Is it me? Or the generation before...

Have you seen the forward (below) about how different things were back in the day before the age of over-parenting, child-proofing and video games? Sometimes, when older folks are talking about the difference in generations, they mention how ungrateful the "kids today" are or how lazy they are.

If the generation before me was so great, and my generation is messed up, where's the breakdown? Are parents not responsible for their offspring? Who should be keeping the next generation on track?

ANSWER: the adults! Adults are to show an example and encourage success to the next generation. Adults are the ones who made and changed the rules, who created the distractions over the years. Whether it be public education curriculum, television content, or video games, if you survived between 1930 and 1979, you played a role in molding the next generation!

It's time we take responsibility for our actions and look ahead to a brighter future. Talk to the kids in your life, show them responsibility and consequences. Answer their questions and ask some back! Make them think, encourage activity and promote creativity. We are responsible for the next generation.

I miss the good ole days, the innocence and the fireflies.

*email forward*

Those of You Born 1930 - 1979

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!!

First, we survived being born to mothers
Who smoked and/or drank while they were Pregnant.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing,
Tuna from a can and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies

in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-base paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles,
Locks on doors or cabinets and when we rode
Our bikes, we had baseball caps not helmets on our heads.

As infants & children,
We would ride in cars with no car seats,
No booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires

and sometimes no brakes.

Riding in the back of a pick-up truck on a warm day
Was always a special treat.

We drank water
From the garden hose

and not from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends,
From one bottle and no one actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter and bacon.
We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar.
And, we weren't overweight.

WHY?

Because we were
Always outside playing...that's why!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day,
As long as we were back when the
Streetlights came on.

No one was able
To reach us all day. And, we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps
And then ride them down the hill, only to find out
We forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes
a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's and X-boxes.
There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable,
No video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's,

No cell phones,
No personal computers, no Internet and no chat rooms.

WE HAD FRIENDS

And we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth
And there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt,
And the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays,
Made up games with sticks and tennis balls and,
Although we were told it would happen,
We did not put out very many eyes..

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and
Knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just
Walked in and talked to them.

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team.
Those who didn't had to learn to deal
With disappointment.
Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law
Was unheard of.
They actually sided with the law!

These generations have produced some of the best
Risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever.

The past 50 years
Have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility,
and we learned how to deal with it all.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house
with scissors, doesn't it?

Hit the VAT with a bat...

... and send it sailing back across the deep blue sea.

Kill the VAT Tax!
Or the VAT Kills the FairTax!

FairTax Mama to Members of Congress:
Join the Anti-VAT Tax Caucus… or Else!

Dear FairTax,

Stand by for one nasty tax increase idea -- there has been talk in Washington of the “need” for a European-style Value-Added Tax, or VAT Tax.

Let’s make this clear right now: if the VAT Tax is adopted, the FairTax is dead. A VAT has none of the protections of the FairTax for the middle class and poor. It is a secret, hidden tax which the politicians could increase at any time and we would never know. The VAT is a new, added tax; unlike the FairTax, the VAT does not eliminate or even reduce any other tax. It is a very bad form of consumption tax that would drive up the cost of living and make the politicians and special interests even more powerful! Once a VAT is in place, we could never convince the American people to adopt the FairTax. Take your stand right here, right now with your FairTax organization against the proposed new European-style VAT Tax!

Click here right now to authorize your name to be affixed to
Your FairTax Anti-VAT Tax Action Demand

Why is the VAT Tax the Worst Possible Kind of Tax?

Here is how a Value-Added Tax works for the politicians and powerful special interests and against American Taxpayers:

• A tax is added to the cost of every product made in America, as it is produced, at every level of production. So in making a car, the iron ore has a VAT tax added, the steel mill adds a VAT tax. Then the car company adds a VAT tax. And finally the dealer adds a VAT tax and all of this is added to price you pay for your car!
• Now here is the part the politicians really like: you do not see the value added tax! The VAT tax is the perfect politician’s tax. Every time the politicians want to spend, and spend and spend some more, they increase the hidden VAT tax…"just a little." You would never have any idea how much the VAT tax adds to your cost of living!

In Europe the Value-Added Tax started very low. Then, like all taxes, it was increased "just a little." Then a little more… and now the European VAT adds 18% on average more to the cost of everything!

Would the VAT replace some other tax? Of course not! The VAT would hit us after all the taxes and other payroll deductions have already been taken from us. The proposed new European-style Value-Added Tax on all Americans would be in addition to all those taxes we already pay!

Would the VAT reduce any other tax? Of course not! All the taxes - income taxes, death taxes, alternative minimum tax, capital gains taxes, excise taxes, Social Security taxes, employment taxes, the marriage penalty - they will all still be there grabbing at every dime, every penny, every dollar that moves and many that stand still!

The only money that does not get taxed is that which has been taken out of the United States, or where some special interest has made a deal with the power brokers in Congress to avoid taxes.

Do you ever think of moving money out of the United States? NO!

Do you ever get one thin dime of tax relief from the special deals recorded in the 70,320 pages of the current tax code? NO!

Why not? Because the politicians in charge do not care about honest, hard working Americans. The Special Interest lobbyists earn over $1,500,000,000.00 every year—that is 1 Billion, 500 Million dollars a year from banks, insurance companies and others to cut sweet special deals that result in lower taxes for them, and higher taxes for ordinary Americans!

That is why those 70,320 pages of tax code increases by an average of five pages a day, every day, 365 days a year… and not one page, not one paragraph, not one sentence, not even a word for you or any other typical honest American taxpayer. So take action now!

Click here right now to authorize your name to be affixed to
Your FairTax Anti-VAT Tax Action Demand

But of course you know there are those who oppose the FairTax. The special interest lobbyists make $1,500,000,000.00 a year just getting the power brokers to add more pages to the tax code which is already 70,320 pages long. The Members of Congress who serve on the important tax-writing committees very much enjoy all the attention they get from the rich and powerful, the junkets and the sheer power that comes with being able to give wealthy people--along with banks and other financial institutions--huge tax breaks.

These are powerful people who will not give up their power or their big incomes easily. But we can do it. It is in your hands right now. I have signed and returned the Anti-VAT Tax Action Demand, I hope you will too.

Of course drug dealers, black marketers, illegal aliens and tax lobbyists are not going to like the FairTax either.

So, it is so urgent that you take action right here and right now!

Thank you for your support! We can beat the VAT, we will pass the FairTax—and that is a promise!

Urgently yours,

Ken Hoagland
Chairman, FairTax National Victory Campaign

Click here right now to authorize your name to be affixed to
Your FairTax Anti-VAT Tax Action Demand.

Finance reform hits home

So, you don't think this financial reform deal is going to hit the bank account of average Joe & average Jane? Check out this letter from USAA, the nation's largest financial institution serving the military and their families.

Dear Mr. Bouterse: Rarely in our 87-year history have we turned to USAA members to weigh in with elected representatives on an issue of great importance. But, we are now. The U.S. Senate currently is considering legislation (S.3217) that would impose new rules on the nation's financial services industry, including USAA. As the leading provider of financial services to America's military community, USAA supports financial services reform. However, the current Senate bill would disproportionally impact USAA because we are a unique and fully integrated association. USAA is not like the banks and other companies that helped bring down our economy, and we never took a penny of TARP funds. We do not engage in the harmful practices this legislation seeks to resolve. If unchanged, the bill would: Prevent USAA from managing the association's portfolio as we have for the past 87 years. Jeopardize our ability to continue offering many of our competitive products. Limit our ability to return money to our members. Last year, USAA returned $1.2 billion to our members in the form of distributions, dividends, and bank rebates and rewards.* So, we are asking all USAA members and employees to urge their U.S. senators to amend a portion of the bill, known as the "Volcker Rule," to eliminate its effect on a company like USAA. Please know that this legislation does not impact individual member's investments. Regardless of the outcome of the legislation, USAA will remain a unique and enduring association that's all about you — the military and their families. Please take action on this matter by immediately contacting your U.S. senator. You may click here to access a special website that will enable you to quickly send an e-mail message to your senator. Thank you for your help and support, Josue (Joe) Robles Jr. Major General, USA (Ret.) President and CEO

Thanks to Halifax Health - Port Orange

Jake in early April shooting hoops atop the step stool.

