Bailout

I got an email yesterday that I thought was so profound, that I sent it to Sen. McCain (which I normally wouldn't do). Here is the copy of my letter and the forwarded email. If any of you want to use my letter to send to your Congress members, feel free.
Dear Sen. McCain,
I received the following email yesterday. It has been forwarded several times, so I do not know the original author. It was meant as a light-hearted look at the economy, but I urge you to please look at it seriously. It does not fit the mold for what Washington usually does, but I believe we are at a point with our economy that we can not simply stay the course of normality. It is time we break the mold. Drastic measures must be taken, and perhaps, this is the way. It makes sense. Where does America need the money? In the pockets of the people. Who determines how well businesses thrive? The people. We, the people, will continue to be in the same place financially, even after the proposed bailout. This, however, would change everything.

Hi Pals,

I'm against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG.

Instead, I'm in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a We-Deserve-It Dividend.

To make the math simple, let's assume there are 200,000,000 bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+. Our population is about
301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child. So, 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up.

So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billon that equals $425,000.00.

My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a We-Deserve-It Dividend.

Of course, it would NOT be tax free. So let's assume a tax rate of 30%. Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes.
That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam, but it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket.
A husband and wife would have $595,000.00.

What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?
Pay off your mortgage - housing crisis solved.
Repay college loans - what a great boost to new grads
Put away money for college - it'll be there
Save in a bank - create money to loan to entrepreneurs.
Buy a new car - create jobs
Invest in the market - capital drives growth
Pay for your parent's medical insurance - health care improves
Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean - or else

Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers
and every other company that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.

If we're going to redistribute wealth, let's really do it instead of trickling out a puny $1000.00 ( 'vote buy' )
economic incentive that is being proposed.

If we're going to do an $85 billion bailout, let's bail out every adult U S Citizen 18+!

As for AIG - liquidate it. . .
Sell off its parts.
Let American General go back to being American General.
Sell off the real estate.
Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.

Here's my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn't.

Sure it's a crazy idea that can 'never work', but can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!

How do you spell Economic Boom?

I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 billion We-Deserve-It Dividend more than
I do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC .

And remember, The Birk plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5 Billion is returned instantly in
taxes to Uncle Sam.

Ahhh...I feel so much better getting that off my chest.

PS: Feel free to pass this along to your pals as it's either good for a laugh or a tear or a very sobering thought
on how to best use $85 Billion!!

So, please feel free to share this, maybe Washington will decide to do something that might actually work!

Forever Strong

There's a new movie opening this weekend called "Forever Strong". It's based on a true story. The coach was a seminary teacher and the movie looks incredible. It hasn't gotten a lot of publicity. It was done by Crane Movie Company, and some big budget films from Hollywood have threatened to pull the movie nationally if it doesn't have a big opening weekend. So take your family, tell your friends, and head to the theater this weekend to see "Forever Strong"!

Friendship

Here's a little poem that was emailed to me and I wanted to share it with all of you. I couldn't have put it better.

When you are sad-- I will jump on the person who made you sad like a spider monkey jacked up on mountain dew.

When you are blue-- I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you.

When you smile--I will know you are plotting something that I must be involved in.

When you are scared--I will rag on you about it every chance I get.

When you are worried-- I will tell you horrible stories about how much worse it could be until you quit whining.

When you are confused--I will use little words.

When you are sick--Stay away from me until you are well again. I don't want whatever the heck you have!

When you fall--I will point and laugh at your clumsy butt.

This is my oath...I pledge it to the end. "Why?" you may ask; because I'm your friend.
Friendship is like peeing your pants. Everyone can see it, but only you can feel the true warmth.
Now share this with 10 of your closest friends and then get depressed because you can only think of 4...

No truer words of friendship have ever been written!

Creative kids

Every now and then, Amy and Taylie like to take a piece of paper and cut it into a million little strips and glue them all together. One on top of the other in some random pattern. Amy made one for me once and said it was a boat. Sure, why not?! Then she made one for Mike that looked oddly like mine, and told him it was a Transformer (a proud moment for Daddy). Well, the other day I got them their little safety scissors, crayons, paper and of course, their glue sticks. I folded some laundry and was doing the dishes when I thought that I should check on them and make sure their little paper pieces weren't all over the floor yet. To my amazement, they had ACTUALLY made something. This is an Ant Eater. And it actually looks like one. I was so proud of their creativity that I had to post this. Kids are amazing.

Pictures..finally!

Here are some updated pics. I'm not sure why my blog is acting like this. New posts are out of order and it's a day late on the time. Who knows, but hey at least it's here!

Pictures

Where were you?

It was September 11, 2001 and I was driving in my car on my way to work, listening to the radio, and thinking, "There joking. This is some sick joke." Then, with horror, I realized it was the truth. I got to work and we turned on the television. I was watching the news and watched as the second plane flew into the second of the Twin Towers. I saw the images that they won't air anymore. The people jumping from the falling and burning buildings. The images are emblazoned in my memory. The feelings, every moment of that morning lives on in my memory. I will never forget. I will never forget what we're fighting for, or why. May God bless the USA!

Brilliant!

