Tired_Old_Man

I pay about $3,500 property tax on a house worth $300,000. My insurance is what gets me. It is over $3,500. Damn Hurricanes. The sales tax is 6.5%. The Florida state legislature is thinking of raising the sales tax another 2% or 3% (or maybe more) and reducing the property tax. It may sound good, but is a way of shifting the tax burden onto the poorer people In NYC, the sales tax is high, but the property tax low. I paid half of what I pay here for property tax, and less than half for insurance on a house that was worth more. But there is a NY State income tax and a NY City income tax. Outside of the NY city limits, they pay real estate tax through the nose. Some of my coworkers were paying $8,000 on a $300,000 house, though they had no city income tax and their sales tax was 2% lower. Let's face it, they get you coming or going. My goal in life was to pay $1,000,000 Federal income tax in one year.

Who Loves to Pose:

From my Back Yard:

Christians Gather to Protest War From the linked article: WASHINGTON (AP) - Thousands of people gathered for a Christian anti-war worship service Friday night at the Washington National Cathedral, kicking off a weekend of protests around the country to mark the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq. "Millions of people around the world sadly believe this is a Christian war," said the Rev. Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners/Call to Renewal, one of the groups sponsoring the event. "We have to clear up the confusion." Civil rights historian Taylor Branch, who planned to participate, said it is important for churches to be leaders in the anti-war movement. "It seems to me sad that Christians so easily have put aside our core beliefs, that we love our enemies and we do not believe in violence," said Branch, a Presbyterian elder.

He has posted it 16 times.

I suggested a day at a Spa, but she went ballistic. She thinks that it would be a waste of money. She will not allow me to spoil her, because of her upbringing. If I spend too much money on a present, she gets very annoyed. I have had to tell her that the Jewelery that I have bought her is something that we could always sell to get back our money if we needed it (though I never would). One time when Tina had to go to NY to visit her mother for her mother's birthday, there were no (standby) flights available for her, so she said she would bypass it that year. Then I told her that a flight had opened up. I waited until we had driven the 60 miles to the airport to give her the ticket for a flight on JetBlue (which of course I had paid for) and when she had a fit, I told her that there were no refunds, so it was going to cost us whether she got on or not. Clothing is ok, because it is useful. Flowers are not good because they die, so I buy her (potted) flowers that she can plant later. I keep telling her that she is worth the money, she says she knows, but still resists most thing that will not last. dinner out, the movies, a sporting event, a show or an amusement park are about the only things that she will go for that have no lasting value. I will find a way to make her happy on her "BIG 6 - 0", even if I have to hypnotize her first. My only worry is that she will not make it back in time for her birthday.

Isn't your spell checking working? You spelled "Kick" incorrectly.

I used to piss off my coworkers, when even though everyone in the room (or area or truck) was White, I would still describe a person "as that white guy who..." or start telling a joke with "three White guys were..." or say something like, "most White people think that..." basically mocking them. As you say, they told stories and only mentioned someone's race or ethnicity when it wasn't White, or told jokes where race was not relevant but still mentioned race.

A. A. A. D. D. = Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder. This is how it manifests: I decide to Water my garden. As I turn on the hose in the driveway, Ilook over at my car and decide my car needs washing. As I start toward the garage, I notice that there is mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier. I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car. I lay my car keys down on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full. So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first. But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway,I may as well pay the bills first. I take my check book off the table, and see that there is only one check left. My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk, where I find the can of Coke that I had been drinking. I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Coke aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over. I realize the Coke is getting warm, and I decide I should put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold. As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye; they need to be watered. I set the Coke down on the counter, and I discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning. I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers. I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water, and suddenly I spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table. I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I will be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers. I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor. So, I set the remote back down on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill. Then I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do. At the end of the day: the driveway is flooded, the car isn't washed, the bills aren't paid, there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter, there is still only one check in my check book, I can't find the remote, I can't find my glasses, and I don't remember what I did with the car keys. Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled, because I know I was busy all day long, and I'm really tired. I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail. Do me a favor, will you? Forward this message to everyone you know, because I don't remember who I have sent it to. Don't laugh -- if this isn't you yet, your day is coming! TOM, the Tired Old Man

When I read the Linking article by R. Albert Mohler, I thought that it was a satire. It was not until I did some googling that I realized that it was real.:help: And they call me whacky!!:faint:

I think it is also hard on Blacks in the North. The difference is that the South is more open about it, while the North is sneaky about it, but in both places Whites tell me (their White Brother, they presume) little tidbits about "them" and very often use very choice descriptive words for "them". I think the boss should have been more diplomatic, not just because he could not have been sure where your husband was coming from (so why automatically pick the worst?), but because as a boss, he represents the company, not just himself and it was improper for a workplace. It is called creating a hostile environment and has made many people rich after suing. I am not suggesting your husband sue, but I think the topic should be broached again and this time the question should be more specific. Do not leave room for misunderstanding. Very few white people could live a week in a Black person's body without getting into a fight or cracking up emotionally.

