I've Moved!

You can now catch the blog over at http://morningsnarkreport.wordpress.com/. Thanks for all the love snarkers!!

Give 'Em a Head Start

So if you follow the facebook page you probably saw how a Richmond preschool program has banned students from bringing sack lunches unless they have a doctor's note deeming said lunch necessary. From what I gather, the expense of feeding each and every preschooler in this program will be covered by federal dollars -- federal dollars which I'm sure could be better spent elsewhere, like paying for another teacher or at minimum teacher's aid, or provide supplies to classrooms. I know, I'm just a silly stay at home mom whose child is not yet in preschool, so what do I know?

I know that first off, the fact that they're taking away the choice of the parent what to feed their child is ridiculous. By mandating and acting like they're going to provide a much more nutritious and filling lunch for the kids is just silly. We all saw how well Michelle's school lunch program went over -- kids were left still hungry and school districts had wasted much needed money. I'm sure that we can all remember times when we were in school and how hard it was to pay attention when you were starving. And I remember when I was little, my mom always made sure we had plenty to eat in our lunchboxes -- the basic minimum was a sandwich, a drink, and two snacks, sometimes she'd add a thermos of soup or a salad or whatever to switch it up. Yes, we had lunchables from time to time and we were usually allowed to buy lunch no more than twice a week until we got older. I enjoyed bringing my lunch honestly because it meant that I didn't have to stand on line and wait to eat and have less time to eat -- which again should be considered in if our children are left hungry. The less time they have to eat, the less they do eat, and hungry kids (and adults) are definitely no fun to be around. So these preschoolers, how much time do they really get to eat? I know B takes his sweet time to eat and I don't see it getting any better. Or what about the kids who are so used to grazing throughout the day and suddenly they have a set eating schedule? Are they getting enough to eat, or are they refusing food because at that point in time they're not hungry? Or do those who know better never took this into consideration?

So, with the choice of bag or buy no longer yours (unless you go through the hassle of getting a doctor's note, and to be honest, I'd probably beg our pediatrician to sign off on something even though B doesn't have food sensitivities or allergies), it also throws out the choice of what your child gets to eat. To be quite honest, after seeing what the government allows people to get on food stamps, I'm not going to exactly be thrilled with what they're going to serve in the cafeteria most days. I posted a while back what Rambling Mom said her preschooler was given for lunch but in case you missed it, it was a piece of fried mozzarella, a couple of carrots and a few pieces of broccoli. So not only do I feel that the kids are clearly not getting enough to eat with this "lunch" but the quality sucks too. I really don't care if the mozzarella is baked and not truly fried, it's just something that I'd prefer my kid not to eat. I mean I'm sure the turkey & gravy that we all loved on Thursdays growing up wasn't premium turkey, it probably was a lot better than a freakin' mozzarella stick! It makes me wonder how many parents are like, seriously, this is the crap you feed my kid?

Finally, let's talk about the real push here. With Ocrapcare looming and being forced upon the masses to further establish that you need government to survive, this only starts kids off early thinking that the government shall always provide for you. I'm not naïve enough to think that growing up in our cushy middle class neighborhood some of my classmates qualified for free lunch. While I totally understand providing for those who absolutely and truly need it, we never actually knew who those kids were so there wasn't a stigma surrounding it. No one starved, and I'm sure that if a kid had truly needed a lunch a teacher or someone would have come through and made sure that kid ate. The kindness of those who aren't being forced to provide always seems to be much greater than when forced and mandated. But having government money provide free meals to all preschoolers just seems like an agenda push to me -- if a family can afford to pay for their kid's lunch, or would just rather pack their kid's lunch then so be it. Like I said, that money could easily be distributed to other areas that need it more than this program. Sadly, cynical me thinks that most parents would be stoked for their kid to receive this "free" lunch and just let it slide -- and let it progress into the upper grades and further engrain the theory of "government will always provide" even if the government can't afford to provide.

Unmotivated Monday

I'm exhausted, no other way to put it. We went away for the weekend and had a blast and I'm just exhausted. I still haven't seen the 60 Minutes piece on Benghazi and from what I've read it was good but to be quite honest, I'm still hesitant about it. I'm also laughing over the fact that the Marines were going to change their headgear into something seriously hideous. These people that the administration are making sure are getting to be the top brass just need the boot because they don't appreciate tradition and the understanding that you don't mess with things that aren't broken in the name of political correctness. Oh and who is shocked that Michelle's old college classmate is the one who got the no-bid contract for the Ocrapcare website. Dear people, are you fed up yet? Ok, I'm needed by my munchkin. Sorry this was so short, I'll try to do a headline scan while he naps and then get my snark on.

Easier Said

So I have a few moments alone because hubby was miraculously given a three day pass, did my hair and makeup without my little two year old tyrant demanding something or other from his ever so loyal momma, and I started the usual round of reading. Today's tirade will be short and sweet as I'm using the iPad, but it ties into yesterday's. Here's the article that has me rolling my eyes this morning.

Russell Brand, Russell Brand, Russell Brand. Dearest I hope you've been busy redistributing your personal wealth amongst the masses and that's why you cannot bloody we'll buy a proper shirt (let alone outfit), haircut and a shave. Somehow I doubt that and you present yourself as this "free spirit" type. While you gave this interview to the BBC, that somewhat makes me roll my eyes a bit less, however knowing that you still manage to come stateside and are supposedly big in the Hollywood circles (I don't get it as I don't find you funny, attractive or appealing) this might rub some Yanks the wrong way -- and perhaps some of your super rich LA pals. For me personally, it's hard to begrudge someone who has worked their way up in the ranks and made it big and have done well for themselves -- that is after all the American dream, no? While I don't agree that entertainers (actors, athletes, etc) should get paid in the extraordinary ways they do, it is what it is -- and if they pay their taxes, what I do care what they do with their money? It's their money. This whole notion of redistribution of wealth is absurd to me because I'm one of those odd Americans who believes that you work for what you earn. Granted I had everything I could ever want growing up, but since I became an adult and moved out on my own, eventually got married and had a kid I understand how hard my parents worked to give me an easy life. If we keep giving out welfare and begin to redistribute wealth and heavily tax corporations, I don't think our economy will ever be great again. We will forever be stuck in this rut and after a while, those who work hard for everything they have will just stop working because what's the point?

We need to move away from relying heavily on the government and downsize them before the rest of the country is downsized. We need to get back to basics on so many levels and realize that if we want to be a great nation again, to once again be a super power we cannot continue on this path. This national wasn't founded on socialist principles and it would serve those in DC well to remember that.

It Was a Late Night...

...and it was totally worth it to see my Sox win the first game of the World Series. I had to catch up on some stuff before I got to this and now I'm doing this I'm all hmmmmmm what to snark about today? It's sort of hard to snark when it's glorious out and I can move my work outside and let B run around our yard with the pup, listening to the sounds of heavy artillery in the distance. One thing is certain, I love the sound of artillery and helicopters flying overhead -- especially at night. It might be weird to some people but I compare it to when I was at college and lived in my sorority house, my room was street level and the road it was on was the main road from downtown to the hospital. You just get used to it and it becomes oddly comforting. Anyway...

Ok, a quick glance at The Blaze and I've got it! This totally gave me a chuckle, Hollywood is now concerned about the government spying on people. Not that I fully believe that they'll blame their pal O, I'm sure they'll just say that he has to do it because George W made him or something. The fact is, I generally roll my eyes when Hollywood steps out for a cause of any kind -- and then when they step into politics they end up just seeming silly. Point in case: Ashley Judd. Goodness. I'd sooner keep Mitch then ever trust her to look out for the best interest of my home state. And I love how her grandmother even said that she was skeptical of Ashley running and thought Mitch was just doing a fine job. Having someone who is anti-coal isn't beneficial for Kentucky, but she's Ashley Judd, clearly she knows what's best. I just roll my eyes too at the possibility of Ben Affleck running for a seat in Massachusetts. When push comes to shove, honestly, how well do these celebrities relate to every day people? I have a hard time believe that some of them can (Kimye, I'm staring you and your pals the Carters down) and will ultimately understand what is best for the people they represent. And what happens when voters get starstruck by celebrities running for office, will it be a fair fight of voting on the issues, or just because the candidate did some high grossing film or television show and is a household name? Sure we treat candidates like rock stars these days, look at Barry, but I think by doing so is to the detriment of the people. Sigh. I've totally gone off on a tangent and now hubby is home, so off to lunch.

Short and Sweet

I didn't sleep much, my kiddo was cranky up until he demanded that he needed to be cleaned up and therefore take a bath and now he's just running around like a crazy person. So here's what it is...

Seriously, for all those who whine and cry and think that I'm mean (because you never say it, but I know that there is one person out there who probably thinks I hate poor people, which in turn makes me laugh because I am one of the poor people) but I'm going to start lobbying all these politicians to target food stamps after Ocrapcare. Why? Because I'm sick of seeing stories like this. I honestly understand the people who work their asses off -- sometimes in multiple jobs -- and still make peanuts and are just trying to do everything they can to support their family, I get that and think that as long as these people aren't abusing the system let them have their food stamps. But the others? Drug test, make them come in person with a legitimate federal ID to prove that they are a legal citizen and are searching for work, etc in order to try to stem fraud. And if they're busted once, no more. If they can't get off the system within a certain time period, bye! I'm over tax dollars being handed out like kitkats on Halloween. If this could totally be privatized and organized by non-profits working with major brands (ie ConAgra, Kraft, etc) to do a supplement program, I bet it would run more efficiently and be a better value for all those involved. Just a thought.

