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Y’all can relax a bit. This week’s column isn’t all political rants. There’s a good amount on NEWS OF THE STRANGE that caught my attention this week. So stand by for some outrage and some outrageous.

I know folks are wonderin’ about my take on the debate last Friday. I could only watch 30 minutes worth before changing the channel. Obama is STILL trying to say that McCain is one and the same with Bush, and that every policy of the past 8 years is a failure. I’ll agree on some of them…the ones that Bush went liberal on! Of course, Obama also had a line saying McCain’s tax policy does nothing for the bottom 100 million people, which McCain failed to return fire on. Earth to Obama: the Bush tax cuts took that 100 million off of the federal income tax rolls all together! You can’t give a tax break to someone who doesn’t pay taxes!

Joe Biden wants less energy in the US, and clean coal only in China. How does he plan to give us “energy independence” if his party opposes every possible form of energy in the US? Clean coal only for China

Speaking of no energy for America, Senate majority Leader Reid tried to play politics with the bailout bill (surprise, surprise). He attempted to sneak in a renewal of the ban on oil shale development. What does that have to do with the financial crisis? Why does his party hate the thought of American energy independence? Hug Trees For Energy!

When you call someone a fat pig, just remember that fat pigs (real ones…not the ones at your family reunion) can be terrifying to some people. HAILP!

Upchuck Schumer is at it again. He says that the Bush-McCain anti-regulation forces are to blame for the current economic mess. Sorry, Senator Gun Grabber, but YOU voted in 1999 to repeal the Glass-Steagall Act, which kept commercial and investment banking separated. Busted Chuckie! Then he has the gall to tell McCain to “get out of town” during the bailout bill negotiations. Schumer has gall

Why don’t we just use the taxpayers to bail out every industry in America? The unions have helped to run the auto industry into the ground, so what do we do about it? Should we reign in the power of the unions? Of course not. Let’s BAIL OUT THE AUTO INDUSTRY with 25 billion

This story is not for the faint of heart. The leftists keep saying how horrid the hazing was at Abu-Ghraib, but it was nothing. THIS IS HAZING and those responsible should be prosecuted to the max!

The biggest racist in American politics (well, not including those who make millions off of racism, like Jackson and Sharpton) is at it again. The only member of Congress who has been impeached and removed from a federal office because of corruption (perjury and accepting bribes) is calling Sarah Palin out. Evidently, anybody who hunts moose is obviously a racist. MORON ALERT

I’ve done this a few times during my lifetime (but not to a cop). I didn’t know it could get me charged with assault! Does this count as a WMD?

The wacked out liberals over at PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, not People Eating Tasty Animals) believe their fellow left wingnuts over at Ben & Jerry’s are as weird as them. All I can say is Eeewwwww

You know you’re a failure as a muslim cleric when…. Bad Daughter!

There’s no such thing as medical malpractice! Well, maybe…..Oops in front or Oops in back

When are the nominations due for the Darwin Awards? this guy might deserve an Honorable Mention.

Doggonit, my first wife’s in trouble again. And not looking too good

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I am going to tell on myself here, and I hope you all can forgive me. I blog a day early, set the publish time for the next morning and I am usually not even online when my blog hits the screen. It’s not scandalous like lip-syncing to my own voice at a concert or anything. It does feel just a tad deceptive on my end though. I am a very “what you see is what you get” kind of woman, so I felt it would be good to come clean and confess my pre-blogging habits. I don’t do it all the time everywhere, but I do it here every Sunday evening and post it on Monday morning (that also gives me time to come in and read Julie’s blog which I happen to enjoy quite well!)

Confessions of early blogging is not what I wanted to say about courage, but I wanted to mention it because last Monday morning when my blog appeared on the screen here at VAJoe’s I was under anesthesia and in the thick of surgery. Last Monday morning I had to have a complete hysterectomy and I have been lying low trying to recover. The surgery was tough but successful. I feel like I am handling the recovery very wisely — which is to say I am doing nothing but taking care of myself and taking it very easy.

So, with that being said, I wanted to post an entry today that I wrote a while back about courage and my own struggle to understand exactly what courage is, how it’s displayed and whether or not I possess any of my own. Have a blessed week, and I am sure that within the next couple of weeks I will be up and at ‘em and back to my old self. Actually, I think I will be even better!

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When I was in undergrad as a BSW major I dabbled in Philosophy. I was just one class away from being able to declare it as my minor, but decided against taking that last class due to overload. The final semester for a BSW consists of a full time internship, and the very nature of social work is working with client populations that have major stress factors attached at every angle. Also, at this point in my education I had become very disenchanted with the study of Philosophy. It seemed as if there was too much value placed on who could ask the most profound question instead of who could provide anyone with the most profound evidence.

This frustration with academic Philosophy hit a peak for me when I was told during a class that there was no way to prove that evil truly exists. Well, to be quite honest in the convoluted vacuum of Metaphysics there is no way to prove that any of us exists. OK, so now that we are all just a figment of one another’s imaginations maybe we can all agree on something! That was my hope, but the questions would just get more bizarre, and to be honest at that time I couldn’t bring myself to care about the the impracticality in the study anymore. I was taking care of young children in the field of mental health whose minds, bodies, and little spirits had been ravaged by adults who possessed nothing in the lines of a soul or a conscience. I remember the statement “You can’t prove that evil exists!” when I read the file of a young girl who had not said a word in years, but rather barked like a dog because being a puppy was better and safer than being a baby girl. Don’t tell me evil does not exist!

Then I remember hearing the arguments around human characteristics and attributes. Of course there were many discussions around the subjectivity of human experiences like love and death. We even discussed courage one day. I don’t remember the entire discussion around courage. I think I may have nodded off to sleep for a moment. Courage was a word to those in the class that meant everything from being strong enough to voice your stance on an issue, to wearing your hair green if you wanted to. I think that they got the term courage and pluckiness confused. Dying your hair green does not take sacrifice and love. Voicing your opinion may or may not. I found the whole topic disturbing, and it still bothers me to this day. What is courage if it is not the things that were discussed in my class that day? Being a dual military family, and having the incredible privilege to know other military wives and parents has given me the opportunity to understand courage a little more. Here are some acts of courage that I have been blessed to witness:

Courage is the young soldier who packs his ruck diligently to head over to the Middle East. He may be scared, but his heart is strong and he faces his fears with the reassurance that he has been prepared adequately and his family is behind him.

Courage is displayed by the wife who kisses her husband good-bye for the last time before the sand from that distant and dangerous place will kiss his face for a year, or more. She will walk away broken hearted and full of fear, but she will smile at her kids and act like she just knows that he will be fine — even when she doesn’t know it for sure in her heart.

Courage is evident in the young person who walks into the Recruiters station ready to say the words “I want to serve.” Knowing that our Country is at war, and that the chances of deployment are imminent does not stop the desire to fulfill his duty. Actually, those threats make his desire to serve all the more strong.

Courage is witnessed by those around the young soldier’s mother when he is deployed. She hangs her yellow ribbon on her tree, she will talk to anyone who will listen, and she will defend his mission with every fiber in her body. She knows that even in the face of doubts and arguments about the war, her son must hear words of encouragement and words of belief in order for his morale to stay high.

Courage is the single father who is watching his young son prepare for deployment. He is both proud and mortified, and he aches to be with his son in battle. He has never been known to sit back idly while his children tread where danger is, but this time he must. He will pack care packages and send a cigar once in a while to say to his beloved son “I know you are a capable man!”

Courage is the American who refuses to collapse and be crippled in the face of threats of terrorism. It is the American who remembers vividly the pictures, sounds and smells of where she was on September 11, 2001, but still refuses to live in dread. It is the American who dug his heals into the ground and decided resolutely that day that he would not stop seeing his loved ones on the opposite coast and he would not stop his career because it involved flying. He faces his fear and adversity with a stone resolve.

Courage is evident in the husband and wife who decide that it is a sacrifice worth making for him to stay an extra tour instead of coming home when planned. That extra year of sacrifice will be a difficult path to walk, but they face their adversity together and cling to the hope of reunification.

I still can not define exactly what courage is, but I can recognize it when I see it. I am coming to understand that courage can not ever be divorced from love, commitment, and morality. They are all individual strands, but part of the same braid. You have to love with your whole heart before you can truly display courage. You have to commit yourself to the task at hand immediately and completely so you will not waiver when the sea of trial tosses you around. Courage may seem like a subjective experience or idea, but I can recognize it and admire it, and sometimes I am even able to emulate it.

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Here’s your good news thread for the week. There are more than a dozen stories that journal another week of this war and the post-surge Iraq. Enjoy reading all of the successes we are seeing through out Iraq. These good news threads are possible due to the hard work and sacrifice of our troops. Read the rest of this entry »

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It seems I have ruffled some feathers of late. I usually do. Consider it part of my charm so to speak.