#1. Click on “User CP” at the upper left hand part of the page. #2. On the New page that comes up below “User CP” count down four sections and you will see “Buddy / Ignore Lists” #3. Click on “Buddy / Ignore Lists”. #4. Add names to the Buddy List which should be in the middle of your screen and click the little box under the names.

Church leaders in Tobago want Elton John banned from headlining a music festival on the Caribbean island amid fears he will turn locals gay. Maybe they are right. Every time I hear Elton sing "Candle In The Wind", I want to suck a

She killed herself (not on purpose) trying to "look good" by dieting. Does anyone think that she would want to look like she did in that condition? What really got me most annoyed were people like FOX program host Sean Hannity. He had a woman on his show more than once who claimed to be Terri Schiavo's nurse (before she left the facility) and that Ms. Schiavo was lucid and would wheel(chair) herself to the nurse's station and hang out greeting the visitors, plus Ms. Schiavo would call the nurses when she needed her diapers to be changed. People who I would talk to would relate these tales to me (which I saw first hand watching FOX) and they believed the nurse and Sean Hannity. In this day of cell-phone cameras, no one in the Schindler family had a cell-phone with a camera and none of the nurses would smuggle a camera or cell-phone camera in to save Terri Schiavo's life? Where the nurses and all the doctors paid off to help execute Terri Schiavo? GIVE ME A BREAK!!

I keep hearing numbers like 2,500 flights canceled or 4,000 flights canceled. I am not sure which is true, but things are not looking good for Tina to make it home on time next week. I want her home for her birthday, the “BIG 6 - 0”, on the 31st. I also need her home for our dentist appointment to get our teeth cleaned. Around her, it takes a 5 month notice to get an appointment to get your teeth cleaned. This is a great area to open up a dentistry practice.

Either in this thread or another similar one, we discussed members who were divorced, but their church did not recognize the divorce I think the only solution is to separate "legal civil unions" and marriage If a couple wants to be married in his church/religion, they must also be joined in a "legal civil union", to get the benefits of the legal and tax system. If a couple wants get the same benefits of the legal and tax system, but without religious overtones, they must be also joined in a "legal civil union", but they would not be married. All laws should then replace the word "marriage" with "legal civil union". Of course the state could (and should) allow clergy the right to perform the marriage and "legal civil union" simultaneously. Also, of course the American public will never go for that, because it is easier to discriminate than to try to be fair. There will eventually be a crisis in this country as some states follow a policy similar to what I suggest, while other states refuse to recognize these "legal civil unions" or whatever the state where the ceremony was performed calls it. I could just see the headlines, “Gay couple arrested though they were legally joined in another state”. I can also see the tourism problems as married Gays from other countries are made to feel unwelcome in some states. That's what might eventually turn things around: Compassion – NO! Profit Margin and Tax Revenues - Yes!!

If I am sick and dying in the hospital, Tina can decide when to pull the plug, Tina can visit me in ICU and if we had adopted a child, Tina would still be the parent. If I had spent the last 40 years of my life with Larry, Larry could not decide when to pull the plug, Larry could not visit me in ICU and if I had adopted a child, Larry could not be the parent. In fact, in the state where I live, Larry and I would not be eligible to adopt. How does that make the lives of people who are offended by same-gender unions any better? How does that offend people who are against same-gender unions? Tina has never worked since we got married, because we decided to have one parent home to raise the children. I worked extra overtime and a part time job to pay the bills. Tina can collect on my Social Security when she gets old enough and is entitled to Medicare at 65. The rational for that is that we always filed joint income tax returns so we are treated as a family. If Larry and I had been together for 40 years and had raised 10 children (either adopted or from my sperm with female surrogates) under the same circumstances as Tina and I, Larry could not collect on my Social Security when he gets old enough and is not entitled to Medicare at 65. The rational for that is that were not allowed to file joint income tax returns so we are not treated as a family. How does that make the lives of people who are offended by same-gender unions any better? How does that offend people who are against same-gender unions? Compassion!!