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon! We enjoyed riding our bicycles to Turtle Day at the Marine Science Center then to Winterhaven Park to meet some friends on the beach.

Jake had aroused from his after-nap with a second wind. He was shooting hoops in the driveway atop the kitchen stool, a daily event, with Mason (daddy & husband). I was at the bottom of the driveway chatting with a neighbor about the Holly Hill Chamber 50th anniversary party that evening when a heard a SCREAM!!

Mason was holding Jake and blood was all over his white t-shirt. Jake's thumbnail had been ripped out by its root and was hanging on by the topical nerves and skin. In a split second, Jake had tried exiting the stool in a funky direction, the stool slipped from the concrete onto some dirt, his head hit the house and his thumb was wrecked.

We wrapped it up in a washcloth, grabbed our insurance card, buckled him into the car seat and headed to the emergency room. For the first time since moving to Ponce Inlet 3 years ago, we understood how difficult it could be to get out when in an emergency - hundreds of people were leaving from Turtle Day & the Shrimp Festival at Inlet Harbor. Traffic out of Ponce and over the bridge was gruesome!

Within 30 minutes from the accident, we entered the Halifax Health Medical Center - Port Orange ER. Admissions was efficient, friendly and empathetic to Jake's pain. His vitals were taken and we immediately moved to a private room. In less than an hour and a half, Jake had been checked Dr. Robert Mathis, received an IV, had x-rays and was being prepped for the procedure. Jake was sedated with ketamine while several nurses assisted Dr. Mathis in repairing his nail bed and re-attaching his thumb nail.

He was diagnosed with a thumbnail avulsion, nailbed laceration, and a small avulsion fracture. We'll be visiting a hand specialist on Monday to verify Jake's thumb is okay.

By 9:00, only 4.5 hours since the accident, we were home and ready for bed!

With the uncertainty feel in our healthcare system and the horror stories we hear, I'd like to extend a GREAT BIG THANK YOU to the team at Halifax Health Port Orange. No only were they professional and caring, they worked efficiently and provided our family a positive experience during such a difficult time.

Thanks to Dr. Mathis for being so friendly and concise, thanks to the medical team for helping Jake feel better, thanks to the admissions team for getting us seen so quickly and thanks to Halifax Health Medical Center - Port Orange, Emergency Department for being so clean and convenient!

Jake felt so much better after the procedure! We played toss and relaxed while the ketamine wore off.

Volusia Tax Revolt - follow up & request

scroll down for pictures

Thank you everyone for making our April 15th Volusia Tax Revolt a party to remember!

Hundreds of patriots from all over the country (we are a destination location, you know!) gathered to share ideas and solutions for our tax system and economic mess. What was just as impressive, though, was that about 10 political candidates decided that OUR Volusia Tax Revolt was where they would be yesterday. It means that our message is getting louder and some people are listening!

We must KEEP GETTING LOUDER as we draw closer to election time. We must inform candidates who haven't committed to the FairTax. And if they won't, ask them how they are going to revamp the federal tax code, create jobs and allow every American to keep their entire paycheck. DEMAND ANSWERS! One that I've heard lately is "well, either a FairTax or a flat tax". Those folks don't get my vote.

We, as Volusia FairTaxers, must make a commitment for a FairTax Congress in 2011. That starts today by getting all candidates to commit to the FairTax. When every candidate is on board with FairTax, we can rest-assured and vote on vital secondary issues. It's important to know that your new County Council Person or State Representative has FairTax on their mind because they may very well be our next Congressman or Senator.

With your help, we'll keep gaining momentum and we will make a difference through the ballot box. Please take a few minutes and fill out this anonymous survey. Your ideas are what will make every event bigger, better, and most importantly, more effective. (please respond even if you didn't attend the Tax Revolt - your opinion really matters)

Read the News-Journal article about yesterday's Volusia Tax Revolt. We made the front page!