Ignorance is in the pot! Add a dash of arrogance and you have just entered my hot kitchen. It gets hot in here and some can’t handle what I cook up if they have a thin skin. I love the heat.

As many of you know, I haven’t been posting on VAJoe. There is a reason for this. I prefer not to be banned. Until I could contain myself and not tell certain people how I really felt, I had logged off. Call it my little protest. It actually gave me up to think about things. Don’t think I am not watching you. I was standing on the outside looking in. In fact I may have even posted without actually posting myself. Sneaky wasn’t it? I have been gone long enough. I sure hope those of you who disagree with my point of view have gotten it all out of your system. Things are going to be back to how they use to be. Buck up as they say…it’s going to get bumpy! If I am told to “shut up” or called “classless” I will respond from this point on. One CAN tell one’s opponent to go to Hell but make sure they enjoy the ride. I intend to make sure your travels are as comfortable as possible…

I will not take any more BS from those who find it my opinion too strong. If my words cause someone to tell me to shut up then I know I have hit a nerve.Just like YOU I too have a point of view. I have earned mine. Have you? I will know your weaknesses and take advantage of them in some way, shape or form. This is a fair warning to those of you who see fit to cross that line with me. It is called playing with fire. Be careful, you may get burned.

Let me make something very clear for those of you who are new and haven’t gotten the full picture just yet…I hate whiners. Pure and simple. It seems that is what I have been hearing from the liberals of late. I don’t care if you are inconvenienced. Give me a real problem. Only then you will see my concern. Until those of you who whine and complain on a daily basis can present a problem that is legitimate, deal with it. Fix it yourself. I don’t care if you don’t like Senator McCain and Governor Palin. I actually think that most of you who prescribe to Senator Obama’s line of thinking fear the Mavericks on the right. Of course your own party has Mavericks as well but you bash them as well. They don’t tow the party line. Many of them pay with their political careers. I have seen that as well. I know of one in particular who is a fighter and with the support of those of us in my voting district she will be back in Washington working for the people after the November 4th election. She is a Democrat and yes I will be helping her regain her Senate seat.

Whiners come in many forms. Not just in the political arena. I have had the pleasure of dealing with several who get their feelings hurt so easily over my beliefs or statements. Grow some skin people! Life is hard. If it wasn’t then it wouldn’t be worth living. Many complain about the most trivial of things. Sit back for a moment and take stock in what you have. I guarantee you that you have very little to complain about.

There have been statements made recently stating that if they could buy their loved one out of the military they would. How disrespectful to those who put on the uniform each day. It’s not an easy profession but it is the most honorable. These men and women get up every day and do what they do in order to keep us safe. My son and I are able to go to the store without being worried about a suicide bomber ending our lives. They sacrifice so much for us. Some do whine of course but for the most part these service men and women serve quietly and with distinction. Throughout history so many have made the ultimate sacrifice. They died doing what they believed in.

I served my country. I didn’t like it all of the time. I sucked it up and drove on. I survived. I despise those who blame others for their failures yet take all the credit for their successes. I have seen this in both the military and the civilian world. These people have a tendency to deflect their short comings onto others as not to take responsibility for their own actions. We all know people like this in our lives. Are any of you like this? Do you blame others for all the ills of your life?

I was married to a man like this. In fact after loosing his 2nd or 3rd job(I lost count), I finally admitted to myself that he was spinning a tale. He continued to do this even after he tore my world out from under my son and I. It was MY turn to be the cause of all his woes.

With that said, I know what I am talking about. I have lived it and I now see some who are making excuses for others as if their support of them will somehow make that person the victim that they aren’t. Just ask yourself this…Is it a pattern? Does this person always have a reason, story or excuse for failure? For getting trouble? Take the hint.

It brings me right back to domestic violence and abuse issue. This is a topic I know very well. So many women(some men) excuse their loved one’s behaviors by saying they are being falsely accused, persecuted and simply misunderstood. Many live with this dillusion. I did. Violence woke me up. Fortunately I am tough or he would have litterally gotten away with murder and the justice system would have made him a victim there too. He would have been charge with a “crime of passion.” I would have been just as dead but he would be walking the streets in no time.

