Sunday, December 20, 2015

Senior-Ella

(With sincerest apologies to Messrs. Rodgers & Hammerstein)

Three hours ago I last peed
And it trickled out slow but alright
And all I can say
Is I hope and I pray
That some day
I can sleep through the night

Yes three hours ago I sat here
Forlorn that my future’s not bright
As I enter my Golden Years
I have those olden fears
I will not sleep through the night
I may never again sleep through the night

I am empty
I’ve no more pee
And I want to get back into bed

I get cranky
If I don’t see
Pleasant dreams floating throughout my head

So three hours ago I did pee
And I’m hoping to last till it’s light
I know I would feel great
If I don’t dehydrate
And fate let me sleep through the night

And I lay here with eyes wide open
While my body desires its rest
With bladder I tussle
And squeeze kegel muscle
To stay in my feathery nest
Please just let me stay in my nice warm nest

For I’m empty
I’ve no more pee
And I want to get back into bed

I get cranky
If I don’t see
Pleasant dreams floating throughout my head

But still nothing can stop the urges
And I know that I’ll soon lose the fight
So I kick off the top sheet
And shuffle on tired feet
Resigned I won’t sleep through this night

Then I climb back onto my mattress
But already something is not right
In my bed every now and then
Thoughts of a future when
I will sleep through the night.
I will one day again sleep   through   the   night!

(Alarm clock rings!)


Thursday, December 17, 2015

Top 10 Self Driving Car Questions

10     In the rain are the windshield wipers necessary?
  9     If it violates the law how does a cop pull it over?
  8     Does the seat belt have to be fastened? Where and to what or whom?
  7     If the only human passenger in the car is talking on the phone can he get a ticket?
  6     Since someone or something controls it can it be cited for driving under the influence?
  5     If two self driving cars are stopped at a light side by side will they drag race?
  4     If a guy cuts the car off does it flash the lights, beep the horn or give him the virtual finger? 
  3     Will it go faster as the light turns yellow?
  2     If it crashes into a tree in the forest and nobody is around does it make a sound? (And does anyone care?)
And the number one question for a self driving car is:
  1     If a self driving car runs a red light who pays the fine?

Friday, December 11, 2015

GOP JEKYLL HYDE HYPOCRISY

The GOP claims to be our champions! They are for the rights of all Americans.
They also claim to be the party of family values and fiscal responsibility.
They can claim to be anything they like but in this world actions speak where words cannot!
Let's examine a few of these claims.

Err on the side of safety:

Lately it has become clear that even if you find yourself on Homeland Security’s ‘No Fly List’ (created under Republican President Bush) you still have the right to buy a gun.
What could go wrong?
Now to be fair not everyone on the list is a terrorist and some names that appear on it are obvious mistakes but should we not err on the side of safety?
If after a name that should not be on the restrictive list is found and removed the person will once again be allowed to purchase all the killing weapons his heart desires.
And defending your Second Amendment right to bear arms in a well ordered militia generally does not mean an AK47 in every bedroom.

It’s your right to vote!

One of our basic rights in America is the freedom to vote.
In this land of the free all citizens can choose support and vote for their favorite candidate.
Of course at the same time we must keep an eye out for voter fraud.
Remember the long ago joke about Chicago politics, Vote early and often?  It’s a rarity for something like that to happen in this day and age.
In fact there have been fewer than 10 proven cases of voter fraud in the last decade or so. The key word here is “Proven.”
The truth about voter fraud however does not matter to the GOP. What they have found is that since there are far more Americans registered as Democrats than Republican it would be good if fewer Democrats voted or were even able to do so.
They have used the trumped up voter fraud issue as a reason to block an inordinate number of voters from exercising their right to vote.
Not surprisingly those being disenfranchised are generally minorities in mostly Democratic districts.
The GOP has stopped early voting in many areas known to be Democratic and continue to fight against unions.
They have also made it harder for some districts to elect a Democrat by using redistricting or gerrymandering.
This immoral tactic rearranges voting areas so that fewer Democratic legislators can represent a State by positioning as many of their voters into one district while spreading the Republican voters into more.  The result has been shocking but productive for the GOP and there is no reason for them to curtail this action.
Once again the GOP is claiming to be on the side of the people while actually taking away their rights.
All the while claiming to be erring on the side of safety.