The Tale of Vicarious Parents... Or Something Like That

These are the days of frivolous lawsuits and people blubbering about being bullied and parents who hover over their kids constantly but yet try to be their best friend. So what does all this have in common? Well, minus the lawsuit (which cynical me thinks is honestly in the works if this parent doesn't get the results they want), it has a lot to do with high school football. Reports came out that a parent filed a bully complaint on a school's website over a high school football game after the parent felt that the losing team was bullied. Say what? Given the trash talk climate of the NFL and even college level, you've got to roll your eyes. I did when I saw this and when I read the article my eyes were super sore. I know that the trend in sports for youngsters (like B's age group) is a "mercy" rule which I hate because I think it just teaches kids to be poor losers. Ok, so I get that this high school game was a crazy large defeat (91-0), but the coaches of the winning team did everything they could within regulations to try to make it not well a total destruction. In fact, the coach of the losing team even stated in the article: "I think the game was handled fine...They’re No. 1 for a reason, and I know coach Buchanan." Pretty classy from the coach whose team had a huge loss. He could have whined about it and pitched a fit and acted like a jerk but he didn't, and I'm sure that he talked with his team and they were bummed but probably held their heads up high and just let it go to focus on their next game.

What gets me is, if the coach didn't have an issue with it (and I'm sure if he did, then he would've taken it up with the officials and the opposing team's coaching staff at the game) then what right does this parent have to go onto the school's website and fill out a bullying complaint? What the hell does that accomplish and teach the kids? Nothing. It just reinforces the notion of "I'm entitled to feel good and get my way and if I don't, I'll just complain and make someone else deal with it" that has become so rampant. And if it was done on behalf of their child, well son buck up. I know, I'm one of those mean parents who doesn't believe in letting your kid win Candy Land to avoid a meltdown. Like I said earlier, kids need to learn how to be good losers -- we've seen what happens when they can't be good losers (or even good compromisers). If we keep allowing the bully card to be played when it's not actual bullying (and quite honestly, I'm over the whole bullying "phenomenon") then it will be harder to take real cases seriously (umm does no one teach "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" anymore?). If we keep telling kids that it's ok to throw tantrums when you don't get your way, even clear into adulthood, then we're doomed as a nation even more than I thought.

Good for these coaches for not making a huge deal over this game and for treating it as just that, a game and not an end of the world scenario -- especially in Texas where football no matter what level is the end all, be all.

My Bologna Has A First Name... B-A-R-R-Y...

So, I missed His Highness' speech as I was busy hanging out with my kiddo, but I've been scanning the sites to see what I can gleam. The first thing that has stuck out is that a lady who has supposedly been helped by Ocrapcare. She was in a very nice dress by the way, and her hair looked professionally done too... Did Michelle loan out her stylist to make sure these people looked campaign perfect? I'm not saying that these people aren't normally presentable, I'm just saying that perhaps they should have surprised these people in their every day routine and videoed them to get a candid reaction rather than just have them stand in the background much like the service members who stood behind Michelle when she did her thing at the Oscars (I still giggle thinking about how she "presented" the award to a movie that was about a hostage situation when just prior her husband and bestie Hil couldn't save the four Americans killed in Benghazi). The point is, I'd rather have these supposed Ocrapcare beneficiaries be ambushed and give their testimony rather than just be trotted out for a background and to look pretty -- and faint, which was a relief for the administration because that's now the story than what actually should be the story.

Anyway, for a man who says there's "no excuse" for the website, which he's right there is no excuse since they've had three years to make sure this thing was ready to roll "glitch" free, he has a lot of excuses. I don't believe he's frustrated at all, I honestly believe that he has no clue what's going on since he's exempt from it. And encouraging Americans to "bypass the site" and use old school techniques like snail mail and the telephone seems kind of crazy given the age in which we live. Is it because if people utilize old school methods, it's easier for them to keep avoiding reporters and people demanding to know how many people have enrolled? Of course! And then we all know that the flailing US Post Office will be to blame when these supposed applications get lost in the mail. I'm sure those with Obamaphones have no problems getting through to submit their applications, and you know it's just one more thing they'll be going around screeching, "I got more free shit from the government! This is free!" because they don't understand that someone else has to work to pay for their freeloading ways. I love too how he didn't say when exactly the issues with the site will be fixed. If he's so adamant that this is law of the land and people just need to accept it, wouldn't a) this site have been beta tested to find any of these supposed glitches? and b) he have a set deadline to have this crap up and running smoothly? Vague is the game, because the more vague he is, the less accountable he feels he is and the easier to pass the blame onto someone else -- damn the Tea Party!

The fact is, a vast majority of Americans do not want this. Forcing people to purchase health care is just absurd and the only reason why they are fighting for this so hard, and forcing people into it is because this is just one less hurdle to overcome to fully take over and establish a tyranny. And to that my friends I will never claim, "Long live Obama."

If You Fix It... They Will Still Hate It

I feel like asking if anyone is actually enrolled in Ocrapcare is like asking "Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?" I know that supposedly hundreds of thousands have applied but no one is actually enrolled and bought a plan -- and there has been a lot of claims out there that people (both liberals and conservatives) are seeing a significant jump in their the new plans. Good ol' Kathy Sebelius is saying that they're going to hire tech geniuses to help fix the "glitches" (I'll do it for free: scrap the whole freakin' thing!) and the President is supposed to come out with a mea culpa, however we all know how that will go.

"I believe that the ummm American people have the right to uhhh affordable health insurance no matter what their uhh income, race, gender, sexual orientation, or age. I believe that all umm Americans should have access to health care -- even at uhhh the umm tax payers expense. I believe that the roll out of my uhh signature health care law, in which I, Michelle, our girls, members of Congress, members of the Supreme Court, cabinet members, Jay-Z and Beyoncé, the people in my pocket, the 1%ers (except for Oprah because she has no love for me), and uh those that can afford to pay a concierge doctor are exempt from, isn't full of glitches but a a a uhhh sabotage from our domestic enemy -- the Tea Party and its uh elk (*Snark note: I know it's ilk and if you get the elk reference, I applaud you). We cannot let the Tea Party get away with this, and with the cooperation of the NSA and the IRS, we will find out who sabotaged this uhh this great American dream. Because I uhhh I believe in the American people and -- oh wait, I uhh can't take any questions. I'm late for my tee time over at Andrews."

The fact is, the people in the beltway who are pushing this crap legislation that has so many nuances and so many executive exemptions, that alone begs the question of does this guy really understand the separation of powers, that they need to come to terms and just stop and listen to the American people. Most Americans don't want this. Most Americans are not benefitting from it, but being hurt by it -- either a) they've lost their coverage b) they've lost their doctor c) their coverage is going up d) they cannot afford the new coverage so they're just accepting the tax e) some of the above or f) all of the above. We're lucky and haven't really had to navigate this crap because Tricare was deemed "barely acceptable but acceptable nonetheless" so that's one less thing that military families need to worry about. If you're upset about Ocrapcare, then let your "representatives" know and remember how they vote and if they're really for the people when it comes to the midterm elections next year. I'm not saying vote Tea Party, Libertarian, Republican, Independent, Democrat, Relosi (that's a new party made up of the lunatics who support Reid & Pelosi), whatever but just make sure you know who you're voting for and why. I'm just asking for you not to put up with this bullshit and not to let this crap become law of the land.


***Snark note: Edited 21 Oct 2013 1140 for grammar and spelling errors

Drop the Ball and Run Like Hell... To a Fancy Cocktail Party

Of course some media outlets and people are all, "Woohoo, the shutdown is over!" and you know that Barry is patting himself on the back all smug while chattin' on a conference call with Jay-Z and Bill Maher. Meanwhile, I'm waking up trying to convince my two year old that yes he wants pancakes for breakfast, and no he cannot have orange juice and trying to not to call up my congressional "representatives" (it's awesome how much the retiring senator from my district is being criticized on his facebook page for voting yes) and tell them that they're the biggest idiots ever for going with it.(Here are the links if you want to see how your House Rep voted, and to see if your Senator was one of the 18 who voted against the legislation). So, if you saw the facebook page (seriously, if you haven't like it already, go like it, it's where the Snark is when I can't blog) you know what's coming in today's blog -- lessons we should have learned from the shutdown. So while your people on the Hill are probably nursing some hangovers from last night's parties (please, you know they were all out at a fundraiser or cocktail party or some ritzy bar to celebrate or commiserate), let's get down to the nitty gritty according to, well, me (how does one say me in Chinese?)

- This isn't a long term solution. In fact, this is far from a long term solution. Prepare for another shutdown come January because that's how long this snippet of legislation is good through. The government is funded through 15 January, the treasury will reach its limit 07 February. And be prepared for a bigger, dirtier fight as next year is a midterm year and those with seats up for grabs will hopefully have a change of heart and actually listen to their constituents or risk losing their seat. The race is already on in certain areas (Mitch, you know your seat is up for grabs, however I have faith in my fellow Kentuckians will rally and replace you with another Rand), and it'll just get better if the government shuts down again in January. And don't expect an actual budget to be passed, by forcing these continuing resolutions to pass to fund the government, it gives the executive branch the power to keep on scaremongering that we're going to be in a tailspin if something doesn't happen. Until an actual budget is passed and the government learns how to be fiscally responsible things won't get better -- and I don't expect an actual budget to pass until Barry is out of office (remember, an actual budget hasn't been passed since 2009, and still in 2010 the Democrats held the majority in both houses and held the White House so there was no reason why they shouldn't have passed a budget -- yes I do have my conspiracies, but we'll say those for later).