If I offend someone, I intend to. Consider this your wake up call if you will. If someone gets their feelings hurt then they have to ask themselves how words on a computer dished out by one person can be so disturbing. Of course there are limits to which one can go but overall I am not PC. I tell it like it is. I don’t THINK everything that I hear or read on VAJoe is directed to me personally. If it is I will respond, use my sharp wit and mix in some humor. But in the end I get over it. PERIOD!

A FINAL THOUGHT…

Get a grip on yourself people. It’s not that serious. I can fill a years worth of blogs with truly serious problems that most of us will ever have to deal with. Think about that the next time you are sitting in traffic and the light doesn’t change as fast as you would like. Or the steak you ordered wasn’t cooked to your specifications. That’s life! Consider the fact that we are free to complain. Some complain entirely too much! We are free to go where we want and say what we think as long as we don’t scream, “FIRE” in a sold out movie theater.

If I don’t come across warm and cuddly, so be it. I do have an edge about me. But I also have a soft side. Those who know me personally know the real me. That’s all that matters when it comes right down to it.

Like Senator McCain says…I have not won any Miss Congeniality contests.

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Sad and scary times.

I have been blogging now for several months under Joe Money Matters and Doug’s Money Matters here at VAJoe.

Since 1993, my partner and I have been predicting this cataclysmic event.
Is it finally time to pay the piper for all the years of ignoring the signs?

I have always been an optimist and even through this catastrophe we have continually expressed what you and I have to do to avert this disaster.

Now comes the time when push has evolved into shove as hard and as fast as you can.

“Bail the boat is sinking.”

Will the proposals from the President work? Will the congress allow them to be initiated? Will they come up with a better idea? Will any of these things work? Will our economy survive? Time will tell.We won’t have to wait too long to find out either.

700Billion dollars to bail out a mortgage industry and wall street in complete denial?

We simply stuck our collective heads in the sand so long that this 700 Billion dollar gamble is the last best hope. Apparently the Government and American people never heard “A stitch in time saves going naked and starving to death”.

Will it work? We will see very shortly! It will not take long for this house of cards we have built to collapse if this gamble does not work.

If the market responds positively today(Thursday9/25/08) tomorrow and wakes up Monday morning moving up or at least not falling, we have a chance that this thing will work. However if the market does not respond well to the news that this is a last chance to salvage our economy, we are in for a quick end to the this Democratic Republic we lovingly called the greatest Nation on the planet.

Patriotism and political freedom cannot stop this catastrophe from happening if the next 4 days don’t show some stability and promise. Even if it stabilizes for the next few days and even if it stabilizes for the next few weeks we are NOT out of danger.

It might after all our best efforts fail anyway because this bailout is a BAND AID! It does not fix the disease just may put it into temporary remission.

In my 60 years of life this Country and Its people have never faced such an impending disaster, including 9/11.

What should we do on a personal level?

If you don’t already have emergency supplies, get them. Non perishables, batteries, water etc. Even if I’m wrong you still can eat the food and drink the water. But if I’m right and you don’t have some provisions, God help you.

The final impact of the failure of this Band aid bailout is double digit inflation, the complete collapse of the stock market, massive runs on the banks, massive bank failures, food shortages, food lines, total collapse of the businesses and loss of all jobs, the Fed declaring a police state.

Our military roaming our streets as police.

My financial predictions have been correct since 1993.
I pray I’m wrong this time.

Next weeks blog should reveal how this thing is working out.

Until then, Peace.

Doug’s Money Matters is a section of the VAJoe Blog to ask for quick financial tips and advice from an expert with more than 20 years experience in counseling families to live without debt and to reach there financial potential. Please leave comments on this Blog. You can learn more about the Money Matters advisor at his website. The posts and comments by JoeMoneyMatters reflect his two decades of financial counseling expereince. VAJoe.com does not endorse any financial strategies, but offers this blog as a service to its site members for discussion.

http://dkirk@forwardfinancialgroup.com

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What do y’all think caught the eye of The Crawfish this week? PUH-LENTY! Some of it made me scratch my head. Some entertained me. Quite a bit HACKED ME OFF! Where am I going and why am I in this handbasket?

