved by the FDA Option 4 is the once dreaded electroconvulsive therapy These treatments are for those who have seen no improvement using traditional antidepressant medications. 1) deep brain stimulation. It's sort of like a pacemaker for the brain. It requires two surgeries to implant the device. Researchers theorize that certain regions deep within the brain influence mood and depression. They believe that the areas associated with depression may be overactive in certain people. Sending electrical impulses to these areas may "reset" them to normal functioning, researchers speculate. Who may benefit from deep brain stimulation Because deep brain stimulation is experimental, it's available only thr...

I've been saying it for a long time, but now the statistics are proving it to be true. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. It's a trend that has been developing for decades. So how does American feel about it? So what should be done about income disparity? In an April Gallup poll, 68% of respondents said wealth "should be more evenly distributed" in the U.S. — the highest percentage saying so since Gallup started asking the question in 1984. A smaller majority, 51%, agreed that "heavy taxes on the rich" were needed. Reference... the full story... How the Next President Should Fix the Economy - TIME : INCOME -$991 THE OTHER 99% OF AMERICA COULD REALLY USE A RAISE If you feel as if you've been going backward, you haven't been imagining it. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median American family made $58,407 in 2006. That's $991 less, when you adjust for inflation, than the median in 2000, and indications are that things haven...

This is getting weird - ants that won't die! An exterminator said the ants are getting easier and easier to find, but are impossible to get rid of. Crazy Rasberry ants eat fire ants and like to suck the sweet juices from plants, feed on such beneficial insects as ladybugs, and eat the hatchlings of a small, endangered type of grouse known as the Attwater prairie chicken. They also bite humans, though not with a stinger like fire ants. The Texas Department of Agriculture is working with A&M researchers and the Environmental Protection Agency on how to stop the ants. Full Story: New Type Of Ants Invade Pearland - Houston News Story - KPRC Houston

Listen to some of the best Bible teachers online from CSN International. My favorite is Jon Courson. CSN Radio Webcast (Shoutcast mp3)

Have you ever noticed that our society in the USA is a society favoring the wealthy and torturing - or at the very least, tormenting, the poor? Think about it. Those who cannot afford to pay their utility bills on time, but have to wait for the next paycheck, usually end up paying exorbitant late fees. Even worse, their utilities can be cut off, costing them a reconnect fee. So, the poorest in America end up spending MORE for utilities than the wealthy. Is this fair? If this is fair and right, then I guess maybe Hillary and Obama are correct to want to ban payday loan companies. Why help the poor keep their lights on? After all, they DO have other options... 1) They can try to float a check, in other words, write a bad check and pay the bank's insufficient fund fees. Of course, some of them don't even have checking accounts and even if they do, the bank will catch on sooner or later and start allowing the checks to bounce. 2) They can let the lights get cut off and have to...

The Federal Government has programs to help certain individuals and groups, but many people do not know how to access them, which is why the grant books are so popular. I have not purchased or seen a copy of the grant book, but I have found the government website for these programs which details the qualifications and the contact information for applying for help. Here are just a few of the programs available... Supplemental Security Income Social Security Disability Pension to Veterans Surviving Spouses, and Children Crop Disaster Livestock Assistance Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program The table of contents will lead you to each program, an explanation of the program, the qualifications to be a recipient of the program, and instructions for applying for each program. Here's the link, and if that doesn't work, try the home page at CFDA.gov and look to the left "Features" menu and click on "Types of Assistance," then click on letter "D" ...