- Funding piece by piece might have been genius. It started to show what actually needed to be funded by the government and what should switch to privatized funding. I've been a fan of privatizing PBS, NPR, etc for a while now -- in fact they've even stated that most of their funding comes from private funding, so if that's the case, they shouldn't have a problem fully being privatized or adjusting their budgets in order to make do without government funding. Head start should be funded by the state or fully private funding. I know that sounds horrible, but having the federal government fund head start programs seems pretty pointless to me. I did do preschool but I just remember painting, coloring, singing songs and learning the ABCs and how to count to like ten. Now we have head start and kindergarten classes essentially structured like a grade school class. Great, but is it necessary? For me, the only real positive to a head start is socialization for the kiddos. And now it's become such a huge thing that states have lotteries to get their kids in, really? Awesome, let's have parents stress out about that too. Bottom line, it's a state issue of how they want to handle it, not the government (and seriously, after Michelle's meddling with school lunches and that epic failure, should we really let the federal government continue to meddle with funding our public schools?). I've already stated that we can ditch Homeland Security, that will open up a ton of funding for the government. The fact is, the American people need to realize that the federal government cannot and should not fund everything and anything just because you think you have a right to it (I think I have the right to drive a Range Rover and wear nothing but Lilly, but it doesn't mean that it's going to happen because we cannot afford that). Oh and food stamps and WIC need to be state funded, start soliciting monies from the formula companies, the big food companies, and you know what, offer incentives to your farmers.

- We are no longer the most powerful nation to be feared by the world. We are beggars y'all. It might be time to go ahead and purchase a Rosetta Stone, Chinese Edition and get cracking. From what I remember from my economics classes, it's good for the country to be in some debt, but this much debt and then ask for more? Yeah, no. The longer people in the nation are ok with the freeloaders being freeloaders and not demanding accountability and reform, we'll never get back to being great because we'll be at the mercy of whomever we're borrowing money from.

- Our 80, 90 year old vets have more guts to stand up and fight against the Administration and Congress than those who supposedly represent us. At what point will more Americans take a cue from our Greatest Generation? During WWII, Americans didn't rely on the government for everything -- they grew their own food, lived within their means, rationed what needed to be rationed and chugged along. Here we are, over sixty years later complaining that we can't get free fatty cakes with every meal, that we don't have the latest designer jeans, that we're not getting our free phones and that everyone should have healthcare even though it's not financially feasible, even though it's called the Affordable Care Act. Clearly for a lot of Americans, personal responsibility has gone out the window. Of course, for some people in power they want everyone to rely on the government. Me? I think big government is a recipe for disaster.

There are other things that should have been learned, but unfortunately B is going mad so I need to take care of that. I'll leave you with this though, make fun of the Tea Party, the Libertarians and any other conservative that doesn't trust either political party and/or the government these days all you want, but honestly, I'm thinking that sportin' a tinfoil hat isn't such a bad thing.

Re-edumacation

So I was up quite early this morning thanks to hubby's PT alarm and decided to do a quick scan of articles posted on facebook. I love that more people reposted the Daily Currant's story concerning the impeachment of the President. Honestly until I saw that last night, I had never heard of Daily Currant or if I have I don't remember it, but I did a quick scour of the majors to find out. Well, suspicions confirmed thanks to a look through and then a text from Rambling Mom (Happy Birthday!) to definitely say that it's satire and I went on with my night. The lesson learned people, if it seems too good to be true these days, then it's probably false. Anyway, I saw something about how DC should shutdown once a year (which I kind of think is a great idea). Then the usual shutdown, I blame X, Y but not Z for this shutdown. And then I found this awesome little gem on The Blaze.

I think that Common Core does nothing but hurt our education system. I suck at math, hubby can vouch for that as I've been no help to him in his college algebra class that he's taking this semester. But with Common Core, I'd be a math superstar because if there's one thing I learned in all my political science classes, it was how to bullshit my way through an argument -- and in Common Core math classes, as long as you can explain the wrong answer well that's good enough. Stop right there, this whole good enough thing is crap and teaches our younger generations nothing. Obviously I think it's a conspiracy to groom them to be so complacent and rely on the government and not excel and think for themselves, but anyway. So a common core school outside the district (how convenient) put out this supposedly anonymous survey that was allegedly (anyone else remember those old Starr Jones skits on SNL when they say allegedly? Yeah, that's how it sounded in my head) put together by students. Well of course the school district is saying that people have nothing to fear and that there will be no repercussions based on these "anonymous" student responses. Raise your hand if you're buying that? Raise your hand if you remember every completing a survey like this when you were in school? I sure as hell don't. While I never knew who my parents were voting for (even though I'd beg and plead with them and had my own opinions of candidates since '92, I remember being very disappointed that Clinton won because my little seven year old brain just didn't trust the guy), I could guess based on what was talked about around the dinner table sometimes. Now granted if it is a truly anonymous survey, some of the questions I could care less about (gender, siblings, which neck of Montgomery County do you live), but asking what religion you identify with or what ethnicity you identify with (I always love that question because I put Asian-Pacific Islander and no one every believes me even though I'm well within the legit limits to claim it), household income (really, does any sophomore know exactly what their parents bring in? I mean, I knew growing up that we were fairly well off, but I couldn't tell you exactly where we fell), sexual orientation, and then all the Obamacare, shutdown and the are you a racist question, these are all ridiculous. I fully believe this is to shame kids with well off parents (no matter what their ethnicity because it's not just rich, white people in Montgomery County) and to become the sheeple that this administration relies on. If you start grooming them early and identify who doesn't fit into the mold by using these surveys, you can adjust expectations and education. It's sad that the education of these younger generations are being driven by partisan politics rather than basic facts, and that just trying gets them by.

Monday Monday Monday Blah

First off, thank you all for coming and reading my madness! As of last week I had over 1,000 page views -- I honestly didn't think that would happen as quickly as it did. Thank you all for reading, for sharing, for laughing, for rolling your eyes, and just clicking on the link. You all are awesome.

Now onto the Monday Morning Recap...

I was super bummed that I couldn't have snuck up to see my family yesterday and participate in the Million Vet March. Our vets are the greatest and do not deserve the disrespect that the administration and others are giving them. What upsets me though is the images and reports that were coming in on twitter and facebook: these peaceful protesters were treated as hostile enemy combatants essentially (ok maybe a slight exaggeration on my part, but still). They were greeted by SWAT, mounted police, and of course the NPS (who rightfully did nothing because they recognize how ridiculous this is). It's a stark contrast to a week ago when there was an immigration rally on the "closed" Mall, no SWAT, little police presence (and my guess is absolutely no ICE presence because God forbid someone feel that they're being profiled... wwwwaaaahhhhh). Oh and the immigration rally got port-a-potties too. I guess they figure that since our vets are used to shoddy conditions they don't need such things? It's just sad that people who are here illegally are shown more respect and curtsey than our the men and women who have fought valiantly for our country and for keeping the basic rights of our once great nation in tact -- well, until this administration came in and decided that the Constitution is just a guideline rather than the law of the land.

We're still in a shutdown, or a slimdown as many "news outlets" are calling it. A slimdown would be something that is fully functioning on a limited budget -- from my understanding, we're not there yet. I don't foresee an end to this soon and honestly, I'm ok with that. I don't blame House members who are making an effort to get needed programs funded rather than just say, ok let's fund everything and hope for the best -- even though that's not what the American people want. But you know, it's ok because no one knows what the people want better than the dude sitting up in that big fancy house on Pennsylvania Ave (and yes, I think they should be evicted from it since it's federal property and other people who own houses on federal park property have been kicked out of their houses as well during this shutdown). We won't even get into the wreck that is Ocrapcare as I'm so fond of calling it. But now we enter the phase where Congress is going to discuss the debt ceiling. Read this and try not to roll your eyes so much. Someone needs to show O this speech as he rallies and tries to panic the American people with not raising the debt level. Here's my solution, everyone from the freshmen Congressmen to the administration are up for election in 2014 and can be challenged to keep their seats. I'm over these career politicians, the politicians who are crazy partisan, the ones who don't listen to the American people and the ones that treat the Constitution as a guideline and just do whatever the hell they want.

Finally, it happened again yesterday on facebook. I shared this on my personal page because that's where it happened, but within two weeks on now both my personal and the Morning Snark Report page I have receive an error message saying that I don't have access to a link or it is broken. It's usually when I click on a notification that involves my politics. The status that supposedly broke last night? "Holy crap. So over this PC bs. Let the Redskins stay the Redskins and keep the politics out of it. People need to quit being so butthurt over dumb things, and need to start railing over the things that matter -- like the President wanting to raise the debt ceiling even though he was against it when he was a Senator from Illinois." Facebook is starting to make me feel like some crazy conspiracy theory nutjob, and while I don't mind it too much, it's slightly unnerving. But it also makes me like I feel like I'm doing something right -- I mean, on facebook Morning Snark Report only has 30 followers, scary numbers I know. Maybe I should contact Daisy & Mock and see what they think.