Ray Sanchez, Volusia 912

Kristina Bouterse, FairTax

Rudy Treml with FairTax in costume.

Jake Bouterse in front.

Kristina with Doug Kosarek

3rd party roll-up?

There's been a lot of talk about holding off on the third party efforts this mid-term election. The argument is that, historically, the third party splits the conservative vote.

A couple months ago, I wrote a piece about America's third party that already exists - the Libertarians. Libertarians borrow the best of both parties and form a liberty-based political party. They take the Constitution for face-value, maximizing liberty and minimizing government.

I've been listening to these people, though, who say there's no room for a third party in this election. The stakes are too high! If we don't, as a free people, replace our statist federal government in 2010, America will be changed forever. If we split the conservative vote and a liberal is re-elected or newly elected, America will continue down the path of economic destruction.

Now here's what I think: libertarians ought to roll into the Republican primaries.

Many Republicans will find themselves on the Libertarian spectrum of the World's Smallest Political Quiz anyway. Then we have other Republicans who are fed up with the way the GOP has run things for the past 10 years. To top it all off, there are Independents & Libertarians without a prominent candidate in typical elections and end up voting Republican anyway.

So, with all that is on the line, what about the Libertarians fighting it out in the primaries with their true rivals, the Republicans? Then we get the best candidate of all. Isn't that what's most important?

I also like Neal Boortz's idea of voting Libertarian in local elections so they can build support through the ranks. That's something we can do now for a fundamental change in the future.

picture from: http://www.yummy.ph/Yummy-lessons/baking/details/how-to-make-refrigerator-pinwheel-cookies

The Daffodil Principle

I just love this story. Thanks to Bob Proctor for sharing it each spring. May everyone's days be bright and full of love!

