Another Road Trip

I have been MIA in the blogger world lately, because I took a little road trip to North Carolina. My father was sick and I needed to go to help my mother. The stress was becoming too much for her and I was worried about him, plus I needed to see him to make sure he was okay before leaving. It is very difficult to be so far away from your parents when they are sick. You worry about them so much and you are so far away you can't go over and check on them every day.


It never fails on a road trip that you run into at least one stupid driver on on the road. If your lucky you run into only one stupid driver. On the way down there, a crazy motorcycle driver whipped in front of me forcing me to put on my breaks on the highway. Then there were the crazy drivers who think they are race car drivers, riding your bumper if they can't pass you. Coming back during the day wasn't too bad until I hit OH8, where the traffic was bumper to bumper and a driver stopped in front me waiting to get over two lanes, because they almost missed their exit causing a big truck behind me to put on their brakes and came just inches away from hitting me. Then on the Ohio Turnpike their was a semi carrying new cars swerving and flying down the high way. I kept passing him, because I didn't want to be behind him or next to him in case he wrecked and every time I passed him, he would pass me and get in front of me. I think he did it intentionally, because he was driving behind me and I was going 75, the speed limit was 70 but that wasn't fast enough for him, he passed me and flipped his hands up in the air.

I got stuck in one lane traffic on the turn pike for almost an hour, so a trip that would normally take me 12 hours took 14 hours. I was so stressed out by the time I got home, my neck and shoulders are so stiff it hurts to turn my head. If plane tickets weren't so expensive, I would fly.

Then I came home after a 14 hour trip and being gone for a week and a half to find the house a mess and I don't think anyone cleaned the bathroom while I was gone and I spent an hour and half cleaning, because I can't walk on dirty floors and I didn't want to kids to be using a bathroom with mold growing in the shower and around the sink or a dirty toilet. It wasn't easy to coordinate, my husband's schedule, my oldest daughter's schedule with the babysitter to make sure someone was here with the kids all the time.

Reigning Cats & Dogs

I am down here in North Carolina visiting my parents, we went to the Monroe Crossing Mall and they have a pet store called Reigning Cats & Dogs. You can also shop Reigning Cats & Dogs online at www.rcandd.com.  I was impressed to find out that everything in the store was made in the United States. Considering all the concern with some of the dog treats coming from China and over seas were causing liver failure and even death to dogs, it was nice to find a store where everything you picked up in the store was made in the United States. Its nice to know you can purchase items that are safe for our furry little family members.

It is only logical that overseas manufactured products may not be as safe for our pets as products manufactured in the United States, because they don't treat animals the same as most of us do in the United States do. In the United States our pets become family members, where as in some of the other countries animals wander the streets without a home.

A Man Breaks Into A Woman's Home To Suck Her Blood

A Galveston Texas man, Lyle Bensley,  is awaiting trial and a psychiatric evaluation for breaking into a woman's house and trying to suck her blood. The man was found in the parking lot growling and hissing in his boxer shorts. Bensley claims he is a 500 year old vampire who needed to feed.  

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Obama's New Tax Plan

Monday Obama is going to call for a new minimum tax rate for anyone earning more than a million dollars. Obama wants to raise the percentage of the taxes that millions pay to the same as the middle class wage earnings. Obama is calling the proposal the "Buffett Rule", after the billionaire investor Warren E. Buffett who complains about America's richest pay a smaller percentage of taxes than middle class wage earners.


It is about time that someone has figured out that the "Trickle Down Economics" does not work. America's wealthy are taking the money they are saving on taxes and using the money to build the companies overseas. It has never made sense to me why the middle class pay a higher tax rate than the wealthy. It has come to the point where it has become very difficult for the middle class to survive, because they are killing us in taxes. America's middle class are struggling to survive and losing their homes and jobs left and right and they are driving us right into the ground with taxes. If something doesn't change soon there will no longer be a middle class we will be divided into two classes, the wealthy and the poor.

The problem I do have with the deal, is the Republicans will agree to the proposal if the Democrats agree to future cuts on Medicare and Medicaid. The problem with the Republicans is they are trying to do in America's poor and middle class. The Republics twist the arms of the Democrats to pass proposals or bills. It's like you have to take a step backwards in one problem area to take a step forward in another problem area. It is time for the wealthy to pay their fare share of taxes. They have had the opportunity to do something productive with their tax breaks. Year after year, they have proven without a doubt they will not do anything productive with the money they are saving on taxes. Now, it's time to take away their tax break without having to give the Republicans something they want. The Republicans are like dealing with a bunch of two year olds', the democrats have to bribe them to make any progress. How can you live in a democratic society if the laws are not equal across the board. That doesn't sound like a true democratic society to me. It is a Democratic society on Republican terms. The elderly and poor have a hard enough time surviving as it is now, cutting medicare and medicaid benefits is only going to make survival more difficult on those on medicare and medicaid.

The Republicans blame the Democrats for the economic stress this country is in. However, a Democrat has only been in office for a few years and prior to Obama we had a Republican for 8 years. The Republicans are throwing stones when they live in a glass house. The only thing they are trying to do is save the silver lining in their own pockets and they don't care what they have to do to keep their wallets fat. The Republicans have a theory, that the Democrats are trying to bring the country to a breaking point, so they can restructure the country. A Democrat hasn't been in office long enough to bring the country down. The fall of the economy began long before Obama was in office. The Republicans have been trying to make a two class society for as long as I remember. There is no such thing as the "American Dream" anymore. The "American Dream" is an almost impossible task to achieve, unless your in the income bracket the Republicans approve of. It is time to restructure the country, it is time to stop catering to the wealthy, so they won't throw a temper tantrum.