Hope everyone had a great weekend, happy Monday y'all!

Early Morning Pre-Coffee Rant

Warning: I'm half asleep and on the iPad but let's do this anyway.

The government is still shut down and honestly is anyone surprised? It doesn't matter how hard the House will try to compromise while still maintaining a facade of listening to the people (granted I think some reps legitimately are -- no good for them, it's a part of their job so it needs to happen), the administration has told those enforcing the shutdown to make it as hard as possible on the people. I mean closing open air monuments and paying people to stand guard when normally these monuments are minimally guarded, if at all, on a normal basis? Way to go King Barry. Anyway one of the words used to describe the tactics of the administration and Senate democrats is thuggery, which is quite fitting for what is really bothering me, Ocrapcare care.

At five am the last thing I really want to see is a friend sharing a link from the HuffPo about how great Ocrapcare is and how it is a positive effect on society. Ummmm, really? Telling people that they must purchase health care or risk being taxed around of $4500 a year or risk losing their driver's license (real smart given that if it's person who makes just enough to not qualify for subsidies but not enough to survive paying that tax and then their means to getting to their job(s) gets taken away and they live in an area with a limited public transportation system -- yeah totally makes sense), and then possibly facing a tax lien against their house if they are lucky enough to have bought a house in the first place. Ok so I know the tax lien kicks in after twenty four months of non-payment on this tax but considering the IRS is running that part and we all know how non-partisan that agency is, I'm sure they'll stick to the rules. Plus, the last thing I would want is to basically sign over my bank account information to these thugs. If we opted out and paid that ridiculous tax, we would create a separate bank account that would contain just enough to cover what we would owe. Yes I said it, I wouldn't trust the government to take money out of our main checking account. Some days it's tempting just to live out of coffee cans and stashes in the mattress honestly. To me, straight up forcing people to purchase health care or be taxed is nothing but thuggery.

Now, here's a thought that came across my head in my pre-caffeine haze, how dare they tell me what to do with my body and it's health dammit. If you didn't giggle at that just a little bit just stop. If you're confused, just stop. This base is all about the "it's my body" argument when it comes to abortion that it's absolutely ridiculous. Why doesn't that argument resonate with them here? Maybe because they're all getting subsidies and stuff but still, shouldn't they have a consistent argument for all things concerning your body? (Yes I am anti-baby killing, because my body might be carrying a baby, but it is not my place to decide if that baby lives or dies because its their tiny body and if I didn't want to be pregnant well I should have been more careful then) Back to the subject at hand, if it is my body and I should be able to do with it as I please the. Why should the government tell me that I must purchase health care for it? What if I don't believe in modern western medicine? What if it goes against my religion (stop laughing, I know that these crazies only believe in anything but Christianity -- I mean even the Catholic Church is now refusing communion to Nancy)? The fact is if this whole "my body" argument works for the pro-abortion base, then why shouldn't it work for the whole anti-Ocrapcare base? And how upset would they be if we just hijacked that argument and spun it around? That'd be pretty awesome.

But I'm fading so off to grab another hour or two of sleep before my little monster wakes up. I truly want to know how Ocrapcare and this shutdown is affecting you all though, positives and negatives because I'm truly curious. Drop a line in the comments, on the Facebook or email morningsnarker@outlook.com.

Holidays Smolidays

I want to start by apologizing if this is riddled with errors. My laptop is being occupied so I'm writing on the iPad. Blah. Anyway, it's October 4th and per our usual morning routine, B gets breakfast & Disney Junior while I get stuff organized for the day and blog. Today though it's all about Halloween on Disney Junior. What the heck? We really couldn't wait a few more weeks? It's like how the day after Halloween, Christmas stuff  starts to go up. We don't start watching "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" until mid-October because Benny really loves Charlie Brown holiday specials and would watch them year round if I let him. The point is, why in the last decade or so have we turned each holiday into some elaborate commercial thing? For me it totally takes away the meaning and/or specialness of that particular holiday (screw valentines day which is just a legit commercial holiday, I think hubby thanks me for not celebrating it).

But going back to Halloween, when also did it become acceptable for females of all ages now to slut it out? Ok I get it in college, especially freshman year, but to have 12 year olds be "sexy kitties" or post college ladies be "sexy cops" isn't cute. No one wants to see that -- especially on young girls. But again it boils down to a lack of parenting (or a lack of growing up for the older ladies), and I wonder if you don't let your kid dress like a slut every day then why is it ok to encourage it on Halloween? We should be encouraging fun, cute costumes that keep our children children. And for the parents taking your kid trick or treating, if you dress up then be a positive example for you child in your costume choice -- don't scour Pinterest and the stores for the sluttiest thing possible (unless you and your husband are into that and are keeping it behind closed doors, whatever). Once again I wish we could throw back to the 40s and 50s.

Overhaul

So I got some inspiration from a post on the facebook page yesterday when I posted a question, and I like it when this sort of inspiration hits. Yesterday I touched a little bit on some programs I think need to be overhauled, and today it's happening again. It's sad that military pay protection had to be a rushed bill in order to make sure the soldiers didn't go without pay -- it should have been under mandatory spending a long time ago in my personal opinion. However, do you know what is under mandatory spending? Unemployment. Yep, that's right, you can still collect your government paychecks for not having a job, but Congress had to mess around and pass a bill to protect military pay. For. Shame. I have never been a fan of welfare, I was in high school and would often have this chat with two of my teachers my senior year, and my thoughts have never changed despite being explained the economic necessity of a small (like way smaller than what it is right now) unemployed population. I will say that for the people who legitimately were fired and are on a serious search for a new job who collect unemployment, I have no qualms against you -- although you seem to be few and far between, I thank you for not abusing the system.

Abusing the system? Really? Yes, really. There are too many people who fake job search just so they can keep collecting unemployment. But that's just silly, why would anyone do such a thing? Well, for starters because they might be making more collecting unemployment than they would at a part time job they feel is "beneath" them. If you haven't heard about this, please pull your head out of the sand. While it seems that most states let you have six months, many of these states will allow extensions of another six months. There should be no extensions and you shouldn't be able to reapply year after year after year. Yes, that is something I have heard about -- someone will get a job right before they're about to stop receiving benefits and then once they can reapply for benefits will do whatever to get fired from their job and start receiving unemployment again. I know that the economic situation sucks, I'm not completely sheltered in my house, however I do know that there's something. The local Kroger had a laundry list of positions it needs to fill. Now I can also tell you a fun little story about a former crazy neighbor of mine. When we moved to our current duty station this neighbor felt it was her duty to tell my husband that she would talk with me concerning how I can get unemployment benefits. Um excuse me, but what right does anyone have to assume our work situation and educate me on how the system works without my asking for help? None. But yet she told me how I could obtain benefits and just live off that even though I knew I wasn't going to work but be a stay at home mom for a while. I wasn't going to actively look for work so why would I steal benefits from someone who actually needs them?

So how we do overhaul? Here's what I would do:
   - You can apply for benefits for no more than six months in a three year period.
   - You must be interviewed at least three times a week, if a job offer is made and you refuse it, no  
      more benefits for that three year period. (I know this seems insane, but just go with me)
   - You must have proof of citizenship
   - If you are found to be using your benefits for things other than housing, essential food,
     transportation, clothes necessary for interviews and potential jobs then you will be banned from
     collecting benefits-- meaning buying Xboxes, Louis Vuitton purses, expensive sneakers, etc.
     This will be a lifetime ban, not just wait three years and apply again. People who pay into the
     system don't work their tails off so you can use your unemployment benefits for unnecessary
     luxury items.

I know that seems sort of crazy, but the fact is we as a society need to help people become less dependent on the government and learn how to be dependent upon themselves and take personal responsibility. Who knows, perhaps this would help aid in our fight against illegal immigrants. If more American citizens were taking jobs that normally are held by that group, then there's less incentive to just come into our country, get paid (and in some cases collect other entitlements) and send that money back to their home country. The money that legal citizens could put back into the system would definitely help. The bottom line is, honestly, unemployment is a privilege, not an entitlement and people need to realize that -- there's no reason that we should have to pay anyone.

Good News & Silver Linings

That's the theme this week after a few rough weeks. Sometimes we get so embroiled in the negativity and chaos surrounding us that we forget that there's always good news and/or silver linings to crappy situations. For us knowing that our bank would cover our mid-month paycheck if the government did shutdown was a silver lining, hearing that a bill had been passed unanimously through both houses to protect military pay during a shutdown was good (dare I say, excellent?) news. I know that some people thought that wasn't fair that the military would still get paid, however I think these people fail to remember that our troops are essential personnel and our  first line of domestic defense. Plus, many troops don't have the cushy pay that other government jobs have to stash savings (try as we might but it is hard to do!). So, I'm going to throw out there what I think are positives of the shutdown, feel free to disagree.

With the President, Harry Reid and conservatives at odds with each other, they can't interfere with our lives. Seriously, it's nice to not have to worry about a nanny state being implemented on us. (Although there's been a joke since yesterday that I'm being targeted because I was having issues with the facebook page and had a report of not being able to view my blog by a friend) The government in the last few years has been increasingly encroaching our private lives, from the food we eat to whether or not we can have a certain number of rounds of ammunition in a magazine to whether or not you opt to have healthcare. Plus you add in all the PC hoopla and everyone must recognize everyone else (unless you're a straight, white, Christian then you must be ridiculed and punished). Having them argue with each other about all this is a nice little break for some people who are over how much input the government has in our everyday lives.

