Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Taxs (?)

Are you a part of the
TEA'd
Off Amerivans?


Oh yes, Taxed Enough Already.

No not my orginal thought, I did bartrow it, but I have seen it in several sites this morning so I will not list them.

Just a though as I pass this way today;
Mervi

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

The road ahead

The road ahead
Yes I can see
But just too yonder tree.

The road ahead
I now can see
Just to the bend of the road, I see.

The road ahead
Yes, I can see to the field over there
I still can see.

The road ahead
Is steep down this hill
I can see just a little today.


The road ahead
I can see it leads up yonder grade.
I can only see that little today

The road ahead
The is night is coming
I cannot see!

The road ahead?
I know not where it has gone?
I have place my hand in He who has gone before!
Just something to ponder to day;
Mervi
ps
Yes, this is my creation.

A true entrepreneur

I have lifted this from today’s Fresno Bee page A 4.

Restaurant allows dinners to pay what they want.

Madrid—A Spanish restaurant grappling with hard economic times is wooing dinners by letting they pay whatever they want for its daily special.
Barcelona restaurateur Eledino Garcia said Monday he introduce the honor system three weeks ago in his 32 seat bar and eatery to bring back loyal customers many of whom lost their jobs as Spain’s unemployment rate soared to 13.9% over the past year.
Garcia says his daily take is up.

Great news, someone in thinking;
Mervi

Monday, March 23, 2009

Mr. Madoff and something to think about?

The bilked have provided numerous sound bites denouncing Bernie Madoff as "evil," a word whose true meaning is sometimes difficult to grasp in our "nonjudgmental" age.

The definition of evil can be imprecise. Dictionary.com makes a run at it: "morally wrong or bad." According to whom and according to what? Is evil something we see only in others when we define it according to our subjective standards, or is it so embedded in each of us that we work overtime to hide it, not only from ourselves, but from everyone else?

Here is the dirty secret about the Madoff tragedy. Madoff is us. Yes, he is. Do not throw down your newspaper in disgust. We are all potential members of "Swindler's List." Do you know why our gut reaction is so strong and so hostile to Bernard Madoff ("I hope he rots in jail," said one of his "victims")? It is because he mirrors the flaw in each of us. We instinctively react to such people because they strip away our facade and reveal what theologians used to call "sin," before we became "dysfunctional" and in need of medication, not salvation. In extreme circumstances, we have crucified people who exposed our darkness to the light.


Here is the link to Cal Thomas complete article; http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/thomas031709.php3


Just something to consider;
Mervi

Friday, March 20, 2009

Flowers (1st slide show) :-

http://widget-cd.slide.com/widgets/slideticker.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" quality="high" scale="noscale" salign="l" wmode="transparent" flashvars="cy=bb&il=1&channel=3530822107871196877&site=widget-cd.slide.com" style="width:400px;height:320px" name="flashticker" align="middle">


Wednesday, March 18, 2009

The impact of taxes?

March 16, 2009
The Impact of Taxes by Kerby Anderson


What is the impact of taxes on American citizens and businesses? You're probably like me and don't know many people in the top income tax bracket. So it is hard to imagine what would happen when the current tax cuts expire. A recent commentary by Pat Buchanan put a human face on what are often abstract economic issues and principles.
Small businesses will be affected when the current tax cuts expire since two-thirds of them are taxed at the same rate as individuals. So consider "what this means to the owner of a restaurant and bar in Los Angeles open from noon to midnight, where a husband and wife each put in 80 hours a week." At the end of the year, they will pay a U.S. tax rate of 39.6 percent and a California income tax rate of 9.55 percent.
But these aren't all the taxes they will pay. "Medicare payroll taxes on the proprietor as both employer and salaried employee will be $14,500. Social Security payroll taxes for the proprietor as both employer and employee will be $13,243." That means that federal taxes, state income taxes, and payroll taxes will take half of the income they earned through 8,000 hours of work.
After paying all of this, they also have to pay the day-to-day taxes that come with living in the United States and living in California. That would be a state sales tax of 8.25 percent. It would also include gas taxes for the 50-mile commute, and tens of thousands of dollars in property taxes on both their restaurant and home.
It's not hard to see why someone in this situation might be inclined to work less or even give up. This hypothetical couple worked hard and yet sees the government taking a substantial share of their income. No wonder so many taxpayers are discouraged. I'm Kerby Anderson, and that's my point of view.


Just a thought as I pass this way;
Mervi

Yes, this is barrowed!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Our tyrip to Morro Bay (1)

Part of the ships in the Harber.



The power plant, early in the morning.

A friendly Sea Gull.



Morro Rock and a flower.






Part of the wild life around Morro Rock.





More wild life around the Rock.









Thursday, March 12, 2009

My 35 Anniversary of turning 30.


Well I have become another year older all by my self. All I had to do was, not step in front of any trucks. Keep the electric shaver out of the bath tub. Watch where I was driving and how fast. And just a few other minor things. As part of my getting older gift, Virginia as allowed me to accompany her to Morro Bay.