Wake Up! The United States Is In A Crisis

Michigan's poverty rate has increased by 50% during the past decade. In the 1999-2000 census the poverty rate was 9.8%. In the 2009-2010 census the poverty race increased to 14.8. The medium household income dropped more in Michigan than any other state in our nation. According to the 2009-2010 census, the medium household income dropped by $12,000, making it the highest drop in the nation.


The recent cuts that were made in Michigan are not going to help the economy recover either. It only threatens pushing more people into poverty. Making it more difficult for families who have lost their jobs to support their families. Michigan residents will not be able to receive more than 4 years of welfare benefits in their lifetime beginning October 1st. Which comes to, if a family had been receiving benefits before the cut was passed. They will lose their benefits beginning October 1st. Which will be detrimental to low income families and single mothers. Passing the welfare cut can seriously damage a low income family or a single mother who may be working, but not making enough money to buy food for their family. There are a lot of households out there working minimum wage jobs, because the economy is so poor and jobs are very difficult to find.

Being someone with two college degrees and out of work for almost the past three years, I can vouch for the lack of decent paying jobs here in Michigan. There are very few jobs to apply for. Most of the jobs I have been applying for have been for $9.00 an hour or less and are part-time jobs with an earning potential of only around $200 a week. Even those jobs are difficult to get. Some of them asking for a bachelor's degree in business for a part-time $9.00 an hour job for an administrative assistant or secretary. When you go to the interview, the employers act as though $9.00 an hour working part-time has so much potential. I truly feel like laughing at them. It's not even enough money to support your family. I used to make $20.00 an hour before the company I worked for went out of business. That is barely a drop in the bucket for me. Regardless of the low paying jobs, I still apply and go to interviews whenever possible. A job is a job and their lousy $800 a month may help pay some of the bills. Employers are taking advantage of the economy as a way to pay people the lowest possible wages, because there are so many people living in Michigan desperate for jobs, because they are unemployed.

Nationally, the poverty rate rose to 15.1% in 2010. Which comes to a whopping 46.2 million people living in poverty in the United States, making it the largest number of people living in poverty in 52 years. That takes us back all the way to 1959. Our nation has fallen back more than 50 years. It is a sad day for this nation.

Between 1981 and 2005 and estimated 600 million people living in China moved out of the poverty rate. Take a good look at our numbers and their numbers, it doesn't take a mathematician to figure out what is going on. NAFTA was the beginning of the fall of the United States. American manufacturers began moving their companies overseas for cheaper labor putting Americans out of work. A lot of people blame Obama for Americans being out of work. However, it all began long before Obama. The fall of the American economy came just before Obama got elected and the economic mess fell into his lap. It is easy to blame Obama for the economic fall of the economy. However, it goes all the way back to Bush Sr. and the 2 terms of George W. Bush was enough to push the United States into a economic pit leaving Obama holding the bag. That doesn't excuse Obama for being partially to blame for the economy getting worse during his term. He has done nothing to find the solution to the economic fall of the United States. The only solution that may fix the United States is to put a stop to American Companies moving their companies overseas. Make it more costly for over seas American companies to import their goods into the United States. The average American will tell you exactly what happen to our jobs. Now, why can't the politicians see whats going on? They can see the problem, they just want to find another way to fix the problem. However, there is no other way to fix the economy until they put a stop to manufacturers moving their companies overseas. Politicians are too busy trying to keep the wealthy happy and trying not to step on their toes to fix the country. Not to mention, the politicians fall into that percentage of the wealthy and they are not about to burn down their own house to save the nation.

You may be wondering, what is the point of this long post full of politics and statistics. The point is, it is time for Americans to look at the facts. Stop burying your head in the sand when it comes to politics. We have come to a point in America where too many people just take what is dished out to them and don't say a word about it. China is steadily moving forward in economic growth, while the United States is dramatically dropping.

Go through your household items, clothing and even food. How many products can you find that were made right here in the United States. Very few products have been made in the United States. We have sat back long enough and allowed all of our manufacturing jobs go overseas. The government thought the fix to the problem would be to extend unemployment and pay for the education of those who have been put out of work because their job was sent overseas. However, you can educate as many people as you want, but if there are no jobs for them to fill their education is worthless. It may have helped a select few find new employment, but obviously not enough or our country wouldn't be in the mess it is in right now.

Our economic success, safety and health depends on Americans standing up and saying they have had enough. The toys we buy in stores are no longer safe for our children to play with, the bottles we use to feed our babies is no longer safe for our babies or even the formula we feed them is no longer safe. Our food is even being imported to the United States, putting American farmers out of work. Have you ever remembered a time when we have had so many recalls on food? Our meat is coming from Canada and Mexico. In Mexico, the people who can go into Texas to buy their meat do, because they say the meat in Mexico isn't very good. So, what do they do? American companies bring it here to shove it down the throats of Americans. This doesn't bother anyone? It is extremely disturbing to me.

Our children's future depends on this generation standing up and demanding change. What is life going to be like for our children when they grow up or our grandchildren? The future is not very promising. If we lived in the 70's we would be in the streets protesting. In the year 2011 when we are supposed to be moving forward, we are moving backwards and I see very few people who even speak up anymore. What happen to the democratic country we used to live in where people cared about our future. Everything has become the here and now and very few people concern themselves about the future. You are doing an injustice to your children by sitting on your sofa watching reality television shows hiding from the nation falling apart around you. Your children are not going to be able to find jobs, if there is no where for them to work.