Governments should be afraid of their People

image from blingcheese

A couple nights ago I watched V for Vendetta with my husband.

It was...interesting.
I enjoyed the dialogue and the plentiful alliteration...which just appeals to me. Words are fun.

My favorite quote from the movie goes something like:

People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.

I totally agree. It is also ... perhaps not a coincidence that we are dealing with the very annals of government moronic, inefficient, multi-layered bureaucracy which doesn't know what the other hand is doing.

We had to pay a HUMONGOUS wad of dough for our taxes this year... it was insane. It was not easy. It physically hurt. But we paid. And the check cleared from our account, way back in April.

The IRS started mailing us letters in October to say we had not paid our taxes. Due to their records, they would also be adding additional fees. Fortunately for us... we have records that show that indeed we did pay, on-time, and that they cleared the damn check.

My husband has had to spend precious time dealing with the morons that are the tax board to figure their own administrative problems out. We did our end of it. We paid our bill. The check cleared. It was stamped and noted with their own codes.

BUT... our exalted government is making it our problem - we have to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that we did indeed pay it, even though they can't figure out where it is, or what codes they used... so they continue to waste precious tax dollars trying to find money, that's already been sitting or wasted in their gov't coffers.

According to conversations my husband has had with the people in this call-center... which are all locating money they can't locate. 50% of the money that comes in... the gov't can't locate... so they spend tax dollars (via phone, mail, manpower) trying to find the tax dollars... is this funny yet? I think my head is going to explode from the sheer lunacy of it all...

Just let me repeat that so I can see it again... the government is spending our tax dollars, to try and find our tax dollars.....

*queue insane, unstoppable crazy laughter*

Does this strike anyone as completely, utterly inane? Imbecilic? Idiotic...

In the midst of this constant back-and-forth with the IRS I received certified mail for my husband and myself, from the tax morons to state that if we don't pay the inflated tax money they can't locate, we'll start having levies against our income...etc...

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

WHY ARE WE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE TAX/GOV'T COMPLETE LACK OF INTELLIGENCE?????

It is SAD that as citizens we have to FEAR our gov't and their lackeys and inefficient excuses for departments... it really ought to be the other way around.

We are responsible, we paid our taxes. We paid them on-time.

SCREW-YOU UNCLE SAM.

image from philip coppens

Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof.

- V to Mr. Creedy

My father was a writer. You would've liked him. He used to say that artists use lies to tell the truth, while politicians use them to cover the truth up.

- Evey to V

ps... and there are people who want more of this kind of government???! Insanity!

BUSTED

... if Dooced is getting fired for blogging about your job...what is the equivalent for getting called into the Bishop's office, on your wedding anniversary, for tweeting 140 characters?

Maybe I should give a prize out to someone who comes up with the best label.

Ready.Set.Go.

Is your mind reeling. Perhaps baffled? Mine is. Mostly it's also flummoxed. I like that word... it's fun to say.

Apparently some (I am told it is more than one) people in my ward are offended by my tweets and have ANONYMOUSLY told the Bishop - who asked me to ...in the future, censor myself and instead go speak to him when I'm frustrated.

Does anyone else think our busy Bishop has better things to do?

and Dang... if I really did that... they'd have to dedicate a Bishop just for me. I am female. I have hormones... just ask my hubby.

So here I am... unable to face my accusers... or offendees because it's "confidential".


Well... I've got a tagline for 2011... check it.




ps.

Dude... seriously, if you do not like me or what I say/tweet & have the courage to talk behind my back, in presumably a group setting as there were "more than one", but not to me ...here's a tip. How about you just stop cyber-stalking me? Just a helpful thought. Merci!

Diagnosis

It's official.

The self-diagnosis is:



Seasonal grumpiness, with a dash of monthly grumpiness, and don't piss me off when I am, or am not grumpy, for there will be danger to be had.


A week of rain...storming... bleakness... heaven help me.

In the blink of an eye

Today was a normal day.

I went to cardio and yoga.

Then we had a run-in and disappointment with Stanley Steemer. We told them to go home because they started right off the bat with "I don't guarantee I can get any spots out." Then tried to back-track by saying ... "well, that would be extra". I categorize it all as plain lazy.

My hubby had an errand to run for the upcoming Stake Youth Standards Fireside, and I had some to run for an incoming Beehive we get to kidnap out of Primary on Sunday.

After our errands we went to a local BBQ spot we'd never tried. It was scrump-diddly-upmtious. I love BBQ, pulled pork, BBQ baked beans... mmmm.

On our way home we were blissful.

Then about 0.5 or 0.8 miles from our exit, a small black integra about two, three cars in front of us in the far right lane swerved over to the right towards the drop-off embankment, then sprinted so fast over to the far left lane hitting two SUVs. The second SUV flipped over as the integra then spun out of control back across three lanes into a giant lamp post, which came crashing down in front of us.

I was so shocked I didn't even make a sound.

The integra then dived down the embankment into the field below.

My husband kept our car in control the entire time, while I sat stunned, holding my breath.

Instantly several things happened at once, people streamed out of their cars to help the turned-over SUV driver and the other car. My husband told me to call 911, and quickly went out to see if anyone needed help.

The 911 operator had to tell me to calm down multiple times as I tried to get the information out as fast as possible. I don't know why, but I started feeling emotional... I cry a lot these days.

Soon we saw a young guy (maybe a father) and a little boy, maybe 9-10 yrs climbing out of the embankment from their integra.

Knowing the Firemen were on their way my husband navigated us out of the wreckage. I saw the woman in the toppled, totaled SUV on the side of the road being tended to by passersby... they even had her neck in a brace. There was blood. We said a family prayer and are hoping that everyone is safe.

I can't help but wonder - what happened? Did the guy in the integra over-compensate? Was he not paying attention? (probably) Did a tire blow out?

As we drove away I saw the amount of wreckage strewn across the freeway, and couldn't believe that it only took mere seconds for all of this happen in front of us.

I am so grateful we weren't in this accident. I am so grateful my husband noticed the integra getting squirrely in front of us and backed off the gas. I am so grateful for cell phones that allow us to call for help. I am so grateful for people who see tragedy and jump to aide those in peril.

I am just so grateful my family and I are safe... time to snuggle closer tonight...and remember how in just a blink of an eye how fragile, and fleeting life is.

Extracting my wisdom

... Teeth.

Three of them.

Tomorrow.

I'm terrified.

The only stories I hear are about pain, lot's of pain. Sockets... and pain...giant chipmunk cheeks. OH... AND PAIN. And... I hate medications...drugs... going under. Yeah... so... does anyone have any good stories? If you have horror ones... feel free to share those too... (my brother before his mission had his out... he threw up blood after he got home...you wonder why I'm terrified?) because... at least I've been forewarned.

Does it help that my wisdom teeth erupted after I got pregnant with K...back in 2004? Will it be easier... or does the fact that I'm older... you know... everything goes down hill after you're 30...

Flying on Rhetoric

My friend Jon shared this article from the Economist.com in google reader. Jon finds so many great articles that I find interesting.

This one here is something that I've been thinking for a long time. The delusion of a candidate with no record of change - claiming that he can change... change what? how? on what basis? It seems the masses want to drink the delusion potion. The fact is ... this guy is like every other politician in DC. To dress him up and blow smoke in our faces to fool us into thinking otherwise is politics at work. For those who are infected by spin doctors - wow.

Here's a favorite passage from the article:

The Obama that emerges from its pages is not, Mr Freddoso says, “a bad person. It’s just that he’s like all the rest of them. Not a reformer. Not a Messiah. Just like all the rest of them in Washington.” And the author makes a fairly compelling case that this is so. The best part of the book concentrates on Mr Obama’s record in Chicago, his home town and the place from which he was elected to the Illinois state Senate in 1996, before moving to the United States Senate in 2004. The book lays out in detail how this period began in a way that should shock some of Mr Obama’s supporters: he won the Democratic nomination for his Illinois seat by getting a team of lawyers to throw all the other candidates off the ballot on various technicalities. One of those he threw off was a veteran black politician, a woman who helped him get started in politics in the first place.

My husband and I often talk about how Obama came to rise in the Democratic Party. I always figured Obama was someone that would toe the party line and was someone they could imprint on ... like a dry erase board. Someone who would be easily controlled and dressed up by the lunatic Pelosi's of the world. This article pretty much says what I'd been thinking.

Circle of life...

This article cracks me up... especially the end:

The communal pool also presented its own problem: At times the fish would flock to the feet of an individual with a surplus of dead skin, leaving others with a dearth of fish.

"It would sometimes be embarrassing for them but it was also really hilarious," Ho said.

Is anyone else nervous?

...about our presidential election?

I'm voting for whomever most closely resembles someone who will lower, or at very least not increase taxes. We don't need to be paying more with our economy the way it is... whoever does promise to raise taxes will also decimate our stocks. I'm tired of paying higher prices everywhere - the fact that our relief society is freaking out about food storage... bodes poorly for our upcoming election.

I'm voting for whomever wants less gov't involvement in my life. I have never seen any program with gov't leadership that was run efficiently or without waste. Gov't leadership is an oxymoron.

I want to vote for someone who isn't crazy angry... but truly hopeful and positive. I hate people who say they're hopeful but act angry.

I want someone who still values the family, and not some made-up confusion of family. I want someone who understands that letting parents teach values is more effective than having public schools indoctrinate my kids.

I want someone who doesn't speak just pretty words, and paint "a perfect picture". I want someone who has real solutions - rather than just picking apart the opponents position. I want someone who doesn't just say, "we need change" but lays out practically, how that change will happen. Just saying it...doesn't make it so. I want someone with experience, a track record, a smart business sense of how to handle and be frugal with our money.

In fact, if someone were to tell me - hey - it's going to be tight for the first couple years... but once we clean house... we'll get to where we need to be...I'd say, thank you for being real.

I want someone who doesn't constantly chant "tax the wealthy" as if we live in Robin Hood's time. I'm so tired of that. I want someone who recognizes that we already pay too much in taxes... there shouldn't be a penalty for earning an education and getting paid well in return. We should be taxed fairly. I'm all for a flat tax... like tithing (go ahead take 10%... oh wait - the gov't would never do that - they want t o take 30%+ of everything we make) or based on what we put in... that's how much we put out... I'm tired of unbalanced taxing.

I want someone who will take a stand against courts acting like a monarchy... I'm really tired of it. It's getting old.

And... unlike most people - I will not vote for anyone just to make a historical statement. That... that is irresponsible.

I don't know if there is anyone who fits this bill... all I know is ... I'm worried.