This next thing might sound insensitive, but when have I ever actually cared about that? I'm bummed that a shutdown doesn't mean that people can't get food stamps -- in the short term. From what I've been reading that if it goes long term, food stamps could be jeopardized on a state by state basis. Now why would this make me happy? Probably because lately there have been reports of rampant food stamp fraud. This is a program that desperately needs an overhaul to make sure that people who actually need the assistance get it, that it is only affordable healthy nutritious food they can receive (no more bakery sweets, no more pop, no more chips, no more lobster, no more steak, no more energy drinks, etc) and that they cannot use it to buy other items, nor can they transfer it to someone in order to get cash back. WIC will also be affected on a state to state basis as well as only so much of it is federally funded. I feel for those who get formula from WIC, I've been there with B when hubby was a private and we were making next to nothing so I get it. However, I do feel that as with food stamps, WIC could stand an overhaul too. It's very frustrating to go into the WIC office, see a parent with the latest smartphone fresh on the market, a new designer handbag, the kid is all decked out in expensive shoes and clothes and you see them in the parking lot and they're getting into a shiny new BMW still with the temp new tag on it. I will admit that I have an iPhone and it's fairly new because a) we had an upgrade b) it was a birthday present and c)  hubby was deployed so we could afford to spend the $99 on an iPhone 4S (I didn't get the 5 because, why would I pay another $100 for essentially the same phone?) -- plus for over a year I had sucked it up and used my iPhone 4 that was crazy shattered just because I was not about ready to pay to replace it for the cost of my upgrade and it still functioned. Sorry, tangent. The fact is, with a government shutdown it's good for some programs to be put on hold because there won't be a crazy amount of fraud happening -- and maybe it will encourage people to buck up, find employment to help them get off welfare. Yeah, I just giggled a little bit too. And I'm ok if we get kicked off WIC, not because I'm all high and mighty and we can really afford to not be on WIC while still being in the level where we qualify, but because if there's a family who legitimately deserves to be on it more than we do, I'm ok with that.

Another good thing about this shutdown? And this might be my favorite story out of this mess, the the Greatest Generation kicking some ass yesterday. Personally, I think it's so stupid to barricade outdoor, open air monuments in the District but well you all should know well enough what I want to say about that. Anyway, how awesome is it that these WWII veterans were able to get past the barricades to see the monument dedicated to them? Pretty damn awesome, and thanks to the Congressional members who stood with the veterans, cut the tape and moved the barricades. Thank you to the Park Police for having enough respect for these men and women to not boot them out and arrest anyone involved. The fact is, the Honor Flight permits should have never been revoked and everyone in Congress and the President should have made sure that these veterans were treated with the respect they deserve and allowed their trips to continue without having to worry about the politics of it all. Perhaps, those on the Hill (and really the American people) should take a moment to recognize that they could learn a thing or two from the Greatest Generation. They watched the horrors of Hitler, they fought against it, when times got tough they rationed everything, they grew victory gardens, had pride in their country and rallied together to stop the greater evils in the world. They were proud to be Americans, maybe we've lost a little (or a lot) of that in the last several years and need it back, we need to be reminded that we were once a great country and we proud of that.

Say No

I know that I urge people to say no, a lot. I'm ok with that, but with breast cancer awareness month upon us I ask that you just say no to the Susan G Komen Foundation. Pick your jaws up off the floor, I know that was a pretty big statement to make. Did you know that Komen provides money to Planned Parenthood? Did you also know that Planned Parenthood by law is not able to perform any sort of cancer screenings -- which includes mammograms? They can recommend a doctor if you suspect you have cancer, but as a whole, Planned Parenthood is not a cancer screening center. I didn't know that until recently because it's very vague about the role they actually do play in women's health aside from providing contraception and abortions. If Planned Parenthood cannot perform cancer screenings, then why is Komen donating money to them? It doesn't make sense to me honestly. Shouldn't that money go to an actual foundation that does promote cancer research, screening, programs? I believe so, I also believe that if Komen wanted to donated money to clinics for screenings then they should visit legitimate clinics with legitimate cancer screening approvals and programs. But that's just me. So this October when you see fundraisers for breast cancer, think twice and research who you would prefer to give your money to, or not, it's up to you.

Busy Busy Busy

It was quite the weekend on the facebook page, lots of commentary and eye rolling on my part. If you need your weekend fix, go and like the page. Now onto the usual Monday morning catch up...

To all the people out there getting overly excited that a bill was passed by the House to protect military pay, don't go and spend that check already. Remember though, it still needs to go through the Senate and signed by the President. It will be very telling who will and will not vote for it so pay attention. The bill, which was passed unanimously by the House, is a good move and a huge relief for military families -- provided that that it continues through the proper channels without challenge.

Oh a shutdown, it's become a huge blame game all over the place. Everyone is getting in on it and I have been too. You can tell me all you want that it's the GOP and grandstanding Ted Cruz's fault if it happens and I will seriously just sit here, shaking my head and convulse with laughter. Please explain to me how you think it is justifiable to delay or completely exempt groups and companies from the onslaught of Obamacare, but not the masses? Since the Senate did not defund Obamacare, the House came back with a reasonable solution since they've been listening to what the public has to say (sidenote: Young Conservatives did a quick write up over the weekend and taking poll numbers figured that Obamacare is more unpopular than the war in Iraq, telling is it not?) and at least are trying to delay the start for everyone in order to work out all the details and get a better idea of how everyone will be affected and weed through and get rid of any provisions that will hurt the workforce, to include outsource jobs to avoid hefty taxes and fines. With Harry and Barry saying "Hell no, it's our way or the highway" and basically flipping the bird to the American people, how do you not blame those two for a potential government shut down? Clearly, conservatives have stated that their goal is not to shut down the government but they do want to fully defund the ridiculous piece of legislation that is Ocrapcare, er I mean Obamacare but they have tried to come up with reasonable solutions. End of story: this can only end badly for the American people, and the American people need to think carefully about who they are willing to put into office from here on out -- and hold them accountable.

Finally one last piece of the supposed for the people eye rolling news, the Texas abortion law is back in the limelight. Apparently forcing abortion clinics to have the same sanitary standards as a hospital or a free standing clinic (i.e. an urgent care office) and you know requiring a licensed professional doctor with admitting privileges to a local hospital to perform a surgical procedure clearly does more harm than good to women seeking abortions. How dare the state of Texas do everything possible to make sure that these women will be treated with dignity and respect and given a clean, safe place to obtain what I think is something absolutely heinous. And because we live in such a litigious society, what better thing to do than sue the state of Texas? That is exactly what Planned Parenthood, ACLU and several other groups are planning to do to block this portion of the bill. I'm sort of shocked they're not challenging the 20 week limit, but after the last hoopla and it came out and an overwhelming majority of Americans, including Texans, opposed anything beyond 20 weeks, they were right to leave that out of the suit. So instead, they're saying that having standards is not important and basically the bottom line is the money, by adhering to the standards set forth, these shady abortion clinics stand to lose a lot of money. It has nothing to do with proper patient care, if these people gave just a small damn about the situation they would understand that the Republicans who lead the charge on this do give a big damn about the people. I have said it before and I'll say it again, the Texas bill is one of the most fair compromise pieces of legislation that we have witnessed concerning abortion. I just hope that the judge who receives this case will just laugh and throw it out the window.

Keep up with the facebook page for ongoing snark concerning a potential shut down and other craziness and have a great week everyone!

Cookies For Breakfast

Usually I'm the momma who makes cinnamon rolls from scratch for my family for breakfast (and biscuits, and pancakes, and breads, and a whole lot more, I went on a weird kick during hubby's last deployment to try to get rid of as much processed food as possible) but today all B wanted was some cookies. They have oatmeal and peanutbutter so they can't be all that bad can they? (In case you're wondering, they're no bake fudgy cookies and they're freaking awesome). The point is, it's Friday and today is the day where if we can't defund Obamacare now, we're stuck with it and then no one gets cookies -- just a piece of fried mozzarella (which I'm sure is some vegan substitute fried in some non-peanut, non-transfat oil and breaded with some gluten-free bread crumbs), a couple of carrots and a few pieces of broccoli (thanks Rambling Mom for letting me know that's what your kindergartener gets for lunch from the school). And we like cookies in our house, if you post on the facebook how often does Meg bake I'm sure my pals will tell you I've always got something cooking, and as much as I would love to open my own bakery one day it probably won't happen between nanny state laws (you must provide calorie & fat content for your foodstuffs -- which isn't cheap to get analyzed), health department laws (I want to convert an old barn into my bakery, that alone would cost a lot, but then would it pass muster with the health department, or do I need to budget in some money to bribe the inspector?), and there's so much I worry about. But let's face it, with an active duty soldier opening up my own bakery right now is crazy but it's nice to dream -- assuming these crazy "lawmakers" don't entirely ruin it.

