What do you think? Should illegals who pay taxes – either under a Taxpayer I.D. number or a stolen Social Security number – get a tax rebate?

I’m sure if you stop by here once in a while you know where I land on this one. Not getting a tax rebate will ensure that at least this one benefit is not also stolen from us by people who choose to enter the country illegally and steal the cost of medical treatment and many other free benefits they receive as rewards for breaking the law.

Oh – I also think people that don’t pay taxes at all should not get tax rebates. At least, we shouldn’t call them rebates. What we should call them are welfare public assistance checks because that’s the truth of what they are.

No tax rebates. Not for law-breakers and thieves. Maybe public assistance checks for LEGAL citizens with valid Social Security numbers. At least, that’s what I think.

What do YOU think? Tax rebates for illegals? Or, do you agree that the Senate is doing the right thing by closing this gaping loophole left by the original package?

The fix requires that anyone eligible for a rebate envisioned in a House-passed $161 billion stimulus package must have to have a valid Social Security number, rather than an Individual Tax Identification Number.

Thoughts?

I guess….

You Are a Lemon

You have a very distinct personality. And if you’re not being sweet, you’re a little hard to take.You’re a bit overpowering, especially in one on one situations.And while you are very dominant, sometimes your power is needed and appreciated. You can liven up a dull situation, and you definitely bring a fresh outlook. You are a bit of an acquired taste, and you tend to grow on people over time. People feel refreshed and rejuvenated after spending time with you.

What Type of Fruit Are You?

Swiped from Paula. Funny how we are both lemons and drop by one another’s places every now and then….

No really….it’s true. See?

People who drink moderate amounts of alcohol and are physically active have a lower risk of death from heart disease and other causes then people who don’t drink at all, according to new research…..being physically active and drinking at least one drink a week was associated with 12-33 per cent lower risk of death.

…..both moderate to high levels of physical activity and a moderate alcohol intake are important for lowering the risk of fatal IHD and deaths from all causes….

Well, since it’s prescribed by doctors and will lower my risk of death, I guess I’ll have to make the sacrifice and take my daily dose of alcohol…if I must.

Outstanding!

There was a blond lady in a white suburban that cut me off today by driving around me (very narrowly) on my LEFT side in the drive-through line while I was patiently waiting for a truck to back out of his parking space – good citizen that I am – so she could be SURE to be in front of me in line…oh, no.  It gets better.

After picking up her food, (before which she was strenuously honked at by yours truly), she raced through the gas station parking lot and nearly took out a guy who was in the middle of executing a right hand turn out of the driveway…yeah, she cut around and in front of him too.

What the hell?  Was she trying to see how many people whose brakes she could test and/or take out with her big-ass SUV?

I just kept saying, “You have GOT to be kidding me!”

Texas A&M silver thingee on her rear end aside….who DOES that?  Who DOES that and actually gets away with it several times a day on a daily basis (it seems)?  Oh yeah, that’s right…the lady with the big-ass car cutting off every other vehicle in sight.

Bitch.  And I don’t say that lightly.  But if anyone ever deserved it more, it’s her.  That careless bitch.

Road rage rant complete.

That is all.

Because I’ve watched all, or at least most of the debates ON BOTH SIDES.  I know…shocking.  But I have.  Because even though I will probably cast my vote on a certain side of the fence, I at least want to make an informed decision.

The other night I was watching the Dem’s at their Black Caucus debate…..and The Boy said, “Okay, you’ve gotta turn that off.  Her voice is like listening to nails on a chalkboard.”

True….and funny.  But really….with all the bickering in that debate, all I remember is it’s an “establishment” woman with HUGE ex-president baggage who worked for Wal-Mart vs. the black man with new ideas who worked for a slum lord vs. the “white male”.  Oh, and….apparently Hillary said Obama said something about Reagan which has now been proven to have been twisted and/or lied about and taken out of context as reported by an independent source.  And…poor John.  John with the good hair which was messed up by David Letterman.

On the Republican side…we have War Hero vs. Preacher vs. Business Guy Who Laid off a Bunch of People vs. The True Conservative (who is gone now) vs. Mr. 911.  Oh, and…..they are all like Reagan, apparently….in their own way.

Yeah….All I remember about the recent Republican debate is it’s OK to ask religious questions to Huckabee and they all wanna be like Ron and oh….John’s a war hero and nobody’s disputing that.

