Tuesday, January 22, 2008
The Economy
I have one month before I start truck driving school. With the way the economy is going I am anxious about the future.
I have been listing to some the right wing radio talk shows and they say that the democrats are causing this problem by predicting it. Give me a break! The media reporting the slowing down of the economy probable helps slow it down. The stock market is very much based on perception and therefore the reporting of it contributes to the panic. But the bad economy can not be blamed on the media alone. If we were in a strong economy then they would not have the bad news to report. The fact lies in that when we are paying $3.00 plus a gallon for gas the money spent for fuel is not used to purchase products and services that fuel the economy. It is inevitable that something has to give. If your income is in the upper 6 figures then it may not have the same affect on your lifestyle. But when a family is living paycheck to paycheck as many Americans are, then spending has to be cut back. It hasn’t been the driving. We still need to drive to work and do many of the things that we have become accustom to. I am afraid that we are in for some hard times. I hope that I am wrong and that something positive will happen before we get a snowball affect in out economy.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
Cashless Restaurant
Monday January 21, 2008
Cashless Restaurant
The first cashless restaurant that I am aware of is reopening this week. After a robber shot and killed one of the employees the restaurant is no longer accepting cash. I believe that is only the beginning of many to follow. With events such as this it is only a matter of time before we will be a complete cashless sociality. Also we have the technology and our acceptance of the use of credit and debit cards we are at a place in our history where it becomes a practical matter to have a cashless sociality. There are a lot of arguments for it. It can control robberies such as this, control illegal drugs, help control terrorists, and eliminate the underground economy that no taxes are being paid on. No one is going to stick you up and rob you of your debit card; or maybe they will. But with resent events enacted such as the Real ID Act we can start having our information implanted. I personally don’t like what is happening. If you believe in the mark of the beast or big brother then you have cause to be concerned. A few events can quickly put us there.
To a lighter note: I lost another 5 lbs this week. Two weeks on the diet and I have lost 10 lbs. Current weight 205.
Cashless Restaurant
The first cashless restaurant that I am aware of is reopening this week. After a robber shot and killed one of the employees the restaurant is no longer accepting cash. I believe that is only the beginning of many to follow. With events such as this it is only a matter of time before we will be a complete cashless sociality. Also we have the technology and our acceptance of the use of credit and debit cards we are at a place in our history where it becomes a practical matter to have a cashless sociality. There are a lot of arguments for it. It can control robberies such as this, control illegal drugs, help control terrorists, and eliminate the underground economy that no taxes are being paid on. No one is going to stick you up and rob you of your debit card; or maybe they will. But with resent events enacted such as the Real ID Act we can start having our information implanted. I personally don’t like what is happening. If you believe in the mark of the beast or big brother then you have cause to be concerned. A few events can quickly put us there.
To a lighter note: I lost another 5 lbs this week. Two weeks on the diet and I have lost 10 lbs. Current weight 205.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Undocumented Workers
Friday, January 18, 2008
Undocumented Workers
Our politicians are referring to the illegal aliens as undocumented workers. Is that the same as calling a drug dealer an unlicensed pharmacist? I believe that if someone comes illegally into this country then he should be treated as a criminal and be deported.
Today was very slow at work. None of our Mexicans worked today. We can not get much slower and stay in business.
Undocumented Workers
Our politicians are referring to the illegal aliens as undocumented workers. Is that the same as calling a drug dealer an unlicensed pharmacist? I believe that if someone comes illegally into this country then he should be treated as a criminal and be deported.
Today was very slow at work. None of our Mexicans worked today. We can not get much slower and stay in business.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Hawaii Truck Driving
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Hawaii Truck Driving
A big part of my decision to drive a truck is for the adventure of seeing the country. As I have previously stated that I have visited 44 states and I want to see all 50. So why not let someone else provides the motor home (so I am pulling a trailer with it) and they pay for the fuel and I get paid for my time traveling. It makes prefect sense to me.
I have been checking on truck driving jobs in Hawaii. I have found some jobs that are advertized but not many. I know from past experience that companies in Hawaii don’t like to hire anyone that is not living there. I guess that it is the same with truck driving jobs.
Truck driving in Hawaii sounds exciting. It would be a good way to see the state. Housing there is expensive so I would like to get an OTR job. The problem is you don’t have much distance to drive so I don’t know how practical that is. They are some that are advertized.
