Might as well get a piggy bank

Banks have gotten pretty creative over the past 8 years. Of course, with little or no regulation they have had a field day with our money.

Savings interest rates are quite amusing, actually. With interest rates so low, your bank would be looking like this poor pig if you were making any attempts to save money.

I don't understand why laws have to be passed after deregulation. For those of you young ones who think credit cards and home equity loans are savings, I've got news for you-people used to actually put real money in the bank and save it. Credit cards and loans were considered last resorts.

What I really like now days is how banks charge you for just about everything.

My beef is the definition of a bank hours.

Do you know if you deposit money in your account(real cash) when the bank opens and you have money taken out to pay bills on the same day, the bank can charge you overage fees?

They claim the bills came in first, and your money wasn't there-even if you walked in the door at opening and deposited it.

I have a beef with that-because Bank of America will tell you if you deposit money in the bank after a certain time of day it won't be posted until the next day. Yet they can take money out of your account at any hour.

I say we should have the same banking hours as our accounts. If our money is deposited on the 5th, and our bills are paid on the fifth we should have the same hours.

You see, now the banks go by what time each comes in, Yet some banks won't credit your deposit until the nest day.

With computers there is no excuse for it.

I have a real issue with this and this old lady is going to take it up with the powers that regulate banking and make a point.

More and more we have such little control over how and when things are done. It didn't used to be that way when customer service was a priority. Now you take your chances and business reigns king.

That's gotta go..

When the Goddesses Conspire

Some days suck. Today did. Rather than write a diatribe which will only consume more I will just say this...

When the Goddesses conspire-it could have been my best day and it wouldn't make a whit of difference....I just have to go with the flow--cause I'm screwed...really -truly-absolutely -fanstastically -gloriously- with great flourish-screwed.

But what can I do? Remain calm, remind myself that my emotion will not change a thing and let the wind blow through my house at 35 mph.

The worst?
The "s" sticks..

I am so screwed..

LOL

Have a sip-on the house! College Prep For All!

Here's an image for you-when these little toddlers are old enough to talk ask them what they want to be when they grow up-

and hold them to it

I swear, we get crazier and crazier about what we want for our kids.

Check the majority of the Charter schools in your district. Most have the name Academy in them and they all talk about starting college prep courses in kindergarten.

Charter schools are not the only sinners in this area. Public schools have jumped on the bandwagon. In fact the new educational mantra is

Set goals

Make a commitment

Work toward those goals

Prepare for college

Third grade kids are supposed to know what they want.

Day planners are sent home with third grade students.

What goes in that day planner?

Ride bike on Saturday at 4pm.

Watch Bratz cartoons on Sunday morning 6am

Do math worksheet tonight?

Take a bath

Ask mom for money

Honest professions are becoming persona non grata

Look at this list and tell me you wouldn't die for one of these-

-an honest, competent, auto mechanic

-a real carpenter

-someone who can FIX things

-a plumber

-an air conditioning repair person

a salon stylist who can really cut hair

-a welder

-builders and contractors

appliance repair

-computer repair

-a decent lab tech/x-ray tech/medical tech

-well trained EMT's and Paramedics

-carpet installers

-wallpaper and painters

aviation maintenance and repair

Most of those professions and many more do not require a four year degree. They require hours of training in that specific field.

As an educator I am the first to believe a college education is a wonderful tool. As a kid who grew up in the inner city of Detroit without much opportunity I have say my college degrees have provided me with the means to support my family and work in fields I love.

I still owe on my student loans. I will be paying until I die. It is the way of the world, I guess.

Most of those honest professions I listed above? They make more money than I do, a college educated person with two Master's Degrees.

Since when is Elementary school about preparing for college? When did college for all become the new mantra?

When did we decide that kids couldn't be kids anymore? Do they need to start writing in those day planners to remind themselves, "Today, be a kid"?

When we stop trusting the government

Does anyone trust our government process anymore?

74% of the American people want to end the war in Iraq.

Is government no longer us but lobbying interests and government officials?

Maybe it's time for a new party to emerge- A party which speaks for the people.

Sleep-where is it? Danger-Cat in Heat...

My male cat lies by the doorway sliding his paw under the bottom touching paws with his sister. She's spending time in the upstairs bedroom sending off every estrogen signal possible.

That's all he's going to get, let me tell ya.

I haven't slept for three nights.

The Vet told me to wait until she was six months old. That is this month. She is scheduled to be spayed next week. He is scheduled for his own surgery.

