In my area, for years it has been strictly Republican all the way. The farmers have always voted this way. And I did too …. but I will not vote Republican this time. And my husband feels the same way. I have been close to high up officials in the Republican party for years. After seeing certain things, I wouldn’t vote Republican on a bet. I remember reading in someone’s post that Republicans will vote Republican….I just don’t think that’s a true statement. In my area a lot of Republicans have deserted the party. Bush has ruined the Republican arena here. From some of the things Bush has said and done, people in my area think Bush has a determination that you have to kill all Al Qaeda and the Islamic fundamentalist enemies. And, that he thinks God is telling him to do this. He has said his instincts are telling him how to do some of the Iraq things he has ordered. When those kind of things go on, people get off the party train for better things. In this part of the world the people are God fearing and they aren’t hearing God say “kill em all over there”. Some farmers are ticked off about energy costs. The war decreased the supply of oil, thus the increase in the price of energy. Farmers cannot run machinery on air. Bush wanted more corn planted for ethanol so they did and then the plans for building ethanol plants didn’t materialize… it’s always been known that corn isn’t the best source of ethanol. And how could the farmers ignore that stupid tax credit for people who bought big old gas eating SUV’s. I have choices and am still considering all of them. But McCain is not one of those choices. I will pick the least objectionable candidate. There’s still 103 days left before the election. Things happen doncha know.

Suzanne/Winery…..My prayers and thoughts are with you.

I used to ignore things….then the big kahuna heart attack happened. I guess I should not have ignored the pains in my arms.

Sometimes my insurance background just feels like it is rotting in my gut. Yes, insurance companies are noted for finding a way out of paying claims. In the case of Katrina, the language of the insurance policies was clearly defined that certain instances wouldn’t be covered. These are called standard fire and casualty policies. But what normal, non-insurance person knows enough to ask questions when they are signing the application. It’s things like this which sicken me now that I am on the other side of the table and not in the insurance company board room any longer. I imagine you might all be upset if you really knew some of the things that a typical homeowners policy doesn’t cover. Like…..earthquake, unless you specifically purchase a policy amendment. If your house is built over an old mine, if a shaft gives way and your house is damaged this won’t be covered unless you have mine subsidence coverage. And need I say more on the flood and hurricane…or lack of I should say. And your auto policies are horribly structured to not pay in many instances. Then comes Malpractice insurance which the doctors and nurses must buy. The price is totally out of control. And this is partly due to the risk of having a lawsuit filed against the practitioner. Everyone wants to sue sue sue. Physicians, nurses and any practitioner takes a hippocratic oath which includes “not giving a deadly drug nor give advice to anyone which may cause his death”. Basically the practitioner who takes this wants to do everything to protect the patients life. But these pratitioners are not God. They cannot prevent death if other circumstance beyond their control contribute to the patient’s death as happened in Dr. Pou’s case. The lawsuits are atrocious and done for the money. I only have comtempt for persons who would even consider it. These people should have gone and stayed with their loved ones while the water was rising instead of running for safety. Then Dr. Pou could have gone home to make sure all was well.

I’ll continue to read “True Story”. Their stories move me much more than the New Yorker and Vanity Fair stories. And True Story has some great cover pictures.

Oh yes …. go for it Liz…..I only wish I still would still feel comfortable wearing a two piece! But I have been known to lie on my back deck (in the country mind you) wearing only my panties. No airplanes please!