We've all gotten those emails that talk about how we can get gas cheap again, like, "Don't buy gas at stations, "X", "Y", & "Z", or the whole not buying gas on a certain day of the month (none of which actually work), well I got another email (that I almost deleted before reading) that said something like, "Fw:How to make gas cheap again!. Well, I'm glad I listened to that little voice and read it, because I was hit with something new! Finally something that made sense to me and something that I had pondered for years. Like lightening through the night sky, it was a burst of brilliance!
For those of you who have not hear of Pickens Plan, let me introduce you (be sure to check out the website). A man by the name of T. Boone Pickens has started the ball rolling on getting our planet healthy again, and on getting our energy source from our own country, and making it affordable. Here is a quote from the website, "America is blessed with the world's greatest wind power corridor and abundant reserves of clean natural gas. The Pickens Plan will utilize these tremendous resources to build a bridge to the future — a blueprint to reduce foreign oil dependence by harnessing domestic energy alternatives and buying time for us to develop even greater new technologies." Go on and read it. Get informed and then get on the bandwagon. There is hope and I believe that this WILL work! There is power in numbers, spread the word!

The Result of my Quest

It is POURING outside right now. That doesn't really have anything to do with my post, but I thought I'd share. Wow, I can barely hear the keys on the keyboard over the rain. WHOA! It just made our motion detector turn on. I REALLY hope our house doesn't flood! Okay, onto topic. I posted a while back about my quest to find the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe for my family, and by a small twist of fate, I did! I've tried all the recipes friends have given me, and even a few I've found in random places, but it wasn't until Mike was in charge of desert one night that I found it. He couldn't decide what to get for desert, so he bought an assortment of brownie mixes and a bag of chocolate chip cookie mix. Well, a month later, I finally used the cookie mix, and viola! Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip cookie mix is it! I honestly felt guilty at first, like I was cheating, but I've gotten over it as I've eaten the cookies, and SAVED money by making them this way. So there you have it. My quest is over and I invite everyone to try "my" chocolate chip cookies!

Hardest Post

In a way, this hardest post has two meanings. For those of you who have ever built a fence, you'll understand my analogy. Sometimes you encounter a post that for some reason, is just harder to set than the others. Perhaps it's because the ground is harder there, or sometimes it's the post-the piece of fence itself. Well, that's what I am. I am the hardest post. The Lord has tried to put me where I needed to be, but because of my stubbornness, He had to work harder to get me where I needed to be. When building a fence, you can always get that hardest post in the ground, it just takes a little more effort, a little more sweat, a little more work. The hardest post is me, but it is also how I feel about this post. This is the hardest post I've ever made. It has taken me several days to finally sit down and type it. Not because I question the decision, but because I know how it affects everyone else. While it may be hard for me (though I've made it harder than it had to be), I know it can be and is harder for others.
In order to fully understand the outcome, I'm going to share some personal things with all of you. I'm doing this more for myself than for anyone else though. It reminds me of what I already know, and it helps me to heal. You all already know how I feel about St. George. Being away is hard. I miss my friends and family there so much it is painful at times, but the Lord has blessed me as I've turned to Him for comfort. It is my desire to be in St. George. For quite a long time now, that has been my strongest desire-which was wrong. My strongest desire is now, and must always be to do the will of the Father. If I had not been so stubborn, perhaps I would have realized my folly before it became so painful. But, as with most things, I had to reach the absolute bottom of the pit before I realized I had fallen so far. I was in a free fall, spiraling out of control. I was depressed, angry, and resentful. I had let Satan wrap his fingers around me and pull me down. The worst part is that I knew it and I wasn't even fighting. I just gave into it. I was so consumed with moving back to St. George, that I wasn't being the kind of wife and mother that I want to be, that I MUST be. I was absolutely miserable, because I was HERE instead of there. Then something started to happen. A little bit of light started to break through the blackness with which I had encompassed myself in. I started to get little pin-pricks of realization. That I was the one responsible for being happy-that it wasn't the fault of where I was. I read some friends blogs that talked about how the only thing we can really ever give the Lord is our will, and about how important it is that we do that. Then another about confusing hope with faith, and that "faith is taking that first step into the darkness, and hoping the light will follow." So I was thinking about that, and then a friend came over and saw me in all my "glory" (I'm sure it was pitiful) and she told me that I needed to snap out of it and be happy. She understands completely how I feel, because she too was there not long ago. So I accepted her advice, and for the first time in a while, I let go of some of the darkness and let in the truth that was being pushed at me, and I cried. I cry a lot, but when I was allowing the feelings of anger to stay with me, I didn't feel the range of emotions that I normally do, and for about a month, I hadn't cried. So the emotional flood gates opened, and I purged (cried-a lot). It was very cleansing, freeing myself from Satan's grasp. Then I was finally in a place where I was humble enough to truly turn my will over to God (not an easy thing to do), and then the most amazing thing happened. I felt peace. For the first time in SUCH a long time, I felt peace. The burdens that I had been carrying around (because I was too stubborn to let them go) were gone. What a difference it has made in our home, in our family, in me.
I realized that this is where the Lord wants me right now, or else I wouldn't be here, and that this is where I need to be happy at. Mike's boss has talked to him about making him a manager here, and it would be good for us. We're going to stay here for a little while. His company is opening another D.C. in the northwest in 2010, and Mike would like to transfer as the DP manager there and open that D.C. He has a really good shot at that if we stay here until then. So that's what we're going to do. And I'm going to be happy here. I still get sad sometimes, because I get lonely for my family and friends, and it still hurts sometimes, but I can bear it now. The Lord has eased the burdens which are upon my shoulders even that I cannot feel them. (Mosiah) I know that this is the best decision for my family, and I know that the Lord will bless us as we do HIS will.