Family Values:

I believe nearly every family consists of at least one mother. And for those of you unfamiliar with the word a mother is usually a woman of the female persuasion.
I am being silly but want to make this point very clear because our current GOP has stirred up a great deal of confusion here.  They wish to cut off funding for anything related to the healthcare of women.
Their vendetta against Planned Parenthood is epic and has caused many of their weak minded idiot followers to resort to violence.
The bottom line is if you do not want women to be healthy then you are really not high on the list of people who value the family!

Fiscal Responsibility:

This one is not that hard to refute but still hard to make the Republican base understand since they consistently vote against their own best interest.
Lowering taxes sounds great until you realize that yours will not be going down unless you own a business, a large corporation, a small nation or at least a Congressman.
Republican leaders are not stupid, far from it. They have found the goose that keeps laying their golden eggs in the form of under educated voters and wealthy contributors.
As long as they keep the former in the dark the latter will continue to prosper and send a portion back to the politician.
A tiny amount of research shows the average American has fallen behind more and more ever since Reagan and his voodoo economic policy of trickle down bull shit was enacted.
The wealth gap in America is so astounding that it threatens to push America further into an Oligarchy that can never be peacefully turned around again.
All the while the GOP spews fiscal responsibility phrases they continue to ramp up military spending and try to get the funding for this from cut backs to Social Security and Medicare.
The brilliant strategy has been working even before Eisenhower warned us about it and there is no incentive for them to end it and turn off the spigot.

We must fight terror any way we can!

The GOP is so committed to fighting terror that they demand we get boots on the ground everywhere! Some of these war mongering hawks never put on a uniform in their lives and actively sought ways to avoid military service but your kids can fight for America.
So they never served but they can still help fight terror by enacting laws and hiring the right people to enact them, right?
One of the ways to fight terrorism in the world is to keep funds away from them.
ISIS took over many oil fields and with them the vast wealth that flows from the Earth.
But oil must be turned into money to buy weapons from unscrupulous dealers who only care about their bottom line.
So how can we stop this flow of oil to money to death?
In February of this year President Obama nominated Adam Szubin to be the man to stop this cycle, or at least impede its growth.
He has the support of all sides in Congress and both major parties feel he is the right man for the job.
So why is he not in place as of now?
Why is this man still waiting for a Congressional vote on his approval?
The answer cannot be that the GOP is erring on the side of safety this time.
In fact do yourself a favor and look back to see how many of President Obama's nominees have been approved by Congress. They are the least productive Congress in our history!
Perhaps the real reason they have done very little for America since President Obama took office in 2008 is that President Obama took office in 2008!

There are so many examples of hypocrisy in the Republican Party where they say one thing but not only mean something else they live for something else.
Just saying you are all for peace does not win you a Nobel Prize.
The Jekyll GOP has been incredibly adept at HYDE-ing their evil side for way too long.  It is time for the voters to fight for what is right and stop allowing these self-serving politicians from abrogating their responsibility on the tax payer dime.

Since they have shown themselves to be more Hyde than Jekyll we should show them the door.

Thursday, November 19, 2015

SHORT & SWEET FOR CLIMATE CHANGE DENIERS

October 2015 was the warmest October on record and the warmest month ever recorded relative to the month's average temperature, a new NOAA report says. It was the sixth straight month setting a global temperature record.

The temperatures got a boost this year from what may end up being the strongest El Nino ever recorded reaching its peak. El Nino, which is characterized by warming of ocean waters in the tropical Pacific Ocean, is helping to drive global temperatures upward this year, but El Nino cannot fully account for the warming. The overall trend continues to climb higher thanks largely to man-made climate change and greenhouse gas emissions.


GET IT YET MORONS?

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Enough Aid to Profitable Businesses!