The Daffodil Principle Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you must come and see the daffodils before they are over." I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead. Going and coming took most of a day - and I honestly did not have a free day until the following week. "I will come next Tuesday," I promised, a little reluctantly, on her third call. Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and so I drove the length of Route 91, continued on I-215, and finally turned onto Route 18 and began to drive up the mountain highway. The tops of the mountains were sheathed in clouds, and I had gone only a few miles when the road was completely covered with a wet, gray blanket of fog. I slowed to a crawl, my heart pounding. The road becomes narrow and winding toward the top of the mountain. As I executed the hazardous turns at a snail's pace, I was praying to reach the turnoff at Blue Jay that would signify I had arrived. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house and hugged and greeted my grandchildren I said, "Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in the clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these darling children that I want to see bad enough to drive another inch!" My daughter smiled calmly, "We drive in this all the time, Mother." "Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears - and then I'm heading for home!" I assured her. "I was hoping you'd take me over to the garage to pick up my car. The mechanic just called, and they've finished repairing the engine," she answered. "How far will we have to drive?" I asked cautiously. "Just a few blocks,"Carolyn said cheerfully. So we buckled up the children and went out to my car. "I'll drive," Carolyn offered. "I'm used to this." We got into the car, and she began driving. In a few minutes I was aware that we were back on the Rim-of-the-World Road heading over the top of the mountain. "Where are we going?" I exclaimed, distressed to be back on the mountain road in the fog. "This isn't the way to the garage!" "We're going to my garage the long way," Carolyn smiled, "by way of the daffodils." "Carolyn, I said sternly, trying to sound as if I was still the mother and in charge of the situation, "please turn around. There is nothing in the world that I want to see enough to drive on this road in this weather." "It's all right, Mother," She replied with a knowing grin. "I know what I'm doing. I promise, you will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience." And so my sweet, darling daughter who had never given me a minute of difficulty in her whole life was suddenly in charge - and she was kidnapping me! I couldn't believe it. Like it or not, I was on the way to see some ridiculous daffodils - driving through the thick, gray silence of the mist-wrapped mountaintop at what I thought was risk to life and limb. I muttered all the way. After about twenty minutes we turned onto a small gravel road that branched down into an oak-filled hollow on the side of the mountain. The fog had lifted a little, but the sky was lowering, gray and heavy with clouds. We parked in a small parking lot adjoining a little stone church. From our vantage point at the top of the mountain we could see beyond us, in the mist, the crests of the San Bernardino range like the dark, humped backs of a herd of elephants. Far below us the fog-shrouded valleys, hills, and flatlands stretched away to the desert. On the far side of the church I saw a pine-needle-covered path, with towering evergreens and manzanita bushes and an inconspicuous, lettered sign "Daffodil Garden." We each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path as it wound through the trees. The mountain sloped away from the side of the path in irregular dips, folds, and valleys, like a deeply creased skirt. Live oaks, mountain laurel, shrubs, and bushes clustered in the folds, and in the gray, drizzling air, the green foliage looked dark and monochromatic. I shivered. Then we turned a corner of the path, and I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight, unexpectedly and completely splendid. It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it down over the mountain peak and slopes where it had run into every crevice and over every rise. Even in the mist-filled air, the mountainside was radiant, clothed in massive drifts and waterfalls of daffodils. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, saffron, and butter yellow. Each different-colored variety (I learned later that there were more than thirty-five varieties of daffodils in the vast display) was planted as a group so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. In the center of this incredible and dazzling display of gold, a great cascade of purple grape hyacinth flowed down like a waterfall of blossoms framed in its own rock-lined basin, weaving through the brilliant daffodils. A charming path wound throughout the garden. There were several resting stations, paved with stone and furnished with Victorian wooden benches and great tubs of coral and carmine tulips. As though this were not magnificent enough, Mother Nature had to add her own grace note - above the daffodils, a bevy of western bluebirds flitted and darted, flashing their brilliance. These charming little birds are the color of sapphires with breasts of magenta red. As they dance in the air, their colors are truly like jewels above the blowing, glowing daffodils. The effect was spectacular. It did not matter that the sun was not shining. The brilliance of the daffodils was like the glow of the brightest sunlit day. Words, wonderful as they are, simply cannot describe the incredible beauty of that flower-bedecked mountain top. Five acres of flowers! (This too I discovered later when some of my questions were answered.) "But who has done this?" I asked Carolyn. I was overflowing with gratitude that she brought me - even against my will. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. "Who?" I asked again, almost speechless with wonder, "And how, and why, and when?" "It's just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property. That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house that looked small and modest in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house, my mind buzzing with questions. On the patio we saw a poster. "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking" was the headline. The first answer was a simple one. "50,000 bulbs," it read. The second answer was, "One at a time, by one woman, two hands, two feet, and very little brain." The third answer was, "Began in 1958." There it was. The Daffodil Principle. For me that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than thirty-five years before, had begun - one bulb at a time - to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountain top. One bulb at a time. There was no other way to do it. One bulb at a time. No shortcuts - simply loving the slow process of planting. Loving the work as it unfolded. Loving an achievement that grew so slowly and that bloomed for only three weeks of each year. Still, just planting one bulb at a time, year after year, had changed the world. This unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. She had created something of ineffable magnificence, beauty, and inspiration. The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principle of celebration: learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time - often just one baby-step at a time - learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world. "Carolyn," I said that morning on the top of the mountain as we left the haven of daffodils, our minds and hearts still bathed and bemused by the splendors we had seen, "it's as though that remarkable woman has needle-pointed the earth! Decorated it. Just think of it, she planted every single bulb for more than thirty years. One bulb at a time! And that's the only way this garden could be created. Every individual bulb had to be planted. There was no way of short-circuiting that process. Five acres of blooms. That magnificent cascade of hyacinth! All, just one bulb at a time." The thought of it filled my mind. I was suddenly overwhelmed with the implications of what I had seen. "It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn. "What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years. Just think what I might have been able to achieve!" My wise daughter put the car into gear and summed up the message of the day in her direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said with the same knowing smile she had worn for most of the morning. Oh, profound wisdom! It is pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson a celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this to use tomorrow?" Jaroldeen Asplund Edwards

Volusia Tax Revolt!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Volusia Tax Revolt!!