If anyone has any knowledge about truck driving in Hawaii I would love to here from you.
Hawaii Truck Driving
A big part of my decision to drive a truck is for the adventure of seeing the country. As I have previously stated that I have visited 44 states and I want to see all 50. So why not let someone else provides the motor home (so I am pulling a trailer with it) and they pay for the fuel and I get paid for my time traveling. It makes prefect sense to me.
I have been checking on truck driving jobs in Hawaii. I have found some jobs that are advertized but not many. I know from past experience that companies in Hawaii don’t like to hire anyone that is not living there. I guess that it is the same with truck driving jobs.
Truck driving in Hawaii sounds exciting. It would be a good way to see the state. Housing there is expensive so I would like to get an OTR job. The problem is you don’t have much distance to drive so I don’t know how practical that is. They are some that are advertized.
If anyone has any knowledge about truck driving in Hawaii I would love to here from you.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Diet Update
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Diet Update
As of Sunday I have been on my diet 1 week. I lost 5 lbs. I am down from 215 down to 210. My goal is 177. I am pleased with the way things have gone so far. It has not been too difficult to stay on it. The weekend was the hardest.
My mood has been really down since Sunday but it has nothing to do with the diet. I am just in a bad mood. I usually don’t stay this way very long. I guess I am a little anxious to get started with the school. I have been waiting for a long time and things here at work are just not going well. We are so slow that something has got to happen soon.
Diet Update
As of Sunday I have been on my diet 1 week. I lost 5 lbs. I am down from 215 down to 210. My goal is 177. I am pleased with the way things have gone so far. It has not been too difficult to stay on it. The weekend was the hardest.
My mood has been really down since Sunday but it has nothing to do with the diet. I am just in a bad mood. I usually don’t stay this way very long. I guess I am a little anxious to get started with the school. I have been waiting for a long time and things here at work are just not going well. We are so slow that something has got to happen soon.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Real ID Bill
Monday, January 14, 2008
Real ID Bill
Real ID in a nutshell is that your driver licenses or ID card will have a chip that can be read your personal information such as your name, addressee, digital picture, birth date, excreta. When you are ready to renew your license be ready to prove who you are. You will need to have your Social Security card, a certified copy of your birth certificate and other documentation to get or renew them no matter how long you have had them.
What you can and can not do without it: Whatever that list may be today it is likely to grow in the “can’t do category” as it gets implemented. It is already more involved than meets the eye. It will be required to board planes and go into federal buildings. That much is being reveled. Not doing these is only a minor inconvenient for many people. But it is also including many state and county buildings, checking accounts, and other financial concerns. If you have open a bank account recently you have learned that it require complying with the Homeland Security Information requirements. Also some states are already indicating on your license whither you have had a DUI charge by putting your picture on sideways. Of course any criminal, drugs, child support, and DUI history will be included. This all may sound okay to you but it is only one step in the government containing complete control.
We are all familiar with the GPS in cell phone and facial recognition software. We are also videotaped several times a day (8 times a day according to some). With the technology we have today by scanning our ID even while it is in our pockets they can now track our movements. Our ID will be put linked the video. Is this being paranoid? No I think so, I believe it is reality. You may think that it will not affect you if you don’t have anything to hide. Great until the government passes something that you don’t agree with and now you are on the wrong side.
Security: There is none. I know that is not what they say but if it is in a computer or on your ID then it is available to people that we would not want to have it. Some examples are we just had 2 lap top computers stolen in Nashville that contained the SS numbers excreta or all the voters in Davidson County (330,000). Next government and financial sites are constancy being compromised. Also I personally know of police in south Florida that runs a business of providing personal information retrieved from the FBI computers to car lots and such to aid in the recovery of property. They charge $150.00 for about 5 minutes of work. It shows your family, friends, SS numbers and more. By chasing your family and friends they can find out a lot about you. It is common practice for bill collectors to call neighbors and get them to go knock on your door or visually check to see if their vehicle is parked in your driveway. Again this may be okay with you but what happens when someone has cut you off in traffic and decides to take it to your home. The security possibilities are endless.
Before you decide that this is being unfounded paranoid, then do your own research on what is happing with this Real ID Act. I don’t believe that we can change it but you can be guaranteed that it will come back to bite you.
Full Text of the Act: http://www.ncsl.org/standcomm/sctran/REAL_ID_Act_of_2005.htm
History of the Real ID Act: http://www.ncsl.org/standcomm/sctran/REAL_ID_Act_of_2005.htm
More to read: http://www.rense.com/general65/realid.htm
http://www.cyberwolfman.com/id_chip_implants.htm
http://www.news.com/Real-ID-creator-Laws-been-misunderstood/2100-7348_3-6179476.html
http://www.news.com/5208-12_3-0.html?forumID=1&threadID=842&messageID=126505&start=0
http://www.michigan.gov/sos/0,1607,7-127-1627_45431-130358--,00.html
http://www.engadget.com/2005/05/07/the-real-id-card-the-machine-readable-you/
http://www.rfid-666.com/
Real ID Bill
Real ID in a nutshell is that your driver licenses or ID card will have a chip that can be read your personal information such as your name, addressee, digital picture, birth date, excreta. When you are ready to renew your license be ready to prove who you are. You will need to have your Social Security card, a certified copy of your birth certificate and other documentation to get or renew them no matter how long you have had them.
What you can and can not do without it: Whatever that list may be today it is likely to grow in the “can’t do category” as it gets implemented. It is already more involved than meets the eye. It will be required to board planes and go into federal buildings. That much is being reveled. Not doing these is only a minor inconvenient for many people. But it is also including many state and county buildings, checking accounts, and other financial concerns. If you have open a bank account recently you have learned that it require complying with the Homeland Security Information requirements. Also some states are already indicating on your license whither you have had a DUI charge by putting your picture on sideways. Of course any criminal, drugs, child support, and DUI history will be included. This all may sound okay to you but it is only one step in the government containing complete control.
We are all familiar with the GPS in cell phone and facial recognition software. We are also videotaped several times a day (8 times a day according to some). With the technology we have today by scanning our ID even while it is in our pockets they can now track our movements. Our ID will be put linked the video. Is this being paranoid? No I think so, I believe it is reality. You may think that it will not affect you if you don’t have anything to hide. Great until the government passes something that you don’t agree with and now you are on the wrong side.
Security: There is none. I know that is not what they say but if it is in a computer or on your ID then it is available to people that we would not want to have it. Some examples are we just had 2 lap top computers stolen in Nashville that contained the SS numbers excreta or all the voters in Davidson County (330,000). Next government and financial sites are constancy being compromised. Also I personally know of police in south Florida that runs a business of providing personal information retrieved from the FBI computers to car lots and such to aid in the recovery of property. They charge $150.00 for about 5 minutes of work. It shows your family, friends, SS numbers and more. By chasing your family and friends they can find out a lot about you. It is common practice for bill collectors to call neighbors and get them to go knock on your door or visually check to see if their vehicle is parked in your driveway. Again this may be okay with you but what happens when someone has cut you off in traffic and decides to take it to your home. The security possibilities are endless.
Before you decide that this is being unfounded paranoid, then do your own research on what is happing with this Real ID Act. I don’t believe that we can change it but you can be guaranteed that it will come back to bite you.
Full Text of the Act: http://www.ncsl.org/standcomm/sctran/REAL_ID_Act_of_2005.htm
History of the Real ID Act: http://www.ncsl.org/standcomm/sctran/REAL_ID_Act_of_2005.htm
More to read: http://www.rense.com/general65/realid.htm
http://www.cyberwolfman.com/id_chip_implants.htm
http://www.news.com/Real-ID-creator-Laws-been-misunderstood/2100-7348_3-6179476.html
http://www.news.com/5208-12_3-0.html?forumID=1&threadID=842&messageID=126505&start=0
http://www.michigan.gov/sos/0,1607,7-127-1627_45431-130358--,00.html
http://www.engadget.com/2005/05/07/the-real-id-card-the-machine-readable-you/
http://www.rfid-666.com/
Friday, January 11, 2008
Tomatoes and Cheap Labor
Friday, January 11, 2008
Tomatoes and Cheap Labor
I didn't write this but if you have been reading my blogs you have an insight into my feeling about illegal immigration. I do agree with what the writer has said here.
CHEAP TOMATOES?
This should make everyone think, be you Democrat, Republican or Independent
From a California school teacher - - -
"As you listen to the news about the student protests over illegal immigration, there are some things that you should be aware of:
I am in charge of the English-as-a-second-language department at a large southern California high school which is designated a Title 1 school, meaning that its students average lower socioeconomic
and income levels.
Most of the schools you are hearing about, South Gate High, Bell Gardens , Huntington Park , etc., where these students are protesting, are also Title 1 schools.
Title 1 schools are on the free breakfast and free lunch program. When I say free breakfast, I'm not talking a glass of milk and roll -- but a full breakfast and cereal bar with fruits and juices that would make a Marriott proud. The waste of this food is monumental, with trays and trays of it being dumped in the trash uneaten. ( OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK )
I estimate that well over 50% of these students are obese or at least moderately overweight. About 75% or more DO have cell phones. The school also provides day care centers for the unwed teenage pregnant girls (some as young as 13) so they can attend class without the inconvenience of having to arrange for babysitters or having family watch their kids. (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)
I was ordered to spend $700,000 on my department or risk losing
funding for the upcoming year even though there was little need for anything; my budget was already substantial. I ended up buying new computers for the computer learning center, half of which, one month later, have been carved with graffiti by the appreciative students who obviously feel humbled and grateful to have a free education in America . (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)
I have had to intervene several times for young and substitute teachers whose classes consist of many illegal immigrant students here in the country less then 3 months who raised so much hell with the female teachers, calling them "Putas" whores and throwing things that the teachers were in tears.
Free medical, free education, free food, day care
etc., etc, etc. Is it any wonder they feel entitled to not only be in this country but to demand rights, privileges and entitlements ?
To those who want to point out how much these illegal immigrants contribute to our society because they LIKE their gardener and housekeeper and they like to pay less for tomatoes: spend some time in the real world of illegal immigration and see the TRUE costs.
Higher insurance, medical facilities closing, higher medical costs, more crime, lower standards of education in our schools, overcrowding, new diseases etc., etc, etc. For me, I'll pay more for tomatoes.
We need to wake up. The guest worker program will be a disaster because we won't have the guts to enforce it . Does anyone in their right mind really think they will voluntarily leave and return?
It does, however, have everything to do with culture: A third-world culture that does not value education, that accepts children getting pregnant and dropping out of school by 15 and that refuses
to assimilate , and an American culture that has become so weak and worried about " politically correctness" that we don't have the will to do anything about it.
If this makes your blood boil, as it did mine, forward this to everyone you know.
CHEAP LABOR? Isn't that what the whole immigration issue is about?
Business doesn't want to pay a decent wage.
Consumers don't want expensive produce.
Government will tell you Americans don't want the jobs.
But the bottom line is cheap labor. The phrase "cheap labor" is a myth , a farce, and a lie. There is no such thing as "cheap labor."
Take, for example, an illegal alien with a wife and five children. He takes a job for
$5.00 or 6.00/hour. At that wage, with six dependents, he pays no income tax, yet at the end of the year, if he files an Income Tax Return, he gets an "earned income credit" of up to $3,200 free.
He qualifies for Section 8 housing and subsidized rent.
He qualifies for food stamps.
He qualifies for free (no deductible, no co-pay) health care.
His children get free breakfasts and lunches
at school.
He requires bilingual teachers and books.
He qualifies for relief from high energy bills.
If they are or become, aged, blind or disabled, they qualify for SSI. Once qualified for SSI they can qualify for Medicare. All of this is at (our) taxpayer's expense .
He doesn't worry about car insurance, life insurance, or homeowners insurance.
Taxpayers provide Spanish language signs, bulletins and printed material.
He and his family receive the equivalent of $20.00 to $30.00/hour in benefits.
Working Americans
are lucky to have $5.00 or $6.00/hour left after paying their bills and his.
The American taxpayers also pay for increased crime, graffiti and trash clean-up.
Cheap labor? YEAH RIGHT! Wake up people!
THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS WE SHOULD BE ADDRESSING TO THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES FOR EITHER PARTY. 'AND WHEN THEY LIE TO US AND DON'T DO AS THEY SAY, WE SHOULD REPLACE THEM AT ONCE!'
WE LIVE IN THE LAND OF THE FREE,
ONLY BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE
Tomatoes and Cheap Labor
I didn't write this but if you have been reading my blogs you have an insight into my feeling about illegal immigration. I do agree with what the writer has said here.
CHEAP TOMATOES?
This should make everyone think, be you Democrat, Republican or Independent
From a California school teacher - - -
"As you listen to the news about the student protests over illegal immigration, there are some things that you should be aware of:
I am in charge of the English-as-a-second-language department at a large southern California high school which is designated a Title 1 school, meaning that its students average lower socioeconomic
and income levels.
Most of the schools you are hearing about, South Gate High, Bell Gardens , Huntington Park , etc., where these students are protesting, are also Title 1 schools.
Title 1 schools are on the free breakfast and free lunch program. When I say free breakfast, I'm not talking a glass of milk and roll -- but a full breakfast and cereal bar with fruits and juices that would make a Marriott proud. The waste of this food is monumental, with trays and trays of it being dumped in the trash uneaten. ( OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK )
I estimate that well over 50% of these students are obese or at least moderately overweight. About 75% or more DO have cell phones. The school also provides day care centers for the unwed teenage pregnant girls (some as young as 13) so they can attend class without the inconvenience of having to arrange for babysitters or having family watch their kids. (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)
I was ordered to spend $700,000 on my department or risk losing
funding for the upcoming year even though there was little need for anything; my budget was already substantial. I ended up buying new computers for the computer learning center, half of which, one month later, have been carved with graffiti by the appreciative students who obviously feel humbled and grateful to have a free education in America . (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)
I have had to intervene several times for young and substitute teachers whose classes consist of many illegal immigrant students here in the country less then 3 months who raised so much hell with the female teachers, calling them "Putas" whores and throwing things that the teachers were in tears.
Free medical, free education, free food, day care
etc., etc, etc. Is it any wonder they feel entitled to not only be in this country but to demand rights, privileges and entitlements ?
To those who want to point out how much these illegal immigrants contribute to our society because they LIKE their gardener and housekeeper and they like to pay less for tomatoes: spend some time in the real world of illegal immigration and see the TRUE costs.
Higher insurance, medical facilities closing, higher medical costs, more crime, lower standards of education in our schools, overcrowding, new diseases etc., etc, etc. For me, I'll pay more for tomatoes.
We need to wake up. The guest worker program will be a disaster because we won't have the guts to enforce it . Does anyone in their right mind really think they will voluntarily leave and return?
It does, however, have everything to do with culture: A third-world culture that does not value education, that accepts children getting pregnant and dropping out of school by 15 and that refuses
to assimilate , and an American culture that has become so weak and worried about " politically correctness" that we don't have the will to do anything about it.
If this makes your blood boil, as it did mine, forward this to everyone you know.
CHEAP LABOR? Isn't that what the whole immigration issue is about?
Business doesn't want to pay a decent wage.
Consumers don't want expensive produce.
Government will tell you Americans don't want the jobs.
But the bottom line is cheap labor. The phrase "cheap labor" is a myth , a farce, and a lie. There is no such thing as "cheap labor."
Take, for example, an illegal alien with a wife and five children. He takes a job for
$5.00 or 6.00/hour. At that wage, with six dependents, he pays no income tax, yet at the end of the year, if he files an Income Tax Return, he gets an "earned income credit" of up to $3,200 free.
He qualifies for Section 8 housing and subsidized rent.
He qualifies for food stamps.
He qualifies for free (no deductible, no co-pay) health care.
His children get free breakfasts and lunches
at school.
He requires bilingual teachers and books.
He qualifies for relief from high energy bills.
If they are or become, aged, blind or disabled, they qualify for SSI. Once qualified for SSI they can qualify for Medicare. All of this is at (our) taxpayer's expense .
He doesn't worry about car insurance, life insurance, or homeowners insurance.
Taxpayers provide Spanish language signs, bulletins and printed material.
He and his family receive the equivalent of $20.00 to $30.00/hour in benefits.
Working Americans
are lucky to have $5.00 or $6.00/hour left after paying their bills and his.
The American taxpayers also pay for increased crime, graffiti and trash clean-up.
Cheap labor? YEAH RIGHT! Wake up people!
THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS WE SHOULD BE ADDRESSING TO THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES FOR EITHER PARTY. 'AND WHEN THEY LIE TO US AND DON'T DO AS THEY SAY, WE SHOULD REPLACE THEM AT ONCE!'
WE LIVE IN THE LAND OF THE FREE,
ONLY BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