How did the mortgage and banking crises really happen? A former real estate attorney, who is also a Libertarian talk show host, explains it so even a Crawfish can understand. Here’s what happened

Lehman Brothers filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week, helping the market meltdown, but there’s a dirty little secret there. They set aside $2.5 BILLION to give out bonuses to their Noo Yawk staff folks. How in the world can you be bankrupt and still set aside $2.5 BILLION for bonuses? Part of me says that it is up to the stockholders to vote on things like this, but part of me actually agrees with Obama and McCain that “golden parachutes” for executives that screw up companies need some major regulation, since the stockholders never DO vote on this junk. Bovine Excrement at Lehman Bros

Hypocrisy alert! Senator Obama says “we have not managed our federal budget with any kind of discipline,” but he wants to give over $50 BILLION PER YEAR to the UN to combat global poverty (in other words, give the money to tin pot dictators and other anti-American corrupt people). Yeah, the UN is a good place for our money

Harlem, Noo Yawk, Representative Charlie “I can break tax laws because I’m the Chairman of that Committee” Rangel is apologizing for his remark when he called Sarah Palin “disabled”, but the interviewer called him on it and gave him multiple chances to correct himself. Charlie the lying pig without lipstick

The Obama campaign keeps trying to paint McCain as being George W. Bush is another body, but the public isn’t really buying it (well, at least those who get their news from somewhere other than the Daily Kos-sack or Huffington Post). He’s not W The Crawfish wonders when McCain and the GOP will start painting Obama as being just a continuation of Nancy P-Lousy and Land Deal Reid. You know, those folks who have brought Congress’ approval ratings to the lowest in history, and over 15% below that of W.

The Crawfish can’t believe that this is happening in California. Not the principal’s initial actions, since that is definitely basic left wing anti-America California in action, but that the students have fought back! Go Get ‘em kids

A guy admits that he’s not a really observant Jew, but he wants to keep his beard because of religious reasons. The problem is that he’s a firefighter, and beards prevent oxygen masks and other breathing apparatus from making a proper seal. That’s one of the main reasons for the no beard policy in the Navy, since we are all firefighters on the ship and might have to don gas masks, oxygen generators, or respirators in our work days. What do y’all think

Mahhh(hack p-tooey!)moud I’minajihad is once again visiting the UN and making a speech in Noo Yawk. A Jewish group organized a large protest, and invited Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin to be co-keynote speakers. The Wife of The Impeached One pulled out when she heard that Palin was going to be there, since she didn’t want to be overwhelmingly upstaged (she said it was because Palin’s presence made it a political event, as if hers didn’t). Since Her Majesty wasn’t going to be there, several high-profile Jewish Democrats demanded that Palin’s invite get pulled, and it was. Why do American Jews support the party that refuses to support Israel? They’d rather go soft on I’minajihad than let a Republican blast his Holocaust denying butt. They fear Sarah more than Iran

Governor Palin did release the text of the speech she would have given to the group. We will defeat the Mad Mullahs No, she doesn’t say that. Those are The Crawfish’s words.

One of our great action heroes, and now a columnist, has weighed in on the dissatisfaction that Americans are feeling with their current government and the candidates being foisted upon us. The Crawfish agrees with him. Roundhouse kick THIS

The Soviet invasion of Georgia actually commenced before the Georgian Army began its crackdown on the breakaway provinces, according to intercepted cell phone calls. More proof that it was all a set-up by Mr. KGB, Vlad “The Impaler of Georgia” Putin. BUSTED

The Soviet Union is sending a cruiser and a destroyer to exercise with the Venezuelan Navy. It took them a couple of weeks to find TWO ships that might be able to make it that far without fleet tug support. Did they fill the hulls with ping pong balls for added buoyancy? Can they make it that far?

Completely non-PC alert! There is something absolutely wrong about this story. Construction workers complained? She’s either a whale or FUGLY! She ain’t cute

The Democratic candidate for US Senate in Minnesota, washed up comedian and founder of the failed Air America, Al Franken, has now been busted suggesting anti-Republican skits for “Saturday Night Live” and they aren’t as funny as the fact that he believes himself to be Senate-worthy. There’s a reason Air America FAILED

Speaking of lame humor from “SNL” (is there any other kind of humor there since the “Not Ready For Prime Time Players” left the show?), now they’re making jokes about Todd Palin having sex with his daughters. That’s just disgusting and over the line. Anything for a laugh from liberals and NBC

Some of the folks that have property, or HAD property, where Hurricane Ike hit might lose rights to their land and beach houses. When this law was passed, the state legislature was solidly Democratic, but watch the current (GOP-led) legislature and Governor Rick Perry (Republican) get blamed when the land gets confiscated. Sorry but it sucks to be them

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I battled a lot of turmoil during deployment. It was a constant struggle within my own heart to hold back when I heard the war being talked about. I have finally decided to air my grievances. This is not going to a long and nasty note where I drop names (like I even know any!), and expose scandals. No, this is just a mother who still feels the sting, and a little battered and bruised from the battle on the home front. I need to find a way to collect these thoughts, air them out, and put them away.

