Cooling Down

I need to cool down my posting; yesterday I was over-excited about my last post and I hurt someone I love. That was not my intention, and I apologize. Nothing about your family or your experiences offends me; I hope you understand that. I am having a hard time seeing the president trying to push things through congress so fast that no one has time to figure out what is going on before it's done, and I can only think of a few ways to get my opinion out there (blogging and writing my representatives being the main ways), but that doesn't mean I necessarily think before I do.

So that's the end, for a short time, of my government posting, and I promise that the next time I post about it, I will not aim it at someone I care about.

more of the same... (last post edited)

And where do you propose the money should come from? Should hard-working millionaires foot half of the proposed cost? That is ridiculous; most people who make that much money a year worked hard to get to where they are and should not have to pay for everyone else. And do you really think that the $1 trillion estimate will stay that (dare I say it) LOW? I don't think so. Look at how the bailout money got out of hand so fast; wasn't there an initial limit on how much money we were going to give away to help the failing companies?

And do you know what kinds of things are in that bill? Sure, they say we can keep our private insurance, but as soon as they start the national healthcare, it will be illegal for private insurance companies to change their policies - they won't be able to fix any problems that they have. I am not saying that healthcare doesn't need reform, but this is not the way to do it. Do you ever listen to Glenn Beck? Sometimes he is a little too far gone, but I think he is right on the money about national healthcare, and he's not afraid to say how crazy everyone is sounding.

We pay for our healthcare every month, and I know how hard it is (even for a young and healthy family) to make those payments. We are lucky enough that James gets scholarships every year that will cover those costs - that money goes into our savings account so we can pay our monthly premiums. It's tough, but we don't want to have to go without it, just in case we end up having a problem. Don't think I couldn't put $200 a month to good use, but I won't risk it.

And I know that we (the general public) will be footing the bill in taxes or in higher premiums. But we can't make healthcare part of the bill of right's, which is being proposed. I am not saying that people don't need help, and that I have a problem taking care of the poor. I AM saying that the government should not be in charge of it. It is a big step on the way to communism. Ezra Taft Benson, as the secretary of agriculture, said (of speaking with Nikita Kruschev): "As we talked face to face, he indicated that my grandchildren would live under communism. After assuring him that I expected to do all in my power to assure that his and all other grandchildren will live under freedom, he arrogantly declared in substance, 'You Americans are so gullible. No, you won't accept communism outright, but we'll keep feeding you small doses of socialism until you'll finally wake up and find you already have communism. We won't have to fight you. We'll so weaken your economy until you fall like overripe fruit into our hands.' (My source here).

psst...Universal Healthcare is NOT the Answer - pass it on!

Obama and other proponents are trying to pass universal healthcare - please contact your government representatives to let them know how you feel. Tonight I sent an email to my senators and house rep; if you live in Idaho, here's the contact info:

Walt Minnick (house of rep): www.minnick.house.gov/contact/index.shtml

Mike Crapo (senate): www.crapo.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm

James Risch (senate): www.risch.senate.gov/webform.cfm

Look up universal healthcare and get some facts and tell them that it's not the answer to the problems with the healthcare system. If you're interested, you can read my letter HERE.

Like Father, Like Daughter

We love tv in our house. A little too much. But we do try to limit the amount that Maiby watches. There are always times when you get a little bored watching tv, no matter how much you like it. Admit it, you know what I'm talking about.

This is what happens when James gets bored:

If you don't know from experience, let me just say that it's REALLY entertaining to look over at your husband and see his belt strapped around his head like a crown or around his foot. But on the day of this photo, it was too difficult to get the belt out. So the phone became the boredom distraction.

I wasn't able to get a picture of it, but I will try next time she has it, but the other day Maiby and I were watching a movie and I looked over and she had a slinky around her neck, like a multi-colored, really wide necklace. It was so darn cute. She had put it there and then forgotten about it, much like the phone on daddy's head.

But she really likes the pirate eye patch that came with the slinky in a birthday party favor bag:

That was a smile, really; the elastic kind of makes it look like a drimace, but she was happy.