I'm definitely worried about the vote today. I'm worried that Harry Reid will get his way and we'll be stuck with Obamacare, even though the people have spoken and said that they don't want it. I wish that midterm elections were this year, maybe the threat of losing their seats in a month would spark more of these guys to pay attention to what the people want and not there own selfish agendas. Ha, I just had a funny thought run through my head. Why is it that the left likes to vilify the right as "old, rich white guys" when a vast majority of both sides are old, rich white guys? The lone black Senator is *gasp* a Republican (Sen. Tim Scott, SC) -- and he's already said that he's going to vote no on cloture, and that he wants to defund Obamacare, hopefully he stays true to this. It's definitely time for a shake up in both parties as there are far too many career legislators in both houses. Wouldn't it be lovely if the people demanded that they have term limits? Of course, I don't ever see that happening because they all like their positions too much. But how great would that be that you could only serve let's say no more than five terms in the House (ten years) and two terms in the senate (twelve years), and no more than sixteen years total in either house?

But for this morning, we'll eat cookies... And maybe go to the playground since it's finally nice out. Keep an eye out on the facebook page for reaction to a vote later. Enjoy your weekend!!

I'm Back. I Think...

Good morning! So I thought that I'd be able to get a post up yesterday but honestly, I was suffering from a political hangover and never got a nap in, I tried but it never happened. I would like to say though, thank you to anyone who shared my Open Letter, I really just wanted a way to vent and that it actually resonated with at least one person amazed me. And thank you to all my regular readers, you guys are the ones that keep me going (three in particular, and you three know who you are) and to any new readers, welcome!

Where do I begin? Oh yes, email, call, facebook, tweet, whatever your senators and urge them to vote no to cloture and to defund ACA (Obamacare, Ocrapcare, whatever you want to call it). Now that that is out of the way let's focus on an interesting little tidbit I ran across from the Heritage Foundation: If you're married, you will be penalized. Ok, the information being gathered is for married vs cohabitating couples with no dependent children. Table 5 shows the increase in personal medical expenditures for married couples and it's quite interesting. Am I shocked that married people are being penalized in this bill? Of course not given the legislatures who drafted this. Sometimes I know that I sidestep around what I really want to say and just let people come up with their own conclusions. Today? Today, no I'm going to tell you exactly what I think is the logic behind this. This is punishment because of the gay marriage debate. And because it's still, rightfully, a state's issue the federal government cannot mandate that all states must recognize and perform same sex weddings. However they can make it hard on the overwhelmingly majority of married couples who are different sexes. Crafty guys, real crafty. And we won't even get into why we're just now finding out about this given the fact that there's over 20,000 pages to the senate healthcare bill. There is no transparency with these shady senators. So if you're married, you're basically better off getting divorced and cohabitating. Except if you're military because then you'll lose benefits and stuff and it's just a headache. Way to go big gov!

Transparency, I know that every candidate goes all nuts and says "I will be the most transparent (fill in position) ever!" Obama said it, and unless denouncing everything as a phony scandal, dang he's doing a bang up job. No transparency, no give and take, just my way or the highway and don't you dare question me. Don't even question why his baby, Obamacare, is not good enough for him and his family. They have health insurance that they are keeping thank you very much, screw the people that won't be able to keep their plan and/or doctor that they like because it's being dropped by Obamacare. And now there's word that weapons and sensitive items were stolen from Americans training Libyan troops and may or may not have fallen into the hands of al Qaeda affiliates, just like the rebels in Syria that he wants to aid may or may not be our enemies. Oh and fast & furious, what? Noooo. And don't you worry that the IRS is handling who is and isn't enrolled in Obamacare, if you're deemed a wackobird by Jack and Harry and Nancy it's ok, you won't be taxed if you already have healthcare, or be audited.

Is it time for midterms? Hell is it 2016 yet? Time to stop drinking the Kool-Aid and realize that a lot of these career pols, a lot of these progressives (both sides) just need to go because they're not in it for the people, they're in it for themselves and their ego.

Quick Thought

We are fortunate the Tricare isn't really affected by Obamacare, with the exception that child dependents can be covered through the age of 26. It was until 18 unless your child could provide proof of attending college then it was 23. I think that's more than reasonable and think that overall covering kids well into the start of their adulthood is absurd. I went for two years without health insurance because I couldn't afford it and I was healthy so no biggie. Hubby bounced around the idea of getting out because he's just fed up with the politics and budget cuts and everything, I don't blame him but I went into full panic mode. The main reason he's reenlisting? We cannot afford civilian healthcare. My cousin and I, her husband is Army as well, have had this conversation several times. How do you justify giving up healthcare, despite it's sometimes crappy care, is affordable and not being affected by Obamacare the way the rest of the nation is. Did we get a waiver or exemption? I don't think so because our coverage really hasn't changed -- granted I know that some referral programs have been cut due to budgetary reasons and people are having to pay out of pocket, however not having to pay those expenses on top of let's say $400/month for family coverage that might not cover everything (i.e. maternity) isn't too shabby. I do know that retirees who are covered by Tricare will see their premiums go up because the government is trying to drive them to flee Tricare (where I think, and correct me if I'm wrong, they were paying give or take $500/year for themselves and their families to be cover) to go to the exchanges. You know, the exchanges that the President has exempted for himself, Congress, Supreme Court Justices, and Cabinet members.

But with the budget cuts to the military, some people who were expecting to stay and keep their Tricare are being given the boot so what are they to do? There's a definite hold your breath and see what happens with everything. It'll be interesting to see who comes through for the military and who comes through to help defund Obamacare.

PS - We're over 19 hours in, no catheters, no pink sneakers, and just speeches standing for the people and what the people want.

Make DC Listen... 17 Hours & Counting

If you've been keeping up with me on facebook or twitter (@morning_snark), you know that I've basically been following the great speech from the beginning. I hope that all Obamites take note, this is how a great speech is made, no um's, no uh's, no teleprompters.  I've been a Cruz supporter since he helped Rand filibuster the Brennan nomination, and I've made no secrets of desiring a Paul-Cruz ticket but ohmygosh, Ted Cruz is freakin' amazing. I slept about 3.5-4 hours early this morning but I can't seem to turn it off -- even my husband who isn't very political (I guess as a good soldier really should be honestly given the regs) became political last night. I will say that I do apologize if this post seems a bit off as I'm a bit sleepy still and that I'm trying to tune out Disney Jr while listening to C-SPAN on the laptop as I type.

Ted Cruz's critics have said that he's too extreme, he's lost his marbles, he's a wackobird, that he's out of touch. Just stop right there, if anything has shown in the last 17 hours it is that Ted Cruz is not out of touch with the American people. When more than 50% oppose Obamacare, when people are begging for exemptions, when people are realizing that their health insurance will go up if not completely dropped, when people realize that their hours will be cut because of Obamacare and there have only been a handful of Senators who have spoken out in the last 17 hours, two of whom are democrats who definitely do not support Cruz's mission. One of the big points he's made is that if Obamacare is so great, then why has its namesake given himself and other federal bigwigs exemptions? I love this because it's true, if it's not good enough for them then it's not good enough for the American people. Another point that has been repeatedly made is that Obamacare is not going to help job creations as employers cut back hours, stop opening new businesses -- he even cited White Castle.

Sorry, I'm hitting the wall. We know this is bad legislation. We know that Sens Cruz, Lee, Rubio, Sessions, Roberts, Vitter, Enzi, Paul, and if I forgot any I do apologize aren't off their rockers for wanting to defund Obamacare. They've even said that the Senate should just pass the House resolution and then go through and reform or completely scrap Obamacare in order to avoid a government shut down. And yeah I'm gonna be a blame shifter here because I feel that it's blame that is justly placed: If the government shuts down, it is the fault of the President and the Senate democrats and those Republicans who try to outcast those above named Senators for not coming to a better agreement and compromise and not listening to what the people want.

An Open Letter

To Whom It May Concern:

I'm over you. I'm over your petty fighting, whether it be fighting amongst yourselves or with those on the other side. I'm over you using our troops for political gain, for your social experiments, for all your dumbassery -- especially if you have never served, have never been married to a service member, or grew up as a military kid. I'm over you thinking that the military has it made, we don't. Many of us live paycheck to paycheck, not because we're horrible with money but because of the peanuts we get paid. While you sit up there in your cushy DC office, lunching on take out from The Palm or some hot new place in the District, not worrying about your personal health care because you can afford a private concierge doctor if you or your family gets ill, or worrying that the price of half soy-half coconut organic fair trade quart of milk in a recyclable box from Whole Foods went up a whole twenty-five cents, you have many families that are worried about if they're going to have enough money in their budget to cover the essentials from the grocery store, let alone being able to grab take out from Chik-fil-a or pizza on a Friday night. I'm sitting here trying to re-work our own household budget and thinking that I may have to give up my smartphone because if we could save that extra $30 in data fees, that could go towards something else, or how we're going to pay our car insurance which is going up almost $3 every month, which for an E4 with 3 years in, that $3 can go a long way. If we didn't have issues with our car I might not be as stressed out, but when you have an unexpected problem come up with your car that you're pretty sure you got ripped off on but you needed something at the time, it's stressful. But you don't have to worry about that do you? I'm sure it must be hell trying to find a private car company in the District though with the latest overseas import. I'm just thankful that we live on post because then we don't really have to worry about a landlord giving us the boot -- can you imagine though if our crappy privatized housing tried to boot everyone on post for non-payment? I mean, I'm sure you worry about your multi-million dollar Georgetown townhome being foreclosed on every night that you're losing sleep over it -- must be what's prompting you to vote the way you do and not fund the military.