I do not know how many babies have been born in places like Rwanda during their stressful times. When the body is starving, the reproductive cycle comes to a halt. The British mothers were under stress, but had food. Also, I do not know of the social values of Bosnia or Rwanda and if Gay offspring could admit being Gay without persecution. I wrote the informational piece from memory, I tried to make it short, so I left out that there was also a corresponding increase in Gay German males who were in the womb in cities while under air attacks. There was no information on Japanese Gay males which might be subject to different mores. I hope that I did not make it sound like only war could cause the stress induced Gay male offspring. Family fights during pregnancy, financial woes, and dozens of other stress inducing reasons could be the cause, and I did not suggest that stress may be the only reason. I agree with you that the reason why people are Gay should not really matter, but some people need to know that being Gay is not a choice. Unless these people know that, they will insist that Gays should just chose to be straight. Members in this thread have spoken about their chances to be Gay that they passed over. They do not want to realize that a deep, non sexual feeling for a person of the same gender or a desire to experiment sexually with someone of the same gender, doesn't mean that they are or are not Gay, IMHO. I know some bisexual people who while they do have sex with either gender, much prefer their own gender and others who much prefer the other gender. I can not picture myself with a member of my own gender having sex. If I was single and with a woman who decided to perform oral sex on me and afterwards I found out that it was a Gay male dressed as a woman, I would be more revolted if I had kissed her than by having the orgasm, because I would have had a "natural orgasm" as compared to giving oral sex to a male or being the receiver during anal sex. It is not the inability to have sex, but the mind which says "no" in my case and in many other people's minds, according to prior discussions, to the thought of having sex with a member of my gender.

I didn't say that "they have managed to reverse all the increases in freedom", I said "tried to reverse all of the increases of freedom". Big difference. I can not fix the positive things about the USA, so of course I dwell on fixing what I think needs to be fixed; the negatives. I have not given BuSh a lot of power, the events of 911 scared congress into becoming a rubber-stamp for BuSh and he usurped the power. By the way, I will wish you a "Happy Saint Patrick's Day", though I am not Irish and my wife is English (but born a Roman Catholic), and I will inform you that I would never refuse a friendly greeting such as "Happy Saint Patrick's Day" when done with good intend. I would also like you to know that last year, my wife, Tina and I marched in the "Saint Patrick's Day" parade. This year, Tina is in Brooklyn visiting her mother and I have a damaged cartilage in my knee which prohibits me from walking the long parade route.

I think it is the money and the power, that distorts the Christian leaders. I have no way of knowing if the Christian leaders who are politically active, but only concentrate on a few issues to condemn (gay rights and abortion) while quietly supporting greed by large corporations, destruction of the environment and the war in Iraq, while ignoring the poor, started out to become that way, or if the money and power corrupted them on the way up the Christian hierarchy I have noticed that most Christian leaders when on TV talk shows quote the Old Testament much more than they quote Jesus, especially the Beatitudes.

This country was founded on freedom for white male property owners. When the founding fathers originally said "all men are created equal", they meant "men" and many of the laws passed only gave rights to white men who owned property. Slaves were only counted for states to have more representation in the House of Representatives. This country was not founded on freedom, but the (hated) Liberals have pushed it to a point of freedom, while conservatives have fought tooth and nail to go back to the good old days. In the last 6 years, the BuSh administration has tried to reverse all of the increases of freedom and to bring us back to the good old days when rich people only were free.

You missed the intent of my question. You said, "For me, it's not a question of what a person wears. Rather, it's how that person defines his/her life. Burning flags, bombing schools, suicide missions, vowing death to others who don't hold similar views, etc., are all wrong... whether you're naked, wearing a sheet, wearing a suit, etc." And I asked, "And no matter which country they come from or which God they claim to worship?" Meaning does that go for US soldiers who are 80% Christian who bomb schools, hospitals and homes in Iraq and vow death to the insurgents who don't hold similar views as they do (for instance that the US soldier has no business being in Iraq)? And does that "etc." cover US Military Uniforms?

I guess this was missed or people just refused to comment on it. As anyone can see, it was posted in this thread quite a few pages back. It offers a (possible) explanation of why (some) males are Gay.

I have been reading there, but have not posted.

I am almost 62 years old; a little late for becoming a politician, plus I only moved to the state where I now reside, slightly over 3 years ago, so I do not know the local political landscape as well as someone would need to know in order to become a local candidate. However, I have become a regular at my party's meetings and I am running for a position on the executive board. I have been very active in politics and I know and share e-mails with 2 of the City Councilmen and the freshman US Congressman who I worked tirelessly to get elected (along with many others). As more and more dirt comes out about the BuSh administration and its plans, I hope the US public wakes up in time to save their democracy. I believe that the average US citizen and voter is a good person, but because politics have become so influence with big money and because raising a family (with all parents working) has become such a full time job, that they (the voting public) are not up to keeping up with the subtleties of the politics de jour. Too many things are phrased in a way to totally mislead the public. BuSh proposed a new "Clean Water Act" to congress a few years ago. The new bill actually lowers the standards that had been scheduled to become law by the old law, but because it still is better than what was in place the year the bill was proposed, BuSh bragged that the Republican congress passed and he signed a new "Clear Water Act". Same thing for clean air. The Republicans passed a new budget that increases spending on Medicaid, food Stamps and Veterans Benefits, but doesn't increase it enough to account for all the extra need (because of increases in poverty and increases in wounded vets and aging vets), so the