Elaine….I have read and reread your posts. Oh yes I believe in God but I was saddened to read some of the strong comments. According to the beliefs of the bible under which I was taught, God is spirit and those who worship him, must worship him in spirit and truth. When you believe in God and worship him alone, we must believe everything God tells us. Yes we will live but one life. And during that life we will face many challenges. Some humans will not believe in God but that is their own choice. I felt saddened you have called upon some harsh words to criticize another and referred to the person’s bible illiteracy. Not many can call themselves a bible scholar yet many choose to consider themselves as such. Each Christian has been taught in the manner of their own belief, be it protestant, catholic, as a Jew or whatever. No one, and I repeat no one, knows exactly how the bible is to be interpreted. We may never know. I have studied many interpretations and find discrepancies in all when compared to my own education. My personal education of the bible and its interpretations taught me that at the time of final judgment, God will allow those non-believers to ask for forgiveness and to be accepted into his fold. To tell someone that the world is as it is because of the non-believers and the sinners is a bit harsh for most people to understand. I personally think that each person has the right to go before God and ask for forgiveness. God will determine who is a true believer or not a true believer. I don’t think any of us of earth has that power to make a statement about which people are sinners, believers or liars. And to Josie my friend. When you were going through the horrible abuse, God was with you. In fact he may have carried you some of the way. He may have prevented many more hours of abuse that may have otherwise occurred. All through life we will face horrible challenges and will question our beliefs. He puts obstacles in our way to test us and our faith. There is no person on earth who is or has not been a sinner. God knows our sins. And only he can forgive us for these sins. Josie, thank goodness you are still with us. God protected you through it even though I’m sure it didn’t seem that way at the time. It was not your time to die as a result of the abuse. Your horrible experience taught you something. You now know that abuse is wrong and I know that this strengthened your faith and made you want to do something to help prevent it from happening to someone else. God is still watching you and all of us. We are still here because our time of going to live our eternity is not yet here. Those of us who do believe will see each other again someday. Some might not be taken by God on the first pass, but at the day of judgment, and after the prophets have told their story, many more people will become believers of God and will join his fold. Abuse is horrible. The topic of sex trafficking is horrible to think about. There are ways we can all help. We can make sure people are aware of entities who can help those in need. We can help by getting the word out that children should not be afraid to tell another person about what is happening. And if it happens to someone you love, join in the efforts to assure it doesn’t happen again. Peace and Goodwill to all and to Josie….God loves you. doll

ABSOLUTELY!! And why???? (Sung to the tune of Helen Reddy’s) ********* “I AM WOMAN” ********** I might believe in equal pay and all of that jazz but I am of the old school. Hold the door for me you big hunk of man. I will hold the door for a man until he takes hold of it., but I want to walk in before him. LOL

I am fascinated with these women. Even in the ancient days of old, there were madams. I took an ancient history class once and was just astounded when this came up. These ladies must have been true business women to be able to survive in this kind of atmosphere. I always wondered if Miss Kitty on Gunsmoke was a madam. I bet she was but I don’t remember anyone ever referring to it on the show….but of course I was young then. LOL

Sherrie….applause applause. I love the “…people who built the F150 are now building Bog Macs” How true! Sometimes I get the impression the Government is tinkling on my leg and trying to convince me it’s raining. LOL

I am no financial whiz. I keep forgetting what is a recession and what is a depression. I know I don’t like price increases or to hear about company closings. I think we are still in a recession but if unemployment rates continue to rise, prices continue to rise and businesses continue to fold ….. we might be in deep doo doo before long. It’s been getting here for quite a while. The feds need to start pumping more money into the economy. For now I will go on with my own depression….cause I sure get hugely depressed when I look at my financial picture. I am spending a whole lot more than I am saving. Before long the spending could be greater than what’s coming in.

Counting today, only 106 days before the big election day is here. Then we will find out how many people really loved McCain and his ideas and how many vote for Obama and/or believe Obama is really a Muslim and not vote for him. The final tally of votes from Americans will be the deciding factor of who gets in. It certainly won’t be the New Yorker magazine, nor the bloggers and not the wow posters although you all will be a great part of that decision with your vote. So be sure to vote to help your favorite candidate get in. I personally still don’t know who I will be voting for although some seem to think they know how I will vote. Let me assure you that you are probably wrong. I just believe in fairness and the right to say what you want without hurting others. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. It’s a good thing as Martha Stewart always says. And after the election I guess posters will have to find another avenue to concenctrate on. Oh well….life goes on. Peace and Goodwill….doll

Some media reports deeply affect my emotions while others leave me cold. I still remember how I felt on the day of 9-11 and in the weeks following. And when the Iraqi people toppled the statue of the horrible Saddam Hussein who murdered hundreds needlessly. And, when they caught him I rejoiced. Severe weather and the resulting destruction really affect me. I hate to see anyone lose their home or their possessions or even their life. Peace and Goodwill….doll