I am not harboring resentment, nor is this some long and old anger that needs to be put to rest. This is more of a collective pain. This is something that hurts me, personally, but it also hurts me because I know it hurts other parents and spouses of Veterans. What I am talking about are comments and remarks that belittle and mock the sacrifices of our Troops.

I have never in my own life witnessed an event that hails so many experts. Virtually everyone in the world has their opinion on the Iraq war, from the newborn to the almost dead — and it is almost never expressed as an opinion. It is usually expressed as fact. I have nothing against opposing view points. I think that practicing a form of discourse around vital topics where we express an antithesis to a movement is a very powerful and wonderful thing to witness. We are created to think critically of this world we are blessed with. We are not stagnant, inanimate, insensate beings, but rather we are dynamic, vivid and passionate. I do not begrudge any one’s opinion in the sense that I respect their right to own it. I do begrudge insensitivity and careless words that hurt those who are hurting — just because someone has the right to do something doesn’t mean that it is always beneficial.

Does Mr. Public have the right to call our troops “baby killers?” Yes, folks that slur is being used in this war too. Of course Mr. Public has the right to say things that are misinformed and downright erroneous, but it is not beneficial. Does Mrs. Public have the right to say that our soldiers are nothing more than “cannon fodder?” Yes, and my answer is the same. What Mr. and Mrs. Public may or may not know is when those words, or words like them, hit the ears of a Vet’s family it hurts. It is hateful, it is hurtful, and it is cruel. It is not only non-beneficial, but it is also down right destructive.

I am painfully aware of what my son has given up to fight in this war. He did not ask for this war, but he answered the call for this Country. He answered the call so that we could have our ideas and have the freedom to express them without the fear of anyone silencing us. He went to war to fight terrorism, and you know what — that is precisely what he is doing.

He is 23 years old. The day he turned 21 he was in the field for his AIT in Infantry. He did not have a wonderful birthday bash with all of his friends. He did not get to order his first beer. He did not get cake, presents and goodies. He got an MRE, a rainy day, and no sleep before a very long ruck march. The day he turned 22 he landed in Germany on his way to Kuwait. I am proud of him, and I very proud of his attitude while making these sacrifices. It’s his job, and he does it well.

He will never again hit those milestones in his life. When he came home from war, he was older than his civilian counter-parts. He was older emotionally, mentally and physically. He has gone without sleep when they were sleeping in, he has gone without a proper meal when they were grabbing a burger in a drive-thru, he has used night vision, when they have been watching movies with friends, and the list goes on and on. It is amazing to me how much of life’s pleasures I had taken for granted. Until Mike was deployed I seriously never thought about our Troops when I was sitting down to a hot meal in my home… now my prayers are longer, deeper and they are for thousands instead of just for my family.

I am not pointing all of this out for sympathy. My son joined a volunteer Army of his own free will and his own accord. He is a bright young man with a very strong will. I am pointing this out because as a parent there is nothing harder than to watch the son or daughter you raised, nurtured and love go off to battle and then feel as if there are those who would use their sacrifice as a soap box for their own agenda. My son’s back has enough weight on it without it being used to prop up somebody’s opinions!

I would appreciate it if I didn’t have hear comments like “we can never win the war in Iraq,” “our soldiers are fighting for nothing,” “they are nothing more than cannon fodder… etc.” My son is not cannon fodder, thank you very much. “The troops” may be simply a talking point for some over lunch, but they have names, they have wives or husbands, they have mothers, daughters, sons and fathers. They deserve to be treated with some common decency.

Now, in closing let me say that I have done a good job holding my tongue — I try to be very diplomatic when I am dealing with stuff like this. I do believe very much that “a gentle word turns away wrath.” I am not encouraging people to start beating protesters over the head with their own signs (no, I am not… I promise!), but can we not learn to show just a shred of decency to one another?

Can we not try and offer a word that expresses our opinions on matters without dragging our troops through the mud and hurting their families with careless words? We can. It’s a matter of tact and a matter of decency. There’s a stark contrast between kindness and cruelty.