I'm completely bias and selfish with this next bit. You can go ahead and not fund the rest of the government. I don't give a damn if you never fund another school lunch (seriously, from what my friends with school aged children have been telling me about public school lunches, you'd probably be doing these kids a favor) or put another satellite into space, just pay your first line of homeland security. In fact, you can go ahead and privatize the TSA and just get rid of the Department of Homeland Security all together, that might save you some money. Seriously, how in the world do you expect our troops to muster the morale to continue to fight for a country which won't even pay them? Do you really think that the guys down range are going to be focused on their missions when they're worrying about their families back home, making sure they're getting food, clothes & shelter? Hell no, so don't be surprised if there are more accidents and what not down range if you don't pay these guys. So let's go even further about our talk of defunding... I'm good with defunding Obamacare, it's crap legislation and had you all read it before lemming off the cliff like Nancy suggested and not read it, you would have never funded it. The government has no place in health care, the regulations now are fine, and it's not broke therefore don't fix it. We can also take away the salaries for one year of the White House if they make over $100,000, all Congress members' salaries (oh and those bonuses that they thought they so justly deserved) and any aide who makes an excessive amount of money, the Supreme Court justices and any clerks for them that make an excessive amount of money, the AG can get his salary cut too since he's worthless and lets guns run amok, John Kerry doesn't need his salary either. If we cut those salaries, just even for one whole year, think of how much money could be saved? Actually here's what it is broken down for just the three main branches of the government:

President: $400,000/year + $50,000 expense account/year

Vice President: $231,9000/year

Congressional Leaders: $803,700/year

Rank & File Senate Members: $8,352,000/year

Rank & File House Members:$7,516,800/year 

Supreme Court Chief Justice: $217,400/year

Associate Supreme Court Justices: $1,664,8000/year

Total: $19,236,600/year

 

I know that may not seem like much but it's something. Kind of like that $3 I wish I had that's going to my insurance company now every month. But when you add in all the other salaries and department cuts that I've thrown out there, it adds up to bigger numbers.

 

If we as citizens can manage a budget, do our job (if we're lucky enough to have one) and what not, but you guys still get paid even if you cannot even do your job -- unless it's to blame someone else for all the crap that has happened. It's ridiculous that you all act like freakin' second graders on the playground rather than adults. When I was younger and acting like a fool, I didn't get paid an allowance or have extra privileges. When I got a little bit older, if I didn't show up to work and/or do my job, I didn't get paid and risked getting fired. If my soldier husband doesn't do his job not only is he risking not getting paid, and his job, but he could end up hurting one of his battle buddies in the process. Quit being selfish and learn that this isn't about you and your wants -- especially when the American people tell you that they don't want crap like Obamacare or having to worry about being audited by the IRS because of a political affiliation. Shut up and actually listen to your constituents, all of them, not just the ones that support you. I'm so fed up with the government, and although there are a few shining lights within the vast system, they're few and far between and you idiots marginalize them even though they're actually doing what the people are asking of them.

 

Bottom line is, knock off using the military pay as a scare tactic, it's not cute, it's not funny -- it's dirty and it's wrong. I pray that if you keep doing it, someone in top brass will say to hell with you, we're not going to work until you pay these Joes, and if we get attacked it's on you, not us. And if you think I'm being ridiculous by saying that, stop and remember that military doesn't have these hot shot, big bucks wage negotiators or these silly unions to watch out for them -- ultimately that's the job of top brass, Congress and the President. So if you claim you support the troops, ante up because if you let the military be affected by the government shut down then it makes me wonder how much you truly care about the troops and their families.

 

In Regards,

Meg

Founder, The Morning Snark Report

One Overly Annoyed Army Wife 

 



Monday Monday....

Well, I'd like to say I'm surprised but I'm not. Go figure that his highness came out and politicized the shooting at the Navy Yard -- while memorializing the victims of this shooting. I think it's safe to say that by now we all know how I feel about gun control, if you don't check previous posts. The fact that he thinks it's ok to turn a speech remembering the victims of this latest tragedy into something political is his specialty, and again I beg of him, pay attention to Chicago. Where was his calling for the American people to become outraged and start crying for more gun control when eight people were murdered in Chicago over Labor Day weekend? But it's cool, keep on keeping on man. And we have Bill Clinton to thank for outlawing military members and civilians on posts to carry their personal weapons. It kind of blows my mind to think that if people could carry on post (which hubby hates that if we're coming back on post and need to stop at the commissary or whatever he has to go home first and lock up his gun and then backtrack to the PX; also it can't be left in your vehicle, we've had friends who live off post drop their shotguns at our house for the day to go shoot skeet after work so they don't get in trouble) that maybe Ft Hood and the Yard shootings wouldn't have been tragedies, that perhaps less people would have been killed or wounded. Maybe it's time for the top brass to lobby Congress to get rid of that stupid rule and let at the very least service members carry their personal weapons with them. I mean, they do have weapons training and routinely qualify and for the most part they are responsible with weapons (yes, we've all heard of the "accidents" -- which aren't really accidents but acts of negligence). My opinion, everyone needs weapons training and to learn how to respect weapons and yes even arm themselves since it's clear that the thugs will continue to be glorified.

Over the weekend there was the mall shooting in Kenya (I did a quick blurb about it on the facebook page last night) and there was a bombing of Christians in Pakistan. Right now the Kenyan shooting is getting more press because it targeted a place popular with ex-pats, and therefore non-Muslims. I know if you haven't heard you might think, why should that matter? Well it matters because the perpetrators actually let Muslims go free before they started to attack people. Well isn't that just a great big ol' act of kindness and humanity. As of this morning, it was still being reported that the only American victims were numbered at four and suffered wounds and nothing more severe. But guess what? The FBI is on it's way! Yeah, within 48 hours the FBI is already investigating what happened because it's also being reported that several of the gunmen came from the States. Awesome. So maybe if an American was involved in the attack on the consulate in Benghazi then the government would have acted in a much faster capacity, never mind that four Americans were killed in Benghazi. I know, details are rarely important to this administration but I'm over the whole broad picture when in reality details do matter in instances like Benghazi (and the IRS scandal, and NSA spying on the people, and guns being run in Mexico, I might need to add some new tinfoil to my hat). As for the church bombing in Pakistan, my heart breaks. I know that there's always going to be bad seeds in any religion, and honestly I don't care what religion you are or aren't, terrorizing and targeting people based on their religion is just sick. But of course, the administration doesn't want to really acknowledge that non-Muslims in Africa and the Middle East are being targeted because it doesn't help whatever ridiculous agenda they have.

And speaking of ridiculous agendas, YAY for House Republicans!! On Friday they passed a great piece of legislation that would keep the government running while defunding Obamacare. Of course O is threatening military pay (we're all just laughing at him, and I for one would be rolling if top brass down range said, yeah with all due respect, you don't want to pay the guys who protect this country and have a job to do and actually do their job, well then we're just gonna hang out and not go to work until you decide to pay them), and people are starting to panic and everyone who champions this horrible health care plan is already blaming the Republicans for shutting down the government -- even though the Senate has yet to vote on it. Ol' Reid is saying that backing the House bill is "futile" and that Obamacare will be funded no matter what, despite the fact that a vast majority of the American people do not want it. The best commentary on this came from Rep Cory Gardner (R-CO) and how Obamacare has screwed his family. Awesome. But you know, it's all about taxing people enough to make them give up and rely on the government for food, housing and healthcare. Clearly, we've strayed from the original intent of our Founding Fathers.

Oh, hey Rand's on Fox & Friends, time to go!

Pull The Trigger

I'm an advocate for safe, responsible gun ownership. I'm ok with background checks, and limiting those who have received inpatient and/or extended psychiatric care to having access to guns. I'm ok with children learning how to properly handle a gun, but don't think that they should be given free reign of it -- like not even leaving it out for cleaning, or whatever, and having live rounds easily accessible nearby (I've seen this happen and T had to basically pinch me to keep me from saying something). I believe that if you pull the trigger, you better be prepared to kill something or someone -- if not, then finger off the trigger. I believe that limiting law abiding citizens from having guns is the dumbest thing ever and basically giving a green light to criminals to go ahead and rob, rape and kill innocent people. I am fully behind having trained, competent teachers and administrations who feel comfortable with a weapon keep a weapon concealed in the classroom under lock and key. I also feel that every woman should shoot a gun and know how to properly use one for self protection. Now, what outrages me is yet again Chicago.

I woke up, was scanning the sites to see what I wanted to snark about today. International? Fluff? Domestic? Dumbassery? Oh! There was another shooting in Chicago. Am I shocked? Not really. Every few weeks there seems to be a small blurb about a shooting in Chicago. I think this one outraged me a little more because a 3-year old was shot in this one, which is basically the same age as B. But of course, where is all the uproar over this? I've pondered this time and again, this is the President's "hometown" so why doesn't he put pressure on Rahm and everyone he knows back there to get their act together? I think we all know why the media doesn't go after it but people should -- especially those who don't want to see Chicago style gun laws enacted in their areas (semi-automatic weapons ban, magazine capacity limit, etc). I just get so frustrated that the people who are so quick to back abortions, go to war with Syria, but will not stand up and say "Enough is enough, Chicago, you have three year olds on playgrounds who are being unnecessarily shot for what?" At some point, this glorifying of gang life and repetition of it needs to stop. And now we come right back into the whole, parents need to be parents, no matter how many jobs they have to work or parents are participating in that child's life. If you leave a child to be raised by a village that goes by some ridiculous gangland code, you will just spawn more gangsters and less productive citizens.