What a cluster.  Amid all the personal attacks and chest-thumping and outspending and posturing….when the HELL are we gonna get the bottom line on EXACTLY what they’re gonna do and how it will effect ME (or at least my security and that of my family and my wallet).

Hopefully, we’ll get some answers from the nominees before we have to actually go make our final votes in November.  One can only hope….

Or, better yet….do you follow ANY of the laws for driving meant to make us safe?  Because seriously, the past few days while I was driving I don’t think I saw one person use their turn signal or wait their turn at stop signs.

What is WRONG with people?  I saw one guy roll through a stop sign, waited patiently at another stop sign for a lady on a cell phone coming the other way which did not have a stop sign because I had no idea what she was going to do.  Of course, she turned right – which meant that I could have gone when she was 25 feet from the stop had she done the right thing.  Another lady was on a cell phone, had pulled up at the stop sign across the intersection from me AFTER I arrived, and then simply rolled on through a few seconds after the driver next to her took his turn.   I swear…she didn’t look righ, left, or anywhere else as she drove…just stared straight ahead while talking on her phone.  Then just this morning, I was in the right turn lane with my turn signal on, approaching the entrance to the school drive….as I began my turn, the person across the intersection in the left hand turn lane went out of turn and continued to turn, cutting me off as I rounded the corner.

What the hell was that?  We won’t even mention all the people that refuse to wait in line at school and instead cut into the parking lot blocking all access to parked cars, have their kids stop traffic to go through the crosswalk, and then cut people off as they make the left turn out of the drop off line.

Some days it seems that people are TRYING to have an accident, because they certainly don’t seem to care at all about driving safely or keeping others safe while they drive.

So…do you use your turn signals?  Do you wait your turn at stop signs?  Do you cut people off because you’re in a hurry?  Oh, I don’t expect you to answer if you do…but at least it’s something to think about when you hear how your actions could cause others harm, or at the very least extreme disgust at such careless behavior.

If you’re among those of who have to deal with the careless, thoughtless drivers….got any horror stories you care to share?

And I try to spoil The Boy with whatever breakfast he wants before he has to head in and take the dreaded tests.  Today, he asked for thick cut bacon, scrambled eggs with lots of cheese, and wheat toast with butter.  I made all that, but I made him have orange juice.

He got two 100’s and a 99 on his finals today (yeah, I know…slacker with the 99).

For tomorrow he has requested an egg, bacon, and cheese English muffin…double layer of bacon.

I will still make him have orange juice, but I will make him the damn muffin.  Who am I to argue with the success that follows the breakfast request?  Getting up 15 minutes early is well worth the result…right?

BTW….he is taking every single advanced class possible this year and STILL he gets grades like that.  To say I am very proud would be a an understatement.  Who cares if he works it to get a special breakfast before finals?  Certainly not me, that’s for sure!

Probably not. But I do find it interesting that it seems more important to some lawmakers to ensure that high-brow, expensive food is offered to members of Congress than to actually work on laws that will make our economy GROW and our borders safer.

…staffers complain those (recyclable) straws melt in their coffee — and as they pick from choices such as fresh fruit, pan-roasted Chesapeake rockfish with yellow pepper relish and leg of lamb with almond couscous, the griping quietly draws on.

You can read the whole story here.

I can see why they complain. Whatever happened to a simple turkey on wheat sandwich with baked chips or an apple or whatever? What the hell? I truly wonder just how much time those on the “cultured” left spent determining the perfect West Coast menu for the hill.

What a load of crap. Personally, I think they should have to brown bag it, or go out to lunch like regular people do every day. I wonder how many border patrol slots are not filled because we are paying for expensive fish and cheese for Congress? Something to think about, anyway.

Should it be a headline? Probably not. Should we care about the wasteful spending on food for Congress? Hell, yes!

Here is a list of items which I am always willing to pay a little more for….even if the store brand or a cheaper version is available.  These insights come from many years of trying to cut costs by trying cheaper stuff and finding that sometimes it’s just not worth the money saved if you can’t use or can’t eat what you buy.

1.  Ketchup.  I can’t stomach anything but Heinz (I know…Kerry’s wife is evil but what are ya gonna do?).  The Spouse prefers Hunts but I get the groceries….so we use Heinz.

