AAADD

KNOW THE SYMPTOMS!

Thank goodness there's a name for this disorder.

Somehow I feel better even though I have it!!

Recently, I was diagnosed with A.A.A.D.D.

Age Associated Attention Deficit Disorder. 

This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden.

As I turn on the hose in the driveway,

I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.

As I start toward the garage,

I notice mail on the porch table that

I brought up from the mail box earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys on the table,

put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full.

So I decide to put the bills back on the table & take out the garbage first.

But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway,

I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my check book off the table,

and see that there is only one check left.

My extra checks are in my desk in the study,

so I go inside the house to my desk where

I find the can of Pepsi I'd been drinking.

I'm going to look for my checks,

but first I need to push the Pepsi aside

so that I don't accidentally knock it over.

The Pepsi is getting warm.

I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep

it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Pepsi,

a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye.

They need water.

I put the Pepsi on the counter and

discover my reading glasses that

I've been searching for all morning.

I decide I better put them back on my desk,

but first I'm going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter,

fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote someone had left it on the kitchen table.

I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV,

I'll be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table,

so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs..

But first I'll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers.

Quite a bit of it spills on the floor.

So, I set the remote back on the table,

get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:

the car isn't washed

the bills aren't paid

there is a warm can of

Pepsi sitting on the counter

the flowers don't have enough water,

there is still only 1 check in my check book,

I can't find the remote,

I can't find my glasses,

and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done,

I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all blankety blank day,

and I'm really tired.

I realize this is a serious problem,

and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail.....

Do me a favor.

Forward this message to everyone you know,

because I don't remember who the blank I've sent it to.

Don't laugh -- if this isn't you yet, your day is coming!!

And she can follow, too!

Retribution is less than 1 year away!

Retribution is less than 1 year away!

Take a look at this and just remember elections in November 2010.

1. U..S.. House &Senate have voted themselves $4,700 and $5,300 raises.
2. They voted to NOT give you a S.S. Cost of living raise in 2010 and 2011.  
3. Your Medicare premiums will go up $285.60 for the 2-years.
4. You will not get the 3% COLA: $660/yr.
5. Your total 2-yr loss and cost is -$1,600 or -$3,200 for husband and wife.  
6. Over these same 2-years each Congress person will get $10,000..
7. Do you feel SCREWED?
8. Will they have your cost of drugs - doctor fees - local taxes - food, etc., decrease?
9. NO WAY.

Congress received a raise and has better health and retirement benefits than you or I. 

• Why should they care about you? 
• You never did anything about it in the past. 
• You obviously are too stupid or don't care.  
• Do you really think that Nancy , Harry, Chris, Charlie, Barny, et al, care about you?
• Send the message to these individuals --- "YOU'RE FIRED!"

In 2010 you will have a chance to get rid of the sitting Congress: up to 1/3 of the Senate and 100% of the House!

Make sure you're still mad in November 2010 and remind their replacements not to screw-up.

It is ok to forward this to your sphere of influence if you are finally tired of the abuse.  

Maybe it's time for Amendment 28 to the Constitution..

28^th Amendment will be as follows:

"Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators or Representatives, and Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the  United States  ."

Let's get this passed around, folks - these people in  Washington  have brought this upon themselves!  It's time for retribution.  Let's take back  America  ..

If you don't forward this to all your friends you're just part of the problem of national apathy.

10 Surprising Ways Your State May Tax You Next

10 Surprising Ways Your State May Tax You Next

Remember the line from The Beatles' "Taxman"? -- "If you try to walk, I'll tax your feet"?

Here we go. Where and Who.

Plumbing & Electrical Services

One plan in Pennsylvania, supported by Governor Ed Rendell and many in the legislature, would add a 6% sales tax to both services. Industry groups representing plumbers and electricians are ratcheting up the opposition. A compromise may be to make the service tax temporary until the state budget picture improves. Guess who would pay?

Watch Repair & Tailoring

Owners of fancy wristwatches in New York are sure to get wound up over an Empire State legislative proposal to tax watch-repair services at the 4% sales tax rate. A related proposal would tax tailoring services for clothes at the same rate.

Shoe Repair

Will the Keystone State tax the soles of its residents? Professional cobblers have attracted the attention of legislative taxwriters. The legislature is looking at extending Pennsylvania's 6% sales tax to shoe repair services. Critics of the plan say the state is targeting shoe repairers in part because they don't have the political heft to fight the plan in the state capital of Harrisburg.

Working Out

Later this year, Alabama will debate taxing gym memberships, a plan that could raise several million dollars a year in state revenue. A monthly membership would include the Yellowhammer State's 4% sales tax. Look for gym users to get plenty exercised over the plan. The District of Columbia proposed a gym fee earlier in 2010 but it was shouted down by vocal opponents, including yoga practitioners.