In addition to people getting on the people they elect, I guess to it helps to have legislators who actually understand how guns work and the proper safe handling. Remember when the gun control debate was raging in Colorado a few months back? I remind you of state Rep Diana DeGette who didn't understand that magazines are reusable. I always laugh when I hear that states ban "high capacity" magazines because a) you can just refill the magazine with more ammunition and b) once you're out you can just replace the empty magazine with a full back up. Do these people really think that banning more than seven rounds in a magazine is going to stop mass shootings? No, because those people will either have high capacity magazines or multiple magazines. And then everyone's favorite, Dianne Feinstein



A picture is worth a thousand words, right? This one to me is priceless. At the end of the day everyone needs to remember, criminals will be criminals and get their hands on guns in whatever way possible. Taking away guns from law abiding citizens will just end badly, with more crime. Or it can end like this.

Happy Friday!

Money Grows On Trees, Right? Right?

As we near October, I kind of hold my breath and count to ten every time mentions the government shutting down. Army wives are notorious for being worst case scenario gossips. They're also the ones hoarding twinkies and diet coke like the zombies are about to attack (personally, I prefer snowballs and we all know how that turns out in the real zombie apocalypse), screw legit stuff. Ok, enough making fun of Army wives (I do that enough in my daily life with my friends, and yes, I do realize that I'm an Army wife and yes, I do give a forewarning to them when I'm about to go all OSMW) but the fact is, there's some worry that if the government shuts down that means that we don't get paid. It's happened before and it's stressful, especially for the joes living paycheck to paycheck. And here's the best part, our military still must go to work every morning without getting paid. Sure, they'll get back pay and stuff once the government finally gets going again, but until then work without pay minions! We've already "suffered" the effects of the sequestration, I mean having the commissary shut down was inconvenient but we dealt with it, and the lack of towels at the gym, dang that was rough. Honestly, I've been to the gym twice since we moved to the post we're at and there's a Kroger down the street if we really needed groceries on one of the two days the commissary was closed. We survived the unnecessary with sequestration because let's face it, sequestration was just a political game in which the Administration was trying to intimidate to get their way and show that they do matter. In the end, it just ticked off a lot of the military community. But now here we are, a week and a few days out from October and there's a worry in the air.

As crazy as it may sounds after what I've just written, I'm ok with a government shutdown if it's because Obamacare will not be repealed. It's an atrocious piece of legislation that had lawmakers read before they passed it (Thanks, Nancy!) they would have realized that it won't lower cost of insurance, even the Supreme Court called it a tax, and it will eventually make our worldwide sought after healthcare non-existent. And given the fact that the last time the Senate passed a budget was in April 2009. It's been nearly five years since a budget has been passed. The federal government has been operating on continued resolutions for their funding needs. How big of a joke is it that this Administration basically has not passed a budget its entire time in existence? Getting the Senate to pass a budget a mere three months after Obama took office for the first time isn't a major feat. The major feat is that this Administration and its loyalists have been voted for again and again and lauded and glorified and they can't even pass a budget. What. The. Heck?! If we didn't budget in our house do you really think I'd have a laptop to blog on, internet to get it to you, a phone just incase I get an idea and have to post something on the go, a TV to watch crappy TV when I'm sick, a car to get to the grocery store, etc, etc, etc? No. No I would not. If we operated like the federal government we'd be screwed beyond screwed. But you know, who cares about the little people who had to forgo family vacations this year and the past few years, who can't afford a nicer car because the one they have is falling apart, who can't afford a whole lot because our budgets won't allow us. It's cool federal government, keep taking your fancy vacations, attending your fancy parties, sending your kids to private schools (even though you campaign and advocate for public schools like it was the end of the world), keep your health insurance now that you've been exempt from taking part in Obamacare, you keep doing fabulous things with money that we don't have because it's all about screwing the American public that loves you so much they keep reelected your dumb asses to Congress and the Presidency. Get your shit together, repeal Obamacare and for Pete's sake pass a damn budget already!

My Head Just Might Explode...

Sorry guys, Tuesdays we have MOPS and I'm battling yet another sinus infection, I promise I'm not completely slacking. So, when I'm feeling all sinus-y and crappy I just like reading tabloids and watching trash TV. Let's talk about Miley. The girl is a train wreck. Pretty sure I've stated that time and again. Anyway, she and Liam Hemsworth broke up, but let's be real, everyone saw that coming. She blamed it on him, he's been staying silent. Then she admitted to acting like a kid, but then blamed in on Disney. No Miley, plenty of Disney kids have went on to lead train wreck free lives. Take Hilary Duff for example of "Lizzie McGuire" fame. She's in the tabloids, mainly with her kid and/or hockey player husband. She didn't quit the lucrative show and go all crazy, she took on more acting jobs here and there and basically has grown into quite the class act in my opinion. Blaming your crazy, nekkid ways on Disney is not classy. Time for Miley to just go away.

John Kerry said Syria has a week to get their weapons accounted for and basically turned over to the international community for accountability. I just laughed. A week, a year, yeah we know all know that goes in this administration. And I'm sure he'll take a cue from his fearless leader and say he never said that, some time next year as the world spirals into hell and WWIII. And since when do we let Russia take the lead? Ugh. The whole thing is a total and complete mess but hey at least it's kept people distracted from all the other stuff, right?

I'll get to the shootings at the Navy Yard tomorrow. It's still too early to snark on it. It does piss me off though that people are using this tragedy to once again push for gun control laws. Hey dumbasses, every time you call for stricter gun control, Chicago should be thrown in your face. Right now though, I need to get some laundry in and take some Motrin and lay on the couch. 

Monday Morning Quaterback

I'm back! Hubby got an unexpected long weekend so I decided to just stow the devices til this morning. I posted on facebook and twitter here and there but nothing major. Today's just going to be a catch up post kind of day so let's go.

Benghazi. Ben Ghazi? That's a person right? No, no, no it's a phony scandal. No, wait it was a story shoved away and then everyone who helped to cover it up got promoted to big kid posts. One year and five days later we are still no closer to knowing what happened. Good for those in Congress who push for answers -- especially concerning Syria. I love that Rep Jeff Duncan (R-SC) challenged John Kerry (which I did a quick blurb about but here's a link with video and transcript) on Benghazi and said that it's relevant to military action in Syria. This administration had advance knowledge that things in Benghazi were starting to get hostile, but the State Department ignored those and the requests for more security and in the end four Americans died. Americans haven't died in Syria. I feel awful for the people of Syria, but I feel worse for the Stephens, Woods, Smith & Doherty families because their loved ones were absolutely unnecessarily killed. But you know, doesn't matter because eh, it's just a made up scandal by those damn tinfoil tea party crazies.

Here she is... Miss America. No it wasn't Miss Kansas. I will say, good for her for serving her country and having tattoos. But honestly, is it that big of a deal? I mean, Honey Boo-Boo is a freakin' pageant queen, and that is fairly unexpected (unless you're familiar with pageants in the South where every little girl is entered at some point). Is it the whole left trying to say, see this is what female empowerment looks like. Blah blah blah. Oh. My. God. I don't know, maybe it's just because we're Army and I see many females running around in uniform and doing well in their job, can hunt, and what not doesn't mean that Miss Kansas is an anomaly. But then again, maybe if Hollywood and the liberals actually understood the military then this wouldn't be a shock to them. Especially the tattoos, many a soldier, male or female, have tattoos.

Oh! Colorado. I'm sorry about the flooding Colorado. What I am not sorry is that anti-gun legislators were recalled and are whining about voter suppression. No, what happened wasn't voter suppression, it was the people exercising their right to hold a recall election and vote you out because they lost confidence in you. In fact, one guy who had a sign out detailing voting laws was claimed to be "intimidating voters." Really? It's nice that the voting laws were on display. Now, if we can get voters to present ID that would be awesome.

Now a quick parent rant. Why is Disney Junior pushing Spanish? They have these little shorts about learning and healthy eating which overall is great, but lately they've been incorporating Spanish words, foods, and other related cultural activities. Now, I'm not saying that we should have a national established language of English in the United States, but what I am saying is that if we were to go to France I'd speak French. If we went to Russia (or you know, get taken over by Russia), I'd learn Russian. You get the point. However, it's frustrating when you go to a place and there's a menu in English and Spanish, or you call and have to press a button for English or Spanish. Then we go back to the immigration debate of why people here illegally and not willing to speak English get citizenship over those who have gone through the proper channels and learned to speak English and want to assimilate to American ways. Granted, I had one grandmother who was militant according to some stories about people who would be in public and not speaking English and another who immigrated, spoke English but preferred to speak German (she taught me my prayers in German when I was little), and a mother whose first language was German but she assimilated and learned English (you'd never know that English was her second language honestly). But the bottom line is, maybe I don't want B to know Spanish right now, maybe I think that we should spend more time focusing on being American than other cultures. Sadly though, I'm starting to see that wane.

Out of rants for the moment (mainly because I have to make sure B didn't run off and pee in a corner, I hate potty training!). I'll try to come up with something coherent and thought provoking for this afternoon so be on the watch. Happy Monday!