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

5pm-dark

Gather at the SE corner of US-92 & Beach St.

Downtown Daytona Beach • Ample Public Parking

Doing locally what FairTax is doing nationally, greater Daytona Beach is coming together for our very own Volusia Tax Revolt.

The goal is to share a solution to the cumbersome income tax, the regressive payroll tax and our troubled economy. We must hold our government accountable through transparent taxation.

Ken Hoagland of FairTax.org explains Operation FairTax and the Online Tax Revolt: “We are bringing together Americans who have been cynically been driven apart by too many politicians in recent years,” said Hoagland. “We may have differing ideas about how to fix the tax system and control government but we are all united in our belief that it must be done to save the country,” said Hoagland

Presented by FairTax.org, Volusia912.org & LowerTaxesNow.org

RSVP on FaceBook and invite your friends!!

Monthly Meetings:

• Wednesday, April 14th • 6-7pm • 5100 Orange Ave • Port Orange • FairTax discussion & then sign making party!!
• Thursday, April 15th • Ormond meeting moved to Downtown Daytona for the Tax Revolt!

Tax Day on the WNDB Roland Via Morning Show! Listen live on am1150 or WNDB.am. Call-in at 386-239-0033

• Thursday, April 15th • 7-9am
• History of current income tax
• Reveal problems in Florida's tax structure
• Reveal regressiveness of income & payroll taxes
• Open request for political candidates to call in and explain their tax solutions. 4 minutes allotted and must stay focused on taxes, budgets & spending.

Interested in volunteering? We have plenty of room for you! Email me back with interest. Candidates also email back requesting a time slot on the radio show.

CONTACT:

--
Kristina Bouterse, FairTax Volunteer Coordinator
386-986-7215

Thirsty for soda

Growing up, we got to drink Coke on pizza night - Coke and only Coke, because Coke was the best! (just thinking of that combination right now makes my stomach bloat) We got to have cherry cream soda over ice-cream when we visited my grandmother. Root beer floats were a delicacy reserved for when my mom felt like having one.

Soda was a treat.

Fast-forward 20 years and soda is everywhere! Kids and adults drink it for breakfast, office jockeys drink several 2-liters a day and restaurants and gas stations sell free-refills for less than a bottle of water!

Lump on top of it the variety of energy drinks, teas, juices and coffees. We are a dehydrated world of people. Studies show that almost every hunger pain someone has is actually a pang of thirst. If one would just drink 8 oz of water and wait a few minutes, the hunger may go away. Instead, people grab that diet soda, which actually tricks your body and creates more hunger!

CHALLENGE: give up everything except water, fresh-brewed coffee or tea and red wine for 14 days. Take note of your energy level, your sleeping habits and your water retention. Let me know how it goes!

If you already follow this sort of liquid regimen, share your story!

Student loan sham

Have you heard the reports in the news about the government "cutting out the middle man" when it comes to student loans? Well, if you haven't, here's a synopsis:

The government passed the healthcare legislation a couple weeks ago. Within hours, democrats presented a reconciliation bill that would make the spending outlined in the reform bill legal. Because reconciliation is used for budgeting and finance purposes, the dems threw student loan reform into the reconciliation.

Up until now, the federal government has backed the loans given to students though independent lenders. The loans were government guaranteed, but the lenders did all the detail work. The government provided the guarantee with our tax dollars while the banks made and serviced loans at really low rates.

The news clips I've heard about it report that the government is cutting out the middle man - the banks - and handling the loans themselves in order to save money on fees. Instead of outsourcing student loans to the experts, the loan industry, our federal government has absorbed the lending market for student loans and created a whole new government agency.

Now you can only get student loans through the government.

Back to the basic question: What does government do RIGHT that makes us think it can handle student loans?

Follow up question: How much will the government take-over of student lending increase the government size? What about federal debt?

Blatant trickery, a move disguised as student loan reform turns out to increase government dependence.

Obama even recommended that workers who stay employed with the federal government for 10 years or more should have their student loans disolved. Another incentive for good government worker-bees.