Bowling

Big Lebowski, take note. Twenty-six states already apply some type of sales tax or selected fee on the use of bowling alleys. Several more, including Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina and New Mexico, are considering doing the same. The extra fee is not a large revenue raiser for states -- most estimates are in the $2 million range. (There are only so many bowling alleys and only so many big spenders on bowling.) Still, it's a small step many states are taking to help fix their budgets. The Dude may abide. But The Dude will surely abhor this.

Golfing

If you're on the links in Kentucky, the 19th hole may be the one in your pocket. One of several revenue enhancement plans lawmakers in the Bluegrass State are considering is slapping a 6% state sales tax on golf course greens fees. A decision is expected by the end of the year.

Horseback Riding

Faced with a $2 billion gap in the state budget, lawmakers in Arizona, the Grand Canyon State, will soon consider adding a 5.6% sales tax to basic charges for boarding riding horses on horse farms. The legislature may impose another tax on hiring professional horse trainers. Similar horse-boarding taxes are already in place in South Dakota, Nebraska and New Jersey.

Pool Cleaning

Having a professionally cleaned backyard pool in Indiana may soon come at an extra cost. Hoosier lawmakers may place the state's 6% sales tax on the service, possibly raising a couple of million dollars a year to help balance its budget. It's not an entirely novel idea. Connecticut, Kansas, Minnesota and South Carolina have skimmed taxes from residential and community pool cleaning services for years.

Interior Decorating

Is it too early to measure drapes for your new office? Oregon, Colorado and New Jersey are mulling various proposals to add 2% to 6% fees on professional interior decorating services. Such fees could add to the cost of new commercial buildings and major home refurbishing. Interior decorators won't take this sitting down.

Van and Truck Rentals

Need to rent a large truck to move office equipment or for a big project for your business in Louisiana? The Bayou State is considering taxing such rentals at 4% of the total charge. A competing draft proposal would establish a flat user fee for rentals. In any event, business owners would have to pay more where they hadn't before.

http://content.kiplinger.com/tools/slideshows/slideshow_pop.html?nm=state_taxes

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BAGPIPER PLAYS FOR HOMELESS MAN

Selfless Act recalled:

from: Associated Press July 24, 2010

As a bagpiper, I play many gigs. Recently I was asked by a funeral director to play at a graveside service for a homeless man. He had no family or friends, so the service was to be at a pauper's cemetery in the Kentucky back country. As I was not familiar with the backwoods, I got lost and, being a typical man, I didn't stop for directions. I finally arrived an hour late and saw the funeral guy had evidently gone and the hearse was nowhere in sight. There were only the diggers and crew left and they were eating lunch.
I felt badly and apologized to the men for being late. I went to the side of the grave and looked down and the vault lid was already in place. I didn't know what else to do, so I started to play.

The workers put down their lunches and began to gather around. I played out my heart and soul for this man with no family and friends. I played like I've never played before for this homeless man. And as I played 'Amazing Grace,' the workers began to weep. They wept, I wept, we all wept together. When I finished I packed up my bagpipes and started for my car. Though my head hung low, my heart was full

As I opened the door to my car, I heard one of the workers say, "I never seen nothin' like that before and I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty years."

Apparently I'm still lost....

SOME PEOPLE HAVE IT MADE BECAUSE THEY MADE IT.

Interview of Live-a-board Sailor at Rio Dulce, Guatemala

I've followed Andy - the Traveler - for several years and he has done a lot of traveling - 12 years - and he has some awesome views and interviews. Here he is in Guatemala talking to Chris from South Africa on his sailboat. Enjoy!

ANOTHER "LOGICAL" ARGUMENT FOR BIG GOVERNMENT (AND MORE TAXES)!

Irony alert: IRS fails government audit

Wed Jun 30, 3:18 pm ET

Getting audited is such a hassle! Just ask the IRS.

A new report from the Government Accountability Office inspected the tax agency's financial statements from the 2009 fiscal year with the exacting thoroughness of, well, of an IRS auditor, and found a few billion-dollar errors.

According to the report (PDF), the IRS made a variety of accounting errors last year that "could adversely affect the reliability of its financial statements" and result in "duplicate or erroneous refunds." Among the mistakes were a "failure to record the receipt of a taxpayer’s $3 million payment" and an $8 billion discrepancy between two accounting systems tracking how much money taxpayers owe. The audit also found a $5.1 billion "unexplained variance" between the total amount the agency took in last year and the amount its detailed tax files said it took in.

But what's a few billion here or there, right?

In truth, the shortcomings are all relatively minor infractions given the size of the IRS, and don't materially affect its performance of its duties. And you'll find similar lapses in virtually any close examination of a huge bureaucracy.

But it's still good to know that the IRS had to go through it, if only so it can empathize with the American taxpayer.

— John Cook is a senior national affairs reporter for the Yahoo! News blog.