2.  Whole chickens.  I’ve tried the store brand and Tyson, which are both cheaper…but if I can find them I buy Pilgrim’s Pride or Butterball chickens….they just roast nicer and the others aren’t plucked very well.

3.  Orange juice.  I pay more for the “not from concentrate” stuff.  In fact, I am so spoiled that I rarely order orange juice when we’re out unless it’s specifically advertised as fresh squeezed.

4.  Shoes.  I suffered for years from foot pain until I met The Spouse.  He introduced me to the value of paying more for shoes that last.  Now my feet are much happier.  In short…Payless shoes bad….name brand shoes good (for the most part).  In this case, you get what you pay for.

5.  Beer.  Cheap beer will only give you a worse hangover.  Spend a little more and drink a little less and your head, stomach and liver will thank you.  At least, that’s what I think….no more Old Milwaukee for me!

6.  Coke….well if you’re up north I guess you’d say pop or soda…but here in Texas we refer to the carbonated beverage of our choice simply as “Coke”.  I’ve tried the Sam’s brand or the store brands…and people, they all suck.  If you must, just wait until it goes on sale and buy what you like.  It’s worth it.

7.  Gas.  I buy the name-brand gas.  Not the Race Track gas which is cheaper.  I drove a Ford Probe many years ago, and the engine would actually sort of sputter when I filled it with the cheap stuff.  So yeah….I buy gas at reputable places.  Except for Citgo.  Because Hugo Chavez is evil and well…personally I don’t like to knowingly support a sworn enemy of my country.  But that’s just me.  People like Danny Glover or Sean Penn probably buy their gas there.  I don’t.

8.  Frozen veggies.  I’ve tried the store brands of these, and it’s hit or miss…usually miss.  So I pay a little more for the consistency factor.  It’s worth 20 cents to me to get the good stuff.

9.  Shampoo, soap, etc. I know…I’m probably getting ripped off with the shampoo.  But my hair DOES seem to do better when I don’t use the cheap stuff.  And the expensive soaps smell better and lather up nicer.  Plus, I’m allergic to most of the cheaper soaps so I do have an excuse there.  I might pay more, but my hair is gorgeous and I smell pretty.

10.  Face stuff.  More allergy problems there.  I definitely don’t buy really cheap cleansers, make-up, etc…..but I don’t go all crazy and buy Merle Norman or Clinique either.  I just pay what I have to not to get a rash or red eyes.  I think this is a case where you get what you pay for…up to a point.

I guess 10 is a good number for this list.  Clothes might be another thing to add….but I’m not that into labels (except that I don’t buy clothes at Wal-Mart or Sears).  When I do buy clothes (which is rare), I buy what fits right and looks okay…I do NOT buy into the latest style and wear that if it looks horrible on me just because it’s “in”.  And you will never find me in a $200 pair of jeans.

So…..are you married to your brand-name type preferences or are you always looking for a deal?

But it makes me really angry when I see Congress spending time and money to investigate the use of steroids in this sport or that.  I think today it was Baseball (again) they were discussing.  Because really….what better way is there to lift the morale of the country than to put our national past time on trial?

Oh, don’t get me wrong here.  Steroids are bad….making people stop using them is good.  But should our Congress be the body that polices the individual members on the individual teams?

Maybe it’s just me…but the last time I checked we were fighting a war on terror in at least two highly visible efforts (and many not so visible efforts); something needs to be done about social security; we need to educate our kids; we need to secure our borders; we need to make sure EVERYONE pays their fair share of taxes instead of just focusing on making sure those who make money don’t get to keep it; we need to make it easier for companies to do business here at home; we need to get rid of all the criminal illegals and make sure we at least register the rest and send them to the back of the line for citizenship; we need to do something about tort reform so insurance companies don’t have to keep raising rates to pay liability insurance…..and there are so many other issues that need attention.

So, I guess I don’t care if a baseball player used or is using steroids or not….but I do care about whether or not we are safe and all the other issues mentioned above as well as others I did not mention are being addressed.

Can we dock Congressional salaries for the time and money they’ve wasted on this issue?  I know it’s not possible…but if it WAS possible to dock their pay for time and money wasted on issues that don’t directly relate to how the country is secured and run….I’m pretty sure they’d get back to doing the jobs they were elected to do.

Congressional time-wasting rant…complete.