What I didn't know is how insistent she is and how excruciating her caterwauling can be. Sleep is not an option.

From everything I have read heat takes anywhere from three to seven days.

I'm tempted to just let her have him so I can get some sleep.

Mating for a purpose just seems so much more urgent than casual sex, huh?

Nevada-A Bastion of Loonies

Welcome to Nevada-and you thought Mississippi was bad..

Proud state of being last in just about everything:

-Last in education funding per student

Last in our willingness to advocate for the homeless

-Last in our ability to protect children's rights

-Last in our ability to protect women and children from domestic violence

We are however, FIRST in auto thefts in the nation!

First in the highest foreclosure rates in the nation

The above people are here to tell you the story of the latest Las Vegas debacle-this of course, after coming off a year of arresting , and placing three of our esteemed county commissioners in prison for accepting bribes from a strip club owner -who actually got the lightest sentence.

One of those commissioners was a 60 year old grandma who sent her grandson to an expensive ski camp with the bucks..but more on that later, as two more are in the process of investigation for stealing campaign money...news when it happens!!

The first photo is an outdated, (sad in any form actually) of the owner of the Las Vegas Review Journal-a better read than any National Enquirer you encounter-

he supported the little guy with the weak chin-above-our current governor extraordinaire-who needs to take his meds more often-more on that later.

Sherman Fredrick believes Child Protective Service workers -one of sorriest in the nation-should be required to pay for their own training. At first I thought he was jesting-then realized he is not only serious he eats cake while the poor starve...

He believes in the Iraq War and is still trying to convince the voters in Nevada that everyone else in the country does as well. Since the LVRJ is the largest newspaper in the state he writes his fairy tales leisurely and no one seems to take him seriously although no one seems to want to throw his ass out either. Such is apathy in a town of corruption.

He has spent the last year telling everyone the housing market in Las Vegas is fantastic while every other CREDIBLE news source writes about the overinflated housing prices and the rising default rate. (e.g. NY Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal...even the Iowa Times reports it- haha)He continues to write about a strong job market, people moving in droves to live in this overpriced town.

Actually, the Las Vegas housing market in currently the WORST in the nation.

Nothing like getting the real news to the people, eh?

Well, he supported Gov. Jim Gibbons-the guy above, with the weak chin? He was voted in last year amidst a scandal of attacking a woman in the parking garage in Las Vegas. Of course, in this town discrediting a woman is an easy thing to do-so that was no big deal-just call her a slut, put a few risque pictures in the Las Vegas Review Journal-courtesy of Sherman-and trash her daily until the election.

No problem. Jim Gibbon's problems didn't go away-the FBI is investigating him for accepting money while he was a Congressman-a perfectly acceptable illegal thing to do in the Republican Congress-as we all know-and so what does he do? Starts up a slush fund for his defense while Gov. without reporting any of the donations. Gov. Gibbons can't seem to quite grasp the concept of NOT TAKING freebies while in public office.

I suppose that is a difficult habit to get over after having served in the "What's in it for me" Congress of the early 2000 years...

Throw in a little amusement with Judge Halverson, currently feuding with the rest of the Family court. Her front yard is a garbage dump, cited numerous times, her husband is a felon with a notable record and she hires body guards to take her to court to protect her from the rest of the judges and demands foot massages from her bailiffs.

So far, four bailiffs have quit -I think she is using 1)Kelly temps or 2) Stopping by Bonanza Avenue to pick up an illegal immigrant to work for low pay(a common occurrence in Las Vegas).

There really isn't enough room to show all the incompetence in the state of Nevada-e.g. Bob Beers, State Rep who pushed a bill to have teachers carry guns in the classroom...

Mayor Oscar Goodman, former Mob lawyer orders the Las Vegas Police to round up the homeless on holiday weekends and put them in jail for three days. This keeps the tourists from seeing how awful our homeless problem actually is. He touts Gin for a national company and likes to be photographed with showgirls.

The ACLU has been to court with the Mayor many times-Mayor Goodman once wanted to make a homeless shelter out of a closed prison 40 miles from the city if Las Vegas-(how transparent)-has outlawed hanging out at parks so homeless people can be arrested-but if you remember-we are labeled as one of the meanest cities in the nation toward homeless people.

If Oscar had his way if we lost our house key we would be living in Jean, Nevada courtesy of the prison system.

Welcome to Nevada, folks-

if Rod Serling was still alive...he could meet the REAL Twilight Zone.