I fully understand why people don’t want to give money away. And I especially understand why people do not want their money going to those who do nothing to deserve a handout!
The main difference between the liberal stance and that of the conservative is the amount of help if any those in need should get from government and how we define the group we consider to be in need.
On the one hand the conservative believes that everyone should have to work for what they get and if they do work but still do not get enough then it is their fault.
The liberal feels that if the person works for a living and still cannot get enough on which to live then either the employer or the government must step in and fix the problem.  Without one or the other our homeless population will grow and our overall quality of life will diminish.
But if the government steps in and fixes the problem with public funds, also known as our tax dollars then the two groups become opposite sides of an ongoing argument.
I personally do not want anyone who does nothing to get my money, either directly through a handout or indirectly through my tax dollars.
But I also understand the reality of America today and realize the dilemma would not be relevant were it not for the greed of our large multinational corporations and their smaller cousins in private business.
Family owned concerns are notorious for nepotism. If you work for such a firm and are not related to the owner you must expect little or no compensation for your efforts. This will be doubly painful when you realize a relative of the owner gets promoted for merely showing up to work!  Sadly I know this personally and all too well in all the jobs I ever had especially my last position!
Large corporations act in a similar fashion except they replace relatives with politically connected donors.  If you can do something for the corporation you will receive many perks in exchange for expected regulatory relief!  Don’t deliver relief; don’t expect any more free vacations or ‘no-show’ jobs for your spouse!
The funny thing about the ongoing fight between the liberal and the conservative is that we actually agree on the main premise!  We just don’t articulate who the recipient of our tax dollar really is, the politician!
One look at how much Congress has done since President Obama was sworn into office January 2009 will show any sane individual how much of our tax dollars have gone to pay the salaries and benefits of those who have done nothing but block progress.
They say the opposite of PRO-gress is CON-gress and they happen to be right!
While the conservative media drones on about the takers of the country being the lower middle class and the poor they skillfully neglect to point out just how little has been done by the highly paid members of the Republican Party over the last decade!
And corporations do not get a pass in this fight!  Walmart is the largest offender costing the American tax payer millions of dollars every year by not paying their workers a fair salary.  Now if the Walton family was hurting I would say they must be allowed to work things out but this group of greedy scions is listed as the wealthiest family in the history of the Earth!
When Walmart pays a worker a low salary and demands he or she work longer hours or overtime after clocking out or other scams they are causing those people to find other ways to feed themselves let alone their families!  Often these poverty stricken workers look to Uncle Sam for assistance in the form of food stamps.  And food stamps are paid for out of the general fund which is funded by our tax dollars.  A simple straight line of logic then shows that Walmart does not pay workers enough to live because they know that the government will pick up the slack!
And to throw more excrement in into the face of the American taxpaying public this wealthiest family in the history of the Earth PAYS LESS TAX THAN YOU DO!
If we could remove tax loopholes and start collecting the fair tax dollars from this corporation and so many other incredibly profitable ones the U S deficit would all but disappear!
So back to the original comparison between conservatives and liberals, we agree on more than either side realizes!  We just don’t point at the right culprit!

If all workers were paid enough money to live a modest but debt free life the U S government would be able to suspend most aid programs thereby lowering the tax on the dwindling middle class. But more importantly they would be able to start collecting revenue from an entirely new group of tax payers proud to do their part for the future of America!

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

GOVERNMENT GOES BOTH WAYS!

Seniors and those in need of assistance were recently informed that the annual Cost Of Living Adjustment, COLA will not go into effect this year. That means that anyone collecting Social Security will not get the tiny raise in benefits they have been getting at the start of next year.
The reason COLA will not take effect according to the government is, simply put there has been no inflation and therefore no need to for increased payments.
But at the same time Medicare premiums paid monthly by many of the same people not getting a COLA on their Social Security will rise by as much as 53% next year or from $104 to $159.30!
The reason given by the Republican controlled House of Representatives (remind me just exactly who do they represent?) is rising healthcare costs.
Those two statements are obviously at odds with each other but neither the first time nor the last time anomalies such as these will be used against the middle class.
On Long Island the energy industry friend Long Island Power Authority, LIPA is allowing and about to implement a rate hike of 9% over the next three years.
They claim this is necessary due to a shortfall in the budget caused by a drop in sales tax revenue.
By the way the reason the sales tax revenue is down is because Long Islanders cannot afford to buy as much as in previous years due to lower incomes and rising costs.
The American Association of Retired Persons, AARP says LIPA is using ‘fuzzy math’ to make their case.
All the arguments used by those in power sound legitimate when taken by themselves but when put together start to smell of lies, greed and corruption.
In college logic courses they teach syllogisms which are generally two or three statements put together that sound logical but will cause the listener or reader to pause and think, wait what?
For example:
The American buffalo is a vanishing animal.
That animal is an American buffalo.
Therefore it is vanishing!
Or one of my favorites:
News of Russian aggression is no news.
And since No News is Good News,
News of Russian aggression is good news!
Business owners started using the double standard tactic a while ago too.
They claim no raises will be given because business is down and the economy is terrible.  They also moan about the increased costs in health care as reasons for dumping more of the costs on the individual.
So the worker gets less money in his/her paycheck but has to use the less money to pay for higher healthcare costs etc.
But what costs are going up?  Surely they’re not salary related since no business is giving raises so what is causing this?
Could it just be general inflation?
No, that cannot be because inflation is so low that those on Social Security will not be getting a COLA!

