Uncle Sam is on Steroids

With a freakishly huge federal budget looming, it seems that governmental expansion is a given. Like it or not, Uncle Sam is on steroids. If I must give a chunk of my paycheck to the country's most inefficient human services provider, I'd like to suggest ways to improve it. Ideally, we help people get off welfare, there is considerable dignity and self-esteem to be earned by earning one's way.

1. If we are providing welfare in order to care for minor children, we have a right to insist those children attend school. Their best chance to grow up and contribute to society is by becoming educated. If a child is truant (in the Minneapolis school district, eight absences in a quarter is automatic failure, that seems like reasonable number) to the point of failing the quarter ~ and we can allow exceptions for hospitalizations, obviously ~ Mom gets off the next quarter, and Junior goes to foster care. After four absences, the social worker can be notified to get on Mom's case ~ so it doesn't come as a surprise.
2. If you're getting welfare, you're getting educated. Welfare recipients who do not have a high-school diploma or GED must be attending classes with the goal of graduating. Those with a diploma need to be in a vo-tech or community college program. We can pay for it. Remember, we're trying to improve people's lives. No school = no money. Actually, I'd like to see free community college for everyone who wants it, just like high school.
3. If you get food stamps or WIC, you must attend (and pass) a cooking/nutrition class. It is both cheaper and healthier to make food from scratch than to buy ready-to-nuke meals. This week, a local grocery store is offering a frozen meal for two ~ 24 oz of linguine, chicken, sauce & vegetables ~ for $6.99. On the other hand, a 48 oz package of chicken breast is $3.87, a 12 oz box of linguine is $1.00, one pound of sweet yellow onions is 77¢ and a pound of asparagus is $2.48. In other words, the ready-made meal is $3.50 per serving, the same size homemade meal is $1.06 per serving!
4. No welfare for druggies! Members of the military ~ who actually provide a service in exchange for money from the government ~ get drug tested. It's only fair that welfare recipients are subject to the same standard.

I saw the best personalized license plate the other day: HRUDUDU. If you remember Watership Down that plate will bring a smile to your face. If you never read it, you should, it's excellent. It is funny, sad, scary and thoroughly entertaining.

Spring has sprung. In appreciation of warmth and sunshine, my son Pat and I went out with our cameras to take skyline shots of Minneapolis. This is my favorite. I had to stand on a deteriorating snowbank to get a view above the freeway fence, but I think it was worth it. I love this view, with all the modern skyscrapers in the back (the big one on the left, with the black cap, is Philip Johnson's IDS Tower) and in the front, right by the IDS, is the Foshay Tower (it's the one that looks like a tribute to the Washington Monument). The Foshay was the first skyscraper west of the Mississippi. I remember when the Foshay dominated the skyline. We used to go up to the observation deck and be awed by the view.

Today's Genealogical Tip: Read the hometown obituaries. If you have a small town in your family's recent past (and many of us do) check the local paper's website. Even many small town papers are now online and they have great obituaries. It's not uncommon to find birthplaces, mother's maiden names, military and job history, all siblings' names and church memberships listed. Those small-town papers can be a genealogical dream come true. Even big city obits seem to be getting more in-depth. Bookmark the websites of papers for towns where your family settled en masse and check them often.

Heat is Cool

No, the title isn't supposed to be poetic; it is a sincere expression of my sentiments. Go a couple of days in March, in Minnesota, with a broken furnace. You will understand. Heat totally rocks. I love central heat. As a teenager, who read wa-a-ay too many Bodice Busters, I thought it would be terribly romantic to travel back in time. I was an idiot. As a middle-aged woman who has a real life, I have to say I love now. We live in an amazing place and time. Imagine life without central heat and indoor plumbing. Eeek!

People living in the Southern half of the U.S. might not properly appreciate the beauty of central heat. My friend, Joy, has long believed that those of us in the North ought to be able to deduct the cost of heat, winter coats, etc. from our income taxes. Her rational is that we spend a lot of money to live here, thereby saving the strain on the Southern infrastructure. Imagine if all of us became "snowbirds." It is expensive to stay through the winter ~ and darn chilly. I'd like to know when my share of global warming is coming. Can I have it now, please? After a few sub-zero days, one starts to think about Al Gore's broken promise. Next time it hits ten below, let's gather every available copy of An Inconvenient Truth and have An Inconvenient Bonfire to get warm.

I feel extremely fortunate. After all, I am far too outspoken and opinionated to live safely in an earlier age (or now, in many parts of the world). For that freedom, I thank every vet and all the brave women, like my mother & grandmother, who got jobs and tried independence before they settled down. It is those women who quietly entered the workaday world who made the greatest inroads for us. Suffragettes made noise, but the quiet ones got men accustomed to women who think and do. Thank you, Ladies. Thank you, Vets. God bless you all.

If you'd like to thank a vet for all they've done for us, might I suggest Operation Homefront. They earned a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator so you know the money goes where they claim. From their website:

Mission Statement

Operation Homefront provides emergency assistance and morale to our troops, to the families they leave behind and to wounded warriors when they return home. A nonprofit 501(c)(3), Operation Homefront leads more than 4,500 volunteers in 30 chapters nationwide and has provided critical assistance to more than 45,000 military families in need. Operation Homefront also operates an online magazine for military wives and women in uniform. Through this community, we reach the newest and youngest military families, instantly alerting them about our programs and other information to help them succeed in military life.


Stay warm and enjoy the weekend.

Robin Hood Saves the Economy! Woo hoo!

I saw a billboard for a radio station today claiming intelligent talk, or some such thing. I tuned in, and heard the most brilliant idea. The Top 1% (that is, the 3,000,000 wealthiest Americans) should give America a 15% tip. Because America has served them well, we the people, deserve 15% of their net worth. Now, I was driving and therefore, not giving my full attention to the gentleman on the radio, but I thought he said that 15% of the net worth of the top 1% was $60,000,000,000,000. If sixty trillion dollars were handed to the government to redistribute, the economy would be saved! Yeah, right. Also, when one considers that the total net worth of Americans is only $62,169,900,000,000, his math looks even goofier. The 62 trillion for the National net worth is based on the Federal Reserve - http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/Current/z1.pdf

The good news: this moron is just a caller and is not a legislator. The bad news: he's probably allowed to vote.

On a completely unrelated and totally silly note, have you ever heard of the Blue-footed Booby? It is a seabird, native to the Pacific islands and coastal areas of the Americas - as far north as California and south to Ecuador. It's sort of silly-looking (in fact, the name comes from the Spanish word for stupid) with its skinny head & body and those vivid blue feet. A co-worker has calendar with showing the blue-footed booby this month. It is a great picture. But, what really makes me smile, is my own immaturity. I have this mental picture of wind-up boobies (like chattering teeth) with bright blue web-feet. And, no, I don't mean the birds. It was bad enough, walking around work, thinking about bodacious ta-tas running around on their blue feet, trying not to grin, before I noticed something else. Multiple people have this wildlife calendar. It's getting hard to avoid. And the picture is better than I realized. One of the birds is leaning, lifting his right foot, looking for all the world like he's ripping one deadly fart. No, it isn't ladylike to think that way, but it sure makes me smile. You may think you're mature - but now that I've planted the blue-footed booby in your mind, your inner-adolescent is grinning. You're welcome.