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A Run to Remember
Story by Lance Cpl. Casey Jones
Posted on 09.20.2008 at 01:20AM
By Lance Cpl. Casey Jones
Regimental Combat Team 1
Excerpt

RAMADI, Iraq - The Marines and sailors of 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, came together to honor and remember service members killed during Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, Aug. 24, 2008. Read the rest of this entry »

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This past week was spent primarily mowing the property my boss owns. I was near a Starbucks and during the two days I was out there I took note of all of the traffic they had. This is definitely one busy store. The SUVs were all over the place. It was as if there was no gasoline issues and that the prices of gas had no effect on these people. I guess if you can afford to drive a Hummer or Escalade you can afford to gas it up and put high end coffee in your own tank.

I must admit that it was tempting to be so close to the coffee shop. I too fell victim to it’s allure. How can one resist it’s fancy coffee? The delicious smells as one walks in. The progressive and earthy way in which they present themselves? I know I couldn’t. I parked my mower. I walked into the store like a woman possessed and ordered my favorite coffee concoction. I am addicted to the White Chocolate Mocha with skim milk and cream on top. What the heck! I have to live a little! I too have an SUV. I am a part of that crowd right? Never mind that my Jeep is a ‘99 and has over 116,000 miles on it. I still belong! I drank that coffee as if it was the best thing in the world. I then finished my mowing for the day with a smile on my face and more zip in my motor!

The gas situation in Tennessee is a very annoying. I have curtailed much of my driving. Fortunately my boss filled my Jeep for me as it was used to get to the job site and conduct my job. It was at $4.19/gal as of Sunday. In Nashville they have been running out of gas as people are panic buying. Many are topping off their tanks without a real need. They were told not to do this but of course they didn’t listen. There were several cases of road rage and gas rage as well. I was scheduled to go to the Nashville VA for an MRI. I cancelled and will go on a later date. They agreed at the MRI clinic to work me in next Saturday. The MRI techs told me that it was nuts there over gas. Apparently the pipeline that runs to this area is still damaged due to the hurricane.

I am beginning to doubt that gas will ever go down to acceptable price levels. We are happy when it is $3.47/gal. We feel we are getting a bargain. That’s pretty sad isn’t it? The politicians talk about alternative fuels, drilling in ANWAR ,off shore drilling and hybrid cars but that is all they do. Talk is cheap, gas isn’t. I couldn’t afford to buy one let alone get approved for a new hybrid at this point anyway. Who needs the debt?

I have to consider my food options each week due to the rising cost of fuel. My son and I don’t go out or participate in many activities as it would cost more in gas than I could afford and if I were to sign him up for sports I would be running around to the fields for practice and games. Just not feasable at this point. How unfair to him. He is a natural athlete and somehow I have to find a way to get him into these activities without breaking the bank. For now all things are on hold. We have to get through the winter. I know I am not alone. Many of us are going to have to hunker down and go without some of the luxuries of life. It is going to be an interesting if not a scarey time for some of us. Not sure what the future holds but that is a part of the fun. I am always up for an adventure. Going without can be very humbling. I know. I do. More people need to be humbled from what I can see.

Regardless of who is elected President in November, we are in for a rough ride. It has already begun. We are still in denial as individuals and as a country. I saw that last week as people were getting hopped up on caffeine and gassing up their high end SUVs. People are still not getting it. The economy has taken on a life of it’s own. Large companies have failed. The government has taken over and now we as taxpayers have to pick up the slack. When it hits, it will hit hard. This is only the beginning.

I have said it before and I will say it again. Don’t live off credit. You can see the writing on the wall very clearly at this point. It will come back to bite you in the backside.

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In light of this weeks devastating economic news and due to the fact Doug’s Money matters has been making these predictions accurately since 1993 we are reprinting a previous blog that shows how accurate this blog has been.

PLEASE DO NOT WAIT! YOUR FINANCIAL FUTURE HANGS IN THE BALANCE!

The Pending Economic Disaster.
Posted in: Doug’s Money Matters — JoeMoneyMatters @ 5:55 am Edit This
Fixing the money thing!

We have tackled many topics regarding your personal finances, however it’s time we tackled the pending financial disaster in America.

Today the stock market fell once again. Sound familiar?

Remember 2000 to 2003?

The stock market has fallen more than 2000 points since the first of the year, Is this just another minor market correction?