The bottom line is if you can figure out two sides to any financial story and you want to feed the information to the public use them both but make sure the middle class gets the short straw!

Monday, October 19, 2015

JUMBO SHRIMP & OTHER OXYMORONS

We are all familiar with an oxymoron or two, (click to link) or perhaps fifty.
The ones we readily know are simple terms likes jumbo shrimp or the Great Depression.
But there are hidden ones that we hear all the time and fail to notice their inherent absurdity such as Government Intelligence.
Here are a few more modern ones:

LIPA – Long Island Power Authority – which has none or chooses not to use it if it does!

NIFA – Nassau County Interim Finance Authority – Which again has none and doesn't seem to care!

Pro-Life – Well, not all life, just the ones we want to be 'Pro' for. This group opposes the Pro Choice movement and chooses life only for an unborn fetus OVER THE LIFE OF THE MOTHER! (Their name should be changed to NO CHOICE!)

The Heritage Foundation – Whose? A group that cares not for America’s heritage but only that of a few wealthy anti-government regulations wealthy business owners.  Understanding that the America we know was founded and built by aliens and slaves so to deny that fact would be to deny our heritage!

Family Research Council – The name implies they are looking into all things that make up families when in fact they are interested only in families of traditional white Anglo-Saxon heterosexuals (preferably with lots of money!)

American Family Association - Very anti-Founding Fathers’ idea of an America free from religion in government they advocate a full return to the bible as law! They should remove the first word from their name or add ‘Church Going’ after it.

Citizens United – Who are they kidding? Clearly this group usurps all the power it can from the hands of the average citizen by making sure money and only large sums of it controls government. The 'citizens' they speak of are corporations which, contrary to morons on the Supreme Court ARE NOT PEOPLE!

Eagle Forum – The symbol of America is the Eagle so using the bird’s name in their title makes you think they are 100% for America! But they advocate NO government in their lives. They don’t have a clue!

Freedom Works – Sounds like a good thing except when you realize they want total freedom from taxes which would basically de-fund America! Oh, and like most Conservative groups they are against the Environmental Protection Agency since it costs money to operate. They’d rather die from pollution with money than give a little back so that all Americans could live longer! In essence the way this group uses the term freedom does not work!

Legal Reform – This is advocated by the US Chamber of Commerce and sounds fair, but a look at the agenda proves otherwise. The group wishes to remove all litigation against big business so that they can run roughshod over individual rights and pollute as they wish in order to create more wealth for themselves and their friends! It should say illegal reform.

Any GOP led Hearing: The current controlling political party in Congress has made a habit of making believe the hearings they convene and investigations they fund are legitimate when in fact they are complete farces. The witch hunts they utilize are meant only to bolster their power over the majority of the country and ensure their reelections.

And finally two of my personal favorites that need no explanation (but I will comment nevertheless):

Jews for Jesus (If you are then you are not!
and the most obvious oxymoron in America today,
Fox News.

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

One and Done?

For many years I have been saying that I do not kick someone when they are down.  I try not to gloat when I win or if my team beats your team because I realize that the pendulum swings both ways.
As a lifelong New Yorker I have rooted for only two baseball teams, the Brooklyn Dodgers and after the desertion to Los Angeles the Mets.
During the 50’s I endured taunting from fans of that other team in New York, no, not the Giants who also fled NY for the warmer climes of California. (By the way we can all thank that rat bastard Walter O’Malley for not only taking Dem Bums away but also convincing Horace Stoneham to take his Giants out as well. Also complicit in this slap in the face to NY was Robert Moses who wouldn’t work with O’Malley on a new stadium. http://mentalfloss.com/article/55491/why-did-dodgers-and-giants-leave-new-york
The dominant team in the area was the Bronx Yankees.
Ever since they threatened Boston with bankruptcy if they did not fork over their only good player at the time, Babe Ruth the Yankees have wheeled and dealed and used their extraordinary wealth to keep winning.
They basically bought any good player they could and never cared if there were performance enhancing drugs used as long as the player could help them win. (Rodriguez, Giambi, Pettitte, Clemens...)
This is in no way sour grapes on my part nor am I the only one who saw what they wealthy owner of the team was doing as evidenced by this 2003 story from The Onion.
There were bits of luck involved in many of their games such as the play by Jeffrey Maier that allowed the team to win a game they would have lost.  They went on to win the World Series but would not have even been in the fall classic were it not for the umpires missing (?) a clear violation of baseball rules!
But I digress.
From the mid 1950s when my dad took me to Ebbets Field until the stadium was abandoned in 1958 I was a staunch Bums fan. Five years later I transferred my allegiance to the new National League team at Shea Stadium.
And whenever the Yankees beat either team I would hear my friends explain how much better they were and how my team basically sucked. I had to hold my anger but my dislike of the Bronx team grew steadily into a hatred of all things Yankee.
I couldn’t stand that people actually rooted for a team that stacked the deck in their favor or seemingly had the pool of umpires rooting for them.
But throughout the lean years for my teams I continued to be a fan of the underdog.
And when the Mets finally had their first winning season and improbably went on to win the 1969 World Series I was overjoyed!  I did not throw their success back at any Yankees fan.  I did not even notice that our Bronx rivals finished under .500 that year.  It did not matter.
But I do recall many Subway Series games where the Mets lost and the fans were taunted as followers of a second class baseball team.  Some of otherwise nice friends were in that group.
So let’s now fast forward to the 2015 season.  Note that both the Mets and the Yankees were picked to be mediocre by the so-called sports experts.
However both teams were relevant for the entire season and both teams made the playoffs.
As this is being written the Mets are in Los Angeles to play the Brooklyn defectors (they will always be that to me just like they were “the bastards” to my grandfather who despised O’Malley more than you can imagine.)
The winner continues on in the playoffs.
The Yankees are licking their wounds over being shut out by the Houston Astros in the American League Wild Card game.
Both teams had surprising seasons so the fans of both teams should be somewhat happy.
Mets fans realize they are still the underdog against Los Angeles not to mention a long shot to win the World Series.  It sure would be sweet and we root but we're realistic and we have a young team!
But the difference was apparent when the Astros made the final out in yesterday’s elimination Wild Card game.  The fans at the stadium booed their team off the field.
One group of New York fans appreciates a good effort while the other demands only the championship.  Nothing less will be tolerated.
And so I will not taunt or gloat or say anything derogatory about the Bronx team other than, Nice Try guys.  Wait till next year!

And Let’s Go Mets!

Saturday, October 3, 2015

Statistics for the USA - 1910

A friend sent this to me and I find it fun and semi-interesting.  I am assuming it is true but make no proclamation as to the veracity of all the so called facts below.
Never the less read and enjoy, life in the USA in 1910.

Male life expectancy was 47 years.
Fuel for this car was sold only in drug stores.
Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.
Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
There were only 8,000 cars but only 144 miles of paved roads.
The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!
The average US wage in 1910 was 22 cents per hour. (The Republicans want to get us back to this level as soon as possible.)
The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
A competent accountant could expect to earn $2,000 per year.
A dentist earned $2,500 per year and didn’t complain he or she had to go through a middle bastard such as an insurance scumbag for permission to charge his fee and get paid.
A veterinarian earned between $1,500 and $4,000 per year.
A mechanical engineer made about $5,000 per year.
More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME.
Ninety percent of all Doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION.  They went to so-called medical schools.  Many of these were condemned in the press AND the government as 'substandard.'
Sugar cost four cents a pound.
Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.
Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.
Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
There was no such thing as under arm deodorant or tooth paste.  (There still isn’t in many parts of the world!!!)
Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.

The five leading causes of death were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza
2, Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars.
The population of Las Vegas Nevada was only 30! (Mostly gangsters I assume.)
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented yet
There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day. (A good thing as far as I am concerned!)
Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write and only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.  (If we could get back to this level of education the Republican Party would never lose another election!)
Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.
There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A.!
(Yes, people have changed and the NRA is extremely happy about that!)
You may now forward this to someone else without typing it yourself.
From there it will be sent to others all over the WORLD in a matter of seconds!

Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years!!!

Thursday, October 1, 2015

THE IMMINENT DEATH OF THE MIDDLE CLASS

"How'm I doing?" was a famous question posed by then Mayor Ed Koch of New York.
He was fine but for the rest of us it's a different story!
So before we send up our votes and elect more of the same let’s have a quick look at the economics of the last 20 years or so.
No matter what they say or how they spin it spending went up under Republican Party leadership and 90% of us fell behind the other 10%.
Under their control the speed with which the wealth gap between the dwindling middle class and the wealthiest 1 or 2% increased has been remarkable.  It is close to the point where we may never get back our former mojo!
The Democrats, while appearing to be on our side have not been all that effective.
While the Republicans have steadfastly blocked many of the things Democrats wanted to put in place they often meekly gave up trying.
Clearly some things on the Obama agenda have gotten done, not the least of which has been the Affordable Care Act.  But no one can deny the hate this engendered from the party of the ‘right.’  They have repeatedly wasted tax payer dollars voting to repeal a law the helps every living being in America this side of the elite 2%!

So let’s get down to some actual numbers.

WHAT HAS GONE UP OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS?


Gasoline:
Despite the recent drop in price gasoline averaged $1.11 per gallon in 1995.
The most recent average price as of this writing for a gallon of gasoline is $2.28.

Health Insurance Premiums:

In 1999 an individual was covered for just over $2,000 and the family for around $6,000.
This one is tougher to explain but since employers are figuring their costs into your salary the overall cost of health insurance should be considered.
Obviously if employers did not have to pay as much they might offer workers a raise.
Sadly there are very few of those around.  That said the average health insurance costs are just over $8,000 individual and more than $28,000 for a family!
And some other invisible costs we all take for granted that were hoisted upon us by the greedy and totally unnecessary insurance industry:
·         Co-Pay
·         Co-Insurance
·         Deductibles
·         Lifetime Payout Caps
·         In / Out of Network Demands
·         And the old right of first refusal of any claim made regardless of veracity!


Auto Insurance Premiums:

Every region is different and drivers’ age also enters into the equation but can anyone say without fear of successful contradiction that the prices have not gone up, WAY UP?
            In 1995 you could get a year’s policy for, let’s say $1,000.
            In 2015 you would be lucky to get a policy for $1,000 FOR SIX MONTHS!
Auto insurance, like all other insurance has figured out many ways to get around price increases that annoy customers. For one why wait for the end of the year when 6 months in you can redo the entire thing and gouge people?

Homeowners’ Insurance Premiums:

Just as in auto insurance it is hard to compare apples to oranges so I will use someone close to me for the numbers.
            In 1995 a modest Long Island home was insured for under $1,000.
In 2015, after switching 3 times to get a lower rate for the same house the insurance was up to $2,300 and it no longer included things such as flood insurance!
Once again an insurance industry figured out a way to charge more while adding fear to the mix.  People used to be covered for floods but once it became a possibility due to climate change, a fact denied by so many of our leaders, they realized they could remove it by merely saying it was never mentioned! Does the word scumbag come to mind?
The fact is your home’s value has not gone up nearly as much as the cost to insure it!  And not too many insurance companies, if any will tell you that you are over insured and heaven forbid if there was a disaster you will never get back what you think from the bastards of the industry that calls itself the Peace of Mind people!
Check out how much your replacement value is and then call your agent to lower the value and save a few pennies!!


TOLLS:

In 1995 major NY bridge tolls were at an already too high cost of $3.50 each way.

In 2015 they have jumped to $8.00 each way and the hints that they will have to rise shortly is not altogether a welcome threat.

COMMUTATION:

The Long Island Railroad fares have increased steadily with service lagging since records have been kept.
In 1995 depending on how far you had to commute into New York City your fares for a one way ticket were between $3.00 and $15.00.
Today those fares are between $8.25 and $28.25 with another 4% to 9% increase possible within a year or two.

EVERY DAY HOUSEHOLD COSTS:

Costs for a normal household more than tripled from 1995 to just 2011! Imagine what the numbers will show when tall the data is in for 2015!
                        Eggs cost $1.15/dozen then - $3.00 now
                        Milk cost $2.50 then - $4.10 now
                        Stamps were 32¢ and are now 49¢.



THINGS THAT USED TO BE FREE:

I will let you place the price you now pay for items that used to be free.
Broadcast Television
All Radio, especially in your car
            Water in your home



WHAT HAS NOT GONE UP OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS?


SALARIES!

HOUSEHOLD INCOME!

EXPECTATIONS OUR CHILDREN WILL HAVE COMFORTABLE FUTURES

RETIREMENT FUNDS.

CONFIDENCE IN OUR GOVERNMENT TO DO THE RIGHT THING.

CONFIDENCE IN OUR GOVERNMENT TO DO ANYTHING!


The fact is the wealthy and the business owners and basically the Republican Party which kow tows to anyone with money has sold out the Middle Class to the point of absurdity!
Normal humans can no longer hope for a bright future in America for their children.
The American dream has become a total nightmare and no one is on coming out to stem the tide.
I do not know what the future holds but I can say if these numbers continue in this direction America is truly doomed.
I hope the wealthy 1 or 2% can get someone to do their bidding because the rest of us will either be dead or have moved to some country that actually cares about human beings!

In conclusion and in light of the above I must add one major intangible item that has gone up!
But the cost of this one comes not in terms of money but rather hypertension, road rage, violence, and extremist views caused by the right wing drumming their mantra into the heads of the susceptible weak minded and under educated masses.


GENERAL ANXIETY & FRUSTRATION:

·         It’s the fault of the illegal aliens!
·         No, it’s the fault of the Muslims!
·         No it’s those damn liberals!
·         No, it’s the fault of the gays and lesbian
·         Why do we have to allow same sex marriage?
·         No, I think it’s the all the abortions!
·         No, its groups like Planned Parenthood!
·         And the list goes on and on while the politicians stoke the fires and get rich doing so.

How can the direction America has taken since the days of Reagan be changed?
Is it possible to reverse the effect our growing oligarchy is having on our lives?
While hope may spring eternal our life span is not.  So we need solutions now.
For one we must reduce the control of wealth on our government and return it to the people for which it once stood!
A good start would be the repeal of the unbelievably wrongly named ‘Citizen’s United’ ruling.  This must go down in history as one of the worst decisions ever made by a Supreme Court.  But then again it is a Conservative leaning court and one that has no trouble screwing the average human!
And we must stop thinking of corporations as human beings! THEY ARE NOT!!! END OF STORY!
Voting rights must be returned to every citizen and those who wish to impose poll taxes must be prosecuted and if found guilty lose THEIR rights!
We must work toward true health care for all citizens and push for a ‘single payer’ system so we can join the rest of the civilized world!
Industries that have shown themselves to be poor stewards of the Earth and human rights must be regulated and harshly punished if they fail to meet our American Way standards.  As a couple of examples of which ones need to be scrutinized look at the insurance industry and of course the fossil fuel groups.
Elected officials should all have term limits, none to exceed 8 years.
No campaigning should be allowed until 75% of the current position’s term has been completed.  In other words there shall be no campaigning for the next President until the 3rd year of the current President has been completed.
The things that are wrong with our country can be fixed if everyone would just educate themselves and seek out the truth. The internet uses a protocol known as URL to find what you are looking for when you surf the web.
You should use URL as your mantra in the following way:
Understand – Read – Learn!
We are all in this together.
As Ben Franklin once said, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall hang separately.”