Mervi
ps:
When I get home I will make an effort at my first slide show.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

PLEASE, a little Political satire

FORMS ARE GOING FAST- SIGN UP TODAY!

Becoming Illegal (Actual letter from an Iowa resident and sent to his senator)

The Honorable Tom Harkin
731 Hart Senate Office Building
Phone (202) 224 3254
Washington DC , 20510

Dear Senator Harkin ,
As a native Iowan and excellent customer of the Internal Revenue Service , I am writing to ask for your assistance. I have contacted the Department of Homeland Security in an effort to determine the process for becoming an illegal alien and they referred me to you..
My primary reason for wishing to change my status from U.S. Citizen to illegal alien stems from the bill which was recently passed by the Senate and for which you voted. If my understanding of this bill's provisions is accurate, as an illegal alien who has been in the United States for five years, all I need to do to become a citizen is to pay a $2,000 fine and income taxes for three of the last five years. I know a good deal when I see one and I am anxious to get the process started before everyone figures it out.
Simply put, those of us who have been here legally have had to pay taxes every year so I'm excited about the prospect of avoiding two years of taxes in return for paying a $2,000 fine. Is there any way that I can apply to be illegal retroactively? This would yield an excellent result for me and my family because we paid heavy taxes in 2004 and 2005.
Additionally, as an illegal alien I could begin using the local emergency room as my primary health care provider. Once I have stopped paying premiums for medical insurance, my accountant figures I could save almost $10,000 a year.
Another benefit in gaining illegal status would be that my daughter would receive preferential treatment relative to her law school applications , as well as 'in-state' tuition rates for many colleges throughout the United States for my son.
Lastly, I understand that illegal status would relieve me of the burden of renewing my driver's license and making those burdensome car insurance premiums . This is very important to me given that I still have college age children driving my car.
If you would provide me with an outline of the process to become illegal (retroactively if possible) and copies of the necessary forms, I would be most appreciative. Thank you for your assistance.
Your Loyal Constituent, (hoping to reach 'illegal alien' status rather than just a bonafide citizen of the USA )

Donald Ruppert
Burlington , IA
Get your Forms (NOW)!!

Call your Internal Revenue Service at 1-800-289-1040 ..
(Please pass this on to your friends so they can save on this great offer.)

Monday, March 9, 2009

M I A

Yes, I have been absent from the land of Blog. I took an unexpected vacation in the Hospital Paradise. I acquired a nasty Kidney / Bleater infection. On the right side, the same side in which dwells the Kidney which has endured three major surgeries. So everyone, including me, was concerned. As of Saturday at time of discharge, with the external signs and the bodily fluids test, the infection was losing.
Yes, I would ask your prayers the next few days, until I make my next visit to my Urologist and the subsequent test.

Mervi

Monday, March 2, 2009

To be able to one day fly away.


"Even the most skilled money manager can make bad bets. Legendary investor Warren Buffet, who has enriched himself and his clients immeasurably, had a very bad year if it makes you feel any better.
The greedy banker forced by misguided laws to make mortgage loans to clients who do not meet the standard of prudent lending guidelines is to be excoriated. The applicant who takes advantage of overly lenient lending laws to buy houses to flip in a short time is not? The applicant who knows that they cannot repay the loan they are offered is not?
My point here is not that all money managers are blameless, nor that all homeowners who face foreclosure are to be blamed. The point is that your worries about the economy are being manipulated to make you do what politicians want, and what they want is not always good for you or for the economy.
Your best defense against an unruly world is the knowledge in your own head."


I lifted this comment from the following blog; http://americanelephant.wordpress.com/

Thanks for coming by today;
Mervi

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Grade Welfare ?

Here I sit, in the comfit of my recliner, enjoying a quite Sunday nap which was caused by reading the Sunday Fresno Bee. In this fog I stumbled upon this article and came wide awake and a little agitated. WHAT, you are trying to inform me that a portion of my fellow students, as I attended college really believe this?

“Consider a recent article in The New York Times about what many college students expect from the grading process. According to the professors, students and researchers who were interviewed, a major expectation on campuses these days is that those who try hard and attend all their classes -- regardless of how well they perform -- deserve high marks.”

If these young people feel this way now, what will be their “educated” want in the everyday work place?

“An English professor at the University of Maryland who was quoted in the article said he tells his classes that anyone who does just the bare minimum to meet course requirements will earn a C. Yet many students think an A would be a more appropriate default grade.
The article quotes a senior at the University of Maryland who wonders: ‘What else is there really than the effort that you put in? If you put in all the effort you have and get a C, what is the point? ... If your maximum effort can only be average in a teacher's mind, then something is wrong.’
Oh, something is wrong all right.”


I had an English class where the subject for a research paper was, “Grade welfare.” Later, and in a somewhat privet setting, this instructor informed me that I had one of three paper which agreed with her opinion on the subject. YES, there is grade welfare!
I will stop here. I can feel my blood pressure behind my eyes. Here is a link to the complete article, for your reading pleasure.

http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/wo/story/1230650.html

Just a thought as I pass this way;
Mervi