Yes I must admit I am a babyboomer and proud of it. But alas, in 1957 I was going to school full time. One of those nice little pigtailed girls learning phonics and the old way to do math (learning my multiplication tables and I saw Jane run too when I was reading). 1957 was the year my dear husband was born and he says he is not a babyboomer….ha ha ha. As a side note I am also one of the proud cradle robbers…..he was in 3rd grade when I graduated from high school. Isn’t that a hoot! Yes I draw the maximum Social Security disability benefit. For a retiree in 2008, at age 65 and 10 months, they will draw $2185 if they paid maximum in all of these years and have all of the required quarters. That isn’t too shabby. But think of the poor people who are currently drawing $100, $200, $300 per month under Social Security. These people are the ones I am worried about. The 3.2% cost of living doesn’t amount to much of anything for these folks when compared to the peeps who made bunches of money through the years. And whooppee for the $255 death benefit……this wouldn’t even cover the cost of burying my pet frog in a match box. In the early years of Social Security, it was quite common for a woman not to be working, so there were no contributions by this mulitude of women but when their husbands died, they still were able to collect a social security benefit based on their husband’s contributions. This began the drain on the system but it was inevitable. The wages from which contributions from the majority of people were being made were pretty low in those first years and continued for decades. Of course there were exceptions to the rule…..business owners, celebreties, ball teams, auto workers, just to name a few. Then came the onslaught of married women in the workplace. Sure, most women did not make a decent wage when compared to the men, but they were contributing to the Social Security Fund. This amounted to the women being able to draw benefits on their own contributions or their husbands whichever higher. And those women/spouse who were once married to a person for 10 years were/are able to draw a benefit amount based on their previous husband’s (or spouse’s to allow for wives who made high contributions) wages even though long divorced from the ex. The working women helped build up the fund to a respectable level. The actuaries rejoiced at this. Then came modern medicine. The expected mortality age jumped up significantly as people began living longer and surviving major illnesses. This means longer draws of pension and disability benefits from the Social Security fund…….thus a more rapid depletion. A lot of these same women who are living longer are the ones who never worked nor made contributions. And they aren’t babyboomers….they are the mammas of the babyboomers. It’s common for people to live to 85 to 90 years old now. But when Social security was developed it sure wasn’t. Then comes the real blame IMHO….the sticky fingers of the government….the robbing Peter to pay Paul scenario. Too much money was “borrowed” (ha ha) from the fund, thus the actuarial calculations went by the wind. The money wasn’t there to invest. What a shame. Sure it needs changes. It could be that under new changes you would be allowed to make your own investments. But most people aren’t qualified to do this nor qualified to make the choice of how an annuity would be paid out. So a wrong choice could (not saying it will mind you) result in a low result dollar amount or even a loss. Believe me their will be plenty of licensed brokers just waiting to make that big commission from these investments of funds if this is the way Social Security changes go. Some will be good advisors and some will need to be jailed for the bad advice they give. But how will we know the ones to pick….who knows! I have no answers. I have ideas but no one woul pay any attention to me. I’m pretty sure the brilliant minds of today will figure something out. But I will continue to draw my Social Security check like always and then I will die. I will not have drawn out all of the contributions I made over the years. And a lot of other people make contributions over the years and never drew one penny. That’s the premise of Social Security and it’s funding…..the pool of money ….. some will get it and some won’t. Now with the babyboomer’s grandchildren coming on….they will make contributions based on higher wages….so the pool will grow. The older people will drop off in a few years, freeing some money up. And a large percentage of people who draw Social Security disability will die, freeing up a bunch more. And I will probably continue to get the across the board 2 or 3% cost of living raise each year even though cost of living varies by geographic areas. The government sure hides the real figures of cost of living…cause those figures sure don’t match what’s coming in at my house and what’s going out. Sorry to have written a book. I specialized in Social Security and Medicare in the insurance world of education and in college. I learned a lot but I have forgotten a lot….so I hope I didn’t misquote…sorry if I did. Peace and Goodwill to all babyboomers……doll ( and the rest of you youngies out there…..go make whooppee and keep those new babyboomers a coming…us oldies need you).

I remember the day JFK was filled. I was just a young girl and remember the grief of the country in the days following. I remember seeing Caroline and little John John at the cemetary. I just couldn’t imagine what those two little kids would do without their daddy. I remember seeing her riding her pony Macaroni and being jealous because her pony was prettier than mine. But those two grew up with the love of their beloved mother Jackie. Everyone loved Jackie and she was brilliant also. Caroline has a brilliant mind and has always come across as personable. Why anyone would want to discredit her or her accomplishments is beyond me. And to say she got where she is because of her family, her party and her status is so childish. If each person, who wishes to discredit Caroline Kennedy, would write down their own accomplishments and then write down those of Caroline Kennedy’s, I wonder whose list would be longer? She hasn’t been as vocal as some people but her list goes on and on. I sure couldn’t live a life spouting hate and innuendos about someone just because they were a democrat or a republican. Hate kills respect for the speaker. I am looking forward to seeing whatever Caroline intends to do. Peace3 and Goodwill…..doll