Breakdown

Poor little Maiby had a tough time this afternoon. We took her to the mall to find a new pair of shoes because I discovered last night that she has blisters on the top of her pinky toes from her old ones. And I haven't been able to find the same style in the bigger size for the past month or so that I have been looking for them; apparently everyone else in town needs girls' size 6. BUT our trip was not successful. Whether due to hunger or not a long enough nap or some unexplained change in her natural behavior, she had 3 meltdowns at the mall. So we all left empty-handed and not so happy. Better luck tomorrow...

This is Getting Ridiculous

FYI- This is going to be a bit of a ranting post, so please forgive me; if your time is not worth reading about someone else's ranting, I won't feel bad if you hit the back button on your browser now. Seriously...I wouldn't ever know you did it, and it won't hurt my feelings one bit. Here goes...

James has not been paid by the Army since March. MARCH!! Can you even believe that?! We didn't realize it for a little while, since we have direct deposit and somehow about a year ago, we no longer get a hard copy of his checkstubs (but that's another rant for another time). Here's the deal: at the end of May/first couple days of June, I was looking at some financial stuff and realized that I hadn't paid tithing on our Army checks in May and April, so I went online to look at the paystub and noticed that WE DIDN'T GET PAID!!!! How does that even happen? So I told James and he called the guy you call about these things, since the Army is all about the chain-of-command, and he said he'd take care of it.

Well, James also mentioned the problem when he was in Boise for drill a couple days later, to a couple of Major's. That may not mean much to you, but being a Major is a pretty high (the rank is O4, so they have some pull when it comes to stuff like pay). And supposedly, pay problems are a BIG deal in the Army, but apparently not to the 4 people that James has contacted. He was told to give it a week and a half by one guy, and then to contact him. Well, it's been three, and here's the kicker - James doesn't have his contact information. I know, I know, it won't be too hard to get it, just call the sargeant that is involved and get the number from him....I would think that the captain who has been trying to recruit James to a special program would feel like it would be a good idea to make sure the pay goes through would be an added incentive to sign up for what he's offering, but no.

So my big idea came to me one night as we were getting ready for bed. I suggested that I contact the lady in Lewiston who is the family support person; she would know who to talk to, and I'm sure she wouldn't mind helping me out. James said it's not a good idea, since she works across the hall from a colonel (2 ranks above the majors), and so many people would get into trouble. We are not out for blood here, just the money that's due. (Did I mention that our life insurance is taken directly from our paycheck? So that hasn't been paid, either. I had to write a check for that from our savings to cover an expense that I've never had to worry about before.) I told James I would wait another week before contacting this magical source, and I did. That great day came today. I was really excited, thinking that we would be rolling in the money, until Wednesday comes and the rent is due. So I got up and ate breakfast, watching the clock and trying to decide if she goes to work as early as the Army personnel (being a civilian working at the armory, it's a valid question), and finally made the call directly to her line.

But a man answered, and it sounded like he was speaking Spanish. So I asked for her, and was put on hold for 3 or 4 minutes. Really; this is not an exaggeration. He finally came back on and said she's out of the office, and it may be a vacation for the rest of the week - he didn't know. NNNNOOOOOOOOO!!! I had no idea who he was, so I just left my name and number and said I had a question for her. I was devastated. Everything I was hoping for disappeared. So it's back to the waiting game. James has again contacted the same 4 people that he has approached before, and I am waiting until tomorrow to see if she is really on vacation. If so, I am just going to ask my question of whoever is on the phone and see if they can refer me to someone who can get the problem solved.

If worse comes to worst, does anyone know if Legal Aid is willing to take on the Army National Guard??

Hero of the Day...

So I went shopping tonight at Winco while James put Maiby in bed, and then he went to go play bball at the church. Then I heard her crying a little later, so I went up to give her a hug and say goodnight. Imagine my surprise when I found her standing up and had her poor little knee sticking out between the bars, unable to pull it back in. I couldn't help her by myself, so I hurried over to the neighbor's house. Thank you, Janette, for helping me get Maiby's leg out!! The funny thing is that as soon as she was free, Maiby reached for Janette and gave her a big hug, and then I took her so Janette could go home, and she tried to get back in her arms....is that really my daughter? My shy little girl who ignores people who speak to her?

Thanks, Janette, for being home and willing to help me in my time of need!