28 January, 2004 - 12:14 p.m.
Shoveled snow at my house AND for 3 of the neighbors. I am sore. Very , very sore.
Scrolls are coming along nicely. Yippy-skippy! It does feel good to be productive.
I had thought to travel this weekend and see people but think instead that home, handicrafts and local friends will win out.
Other thoughts............
You may not like his politics but Rush hit this one on target 2X.
Love him or loath him, he nailed this one right on the head............
By Rush Limbaugh:
I think the vast differences in compensation between victims of the
September 11 casualty and those who die serving the country in Uniform are
profound. No one is really talking about it either, because you just don't
criticize anything having to do with September 11. Well, I just can't let
the numbers pass by because it says something really disturbing about the
entitlement mentality of this country. If you lost a family member in the
September 11 attack, you're going to get an average of $1,185,000. The range
is a minimum guarantee of $250,000, all the way up to $4.7 million.
If you are a surviving family member of an American soldier killed in
action, the first check you get is a $6,000 direct death benefit, half of
which is taxable. Next, you get $1,750 for burial costs. If you are the
surviving spouse, you get $833 a month until you remarry. And there's a
payment of $211 per month for each child under 18. When the child hits 18,
those payments come to a screeching halt.
Keep in mind that some of the people who are getting an average of $1.185
million up to $4.7 million are complaining that it's not enough. Their
deaths were tragic, but for most, they were simply in the wrong place at the
wrong time. Soldiers put themselves in harms way FOR ALL OF US, and they and
their families know the dangers.
We also learned over the weekend that some of the victims ms from the
Oklahoma City bombing have started an organization asking for the same deal
that the September 11 families are getting. In addition to that, some of the
families of those bombed in the embassies are now asking for compensation as
well.
You see where this is going, don't you? Folks, this is part and parcel of
over 50 years of entitlement politics in this country. It's just really sad.
Every time a pay raise comes up for the military, they usually receive next
to nothing of a raise. Now the green machine is in combat in the Middle East
while their families have to survive on food stamps and live in low-rent
housing. Make sense?
However, our own U.S. Congress just voted themselves a raise, and many of
you don't know that they only have to be in Congress one time to receive a
pension that is more than $15,000 per month, and most are now equal to being
millionaires plus. They also do not receive Social Security on retirement
because they didn't have to p ay into the system.
If some of the military people stay in for 20 years and get out as an E-7,
you may receive a pension of $1,000 per month, and the very people who
placed you in harm's way receive a pension of $15,000 per month. I would
like to see our elected officials pick up a weapon and join ranks before
they start cutting out benefits and lowering pay for our sons and daughters
who are now fighting.
"When do we finally do something about this?" If this doesn't seem fair to
you, it is time to forward this to as many people as you can. If you're
interested there is more........
This must be a campaign issue in 2004. Keep it going. SOCIAL SECURITY:
(This is worth the read. It's short and to the point.)
Perhaps we are asking the wrong questions during election years. Our
Senators and Congressmen do not pay into Social Security. Many years ago
they voted-in their own benefit plan. In more recent years, no
congressperson has felt the need to change it. For all practical purposes
their plan works like this:
When they retire, they continue to draw the same pay until they die,
except it may increase from time to time for cost of living adjustments. For
example, former Senator Byrd and Congressman White and their wives may
expect to draw $7,800,000 - that's Seven Million, Eight Hundred Thousand),
with their wives drawing $275,000.00 during the last years of their lives.
This is calculated on an average life span for each.
Their cost for this excellent plan is $00.00. These little perks they
voted for themselves is free to them. You and I pick up the tab for this
plan.
The funds for this fine retirement plan come directly from the General
Fund--our tax dollars at work! From our own Social Security Plan, which you
and I pay (or have paid) into -- every payday until we retire (which amount
is matched by our employer) --we can expect to get an average $1,000 per
month after retirement. Or, in otherwords, we would have to collect our
average of $1,000 monthly benefits for 68 years and one month to equal
Senator Bill Bradley's benefits!
Social Security could be very good if only one small change were made. And
that change would be to jerk the Golden Fleece Retirement Plan from under
the Senators and Congressmen. Put them into the Social Security plan with
the rest of us and then watch how fast they would fix it.
If enough people receive this, maybe a seed of awareness will be planted
and maybe good changes will evolve. WE, each one of us ... can make a
difference.
How many people can YOU send this to?
�
�
