Loretta Was Here

Gotta love a Monday morning. It's raining - still. Facebook changed their interface - again. I spend too much time there anyway - fake lives, virtual friends. Many days, especially on Facebook, I feel Satan soaring into the lead. Call it Evil, if you don't buy into religion. By the way, you don't need to TELL me you don't believe in God and/or Satan. We're divided as a nation - Democrats versus Republicans, Pro-Choice versus Pro-Life, Believers versus Atheists, Race against Race, Nation against Nation, Man against Woman. Sometimes I think we're less civilized today, 2013, than ever before in history.

I know that some of you think I'm crazy for supporting Marijuana Re-Legalization in this country. Fortunately, I have an amazing group of friends and fellow activists at DFW NORML who along with me and scores of silent supporters know that the problem with marijuana in this country is NOT the plant. The problem with this glorious plant is the LAW. Marijuana is an herb, a seed-bearing plant. You grow it, you dry it, you roll it, you smoke it. Or you make a medicinal tincture with it. Hemp can be used to make paper, clothing, housing, food. But it cannot by law be grown in this country. WHY is Marijuana illegal? And NOT Tobacco or Alcohol or Prozac or Oxycodone?  Marijuana, cannabis, hemp products can actually help your body heal itself WITHOUT getting you high. If you eat or juice marijuana, without heating it in the process, you won't get "high" while consuming an almost perfect manna-from-heaven-type food and medicine. That said, the psychoactive properties of pot a...

Our government is a mess. Agreed? We've become a country divided into teams and the object is to win. They don't care about their "fans" (We the People). They don't care if they're spending too much or not collecting enough or even if their own rules are being followed. All our political teams care about is WINNING. And that's not the way it was ever supposed to be. We cannot be the greatest nation in the world if we continue to act like senseless people. If we refuse to correct the problem with tools given to us by the law of this great land - namely our votes - then we really do deserve what we're getting. It's a sad fact that only 71% of potential voters in this country are even registered to vote*. Of potential voters, voter turnout in this country is typically a sad, sad 37.8% for Congressional elections**, with an increase to approximately 56.8% in the last Presidential election. This in itself is a sad reflection of the average citizen...

So, here goes it - my 2c worth on fixing the government. Okay, okay. Anyone who knows me knows that I have enough 2c ideas to fix the federal deficit. I didn't say they were all feasible, I don't know. You decide. #1. Abolish the current IRS. Do away with the tax code. Studies have shown that the same financial information, given to 10 different professional tax preparers, yields 10 different tax amounts. The current code is too complicated even for the EXPERTS. The average American citizen doesn't stand a chance; and the better tax preparer you can hire (read that the most daring and willing to push the envelope), the less tax you will owe to the IRS, e.g. the government. It is high time we abolished the current tax code, scrapped the whole thing, and institute in its place a fair and equitable tax on all citizens equally. I like the idea of a flat tax. Total Income x Flat Tax Rate = Tax You Owe. Period. No deductions for anything. You earn it, you pay tax on it. The ...

Knowing it's coming up on the end of January and another big chunk of money must go out the window to pay for Real Property taxes, I signed onto my Bank's billpay tonight, 4 days before they're due. Normally my bank can send a transfer and pay a bill in one day. NOT with governmental agencies, it seems. The bank must cut a paper check and MAIL it to the taxing authority, which would mean my taxes... late. No problem. Each tax bill has a URL for online payments. So I pull up the nifty little website. It lets me search by last name and Voila! there's our tax bill.. Click the little box to pay in full. Total will be... WTF?!?!?! $29.34 CONVENIENCE FEE?!?!? The taxpayer goes to your designated website, accesses online account information, can CLICK to pay the current bill and it costs the taxpayer $29.34?!?!?! Here's one of those crystal clear examples of what's fiscally wrong in government today -- A LACK OF SIMPLE COMMON SENSE! There is a system set...

When you first become parents, from the moment you hold your baby in your arms, people are telling you "Enjoy them! They grow up so fast!" And in the blink of an eye... or about 20 years time give or take... they've done it! and you wonder if you taught them what they need to know and how to deal with every possible situation and how to keep themselves from getting hurt and how to take care of themselves and how to get along with people and how to do all the things that we all have to do in this world and you realize that there's no way that a person or persons could cover everything that it feels like you need to convey... like a history teacher trying to decide what parts of history to include and what parts to leave out for lack of time and the sheer enormity of all the things that can happen in a lifetime... so, you pray... and you love... and you're there when they need you... and you pray and you love and you trust that they can handle whatever comes the...

Yeah, it's a controversial subject... and everybody has an opinion. Maybe it's time to look at the FACTS. This is a great video!