Why are the cost of goods going up at an alarming rate? Why are there so many forclosures on new homes? Why with so little unemployment are we seeing the kind of economic indicators we saw during the Carter administration? Should I be alarmed? What can I do to protect myself from a financial disaster if one should occur.

Doug intends to tackle these issues in this blog.

Lets look at some of the factors that have contributed to the unsettling times we are facing.

High national debt,the highest in history. High personal debt, also the highest in history. The blog host shows stastistics on his website that are alarming regarding personal debt and national debt.

Someone has to pay the piper.

Home forclosures are at a national record. In my sons 4 year old new home subdivision 1 out of every 4 houses is abandoned, in forclosure or severely behind on their payments.

Why?

Builders, bankers, realtors and their lobbies influenced the Government to modify lending rules several years ago to keep the housing boom going. The lenders were able to get people approved for loans that 2 0r 3 years earlier they would not have approved.

Buyers with considerable credit challenges were approved and the builders and realtors were thrilled. They could now get people in homes that they would not have qualified for before.

The problem comes in that the buyers were already in excessive debt and we just added hundreds of thousands to the burden. When you buy a new home the real estate taxes are based on the LAND only the first tax year.The second year the payment including taxes and insurance went up considerably. The third year,the loans were not fixed interest and the interest went up and so did the payment.

Buyers who were struggling to make the payment initially now were unable to make them at all.Thus forclosures! In many new home subdivisions people are just walking away from the home in the middle if the night.

The housing and mortgage industries are in a panic.The stock market is affected and so on and so forth.

Oh what tangled webs we weave in an effort to deceive!

THE STOCK MARKET

In 1960 only 2% of Americans owned stocks.

Then came the Mutual fund!

Today most Americans have Mutual funds through employer retirement plans like 401k’s, 403b’s, 457’s, IRA’s, and Roth IRA’s.

What does that mean?

The stock market is vastly overinflated.

Before mutual funds, the only people who owned stocks were people of means who were able to pay someone to watch, move, buy and sell on their behalf continuously.

Today the American people have been lied to by the brokers and agents who sell these mutual funds at big commissions and continued (Trail commissions ) even when the market goes down!

When the experts sell the mutual fund, owners are told to buy because the market is so good. When the market is low and the experts know what and when to buy the mutual fund brokers say again, buy now because the funds are a good value.

In other words, no matter what is happening they are giving you the exact same advice.

Sound a bit suspicious to you?

When in 2000 -2003 the market began it’s largest loss in history. The advice was exactly the same. It will come back, don’t worry!

Well, they were right! The market did come back. Over all, the average holder of mutual funds and stocks had vertually NO GAIN for 7 years!

How often can you afford those kind of setbacks?

Now, with the largest one week loss in the history of the stock market earlier this year and continued losses for thr first 9 months what do you suppose the advice of the mutual fund dealer is? Same old, Same old!

Why are we not suprised? They don’t want to give up those hefty commissions.

The stock market is more volatile than ever in it’s history and we predict a much longer and much larger loss than in 2000 -2003 over the next several years.

Can you afford it again?

What then should we do?

Lets start by using some of the common sense that our Government, Realtors, Builders , Bankers and Investment brokers seemed to have left on the Table of the BIG COMMISSION!

Start by developing an aggressive strategy to pay off all consumer debt!

First, make sure you have at least $2,000.00 in the savings accounts for immediate emergencies.

Then attack the debts one at a time starting with the highest intrest rate and going down.

Don’t add a little to each debt. Take all the extra money you can free up monthly and attack them one at a time!

Stop paying into retirement plans and eliminate consumer debt first.

That flies in the face of conventional wisdom due to the employers contribution.

Don’t let greed destroy you! Pay off the debt!!!

If a major economic downturn, recession or worse happens you will be on top and not at the bottom!

The choice is yours!

You can keep on doing the same thing you are doing now in whch case if the above
You can keep on doing the same thing you are doing now in whch case if the above happens you will be destroyed financially.

Or you can do something different.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results.

Are you willing to bet we are wrong?

Doug’s Money Matters is a section of the VAJoe Blog to ask for quick financial tips and advice from an expert with more than 20 years experience in counseling families to live without debt and to reach there financial potential. Please leave comments on this Blog. You can learn more about the Money Matters advisor at his website. The posts and comments by JoeMoneyMatters reflect his two decades of financial counseling experience. VAJoe.com does not endorse any financial strategies, but offers this blog as a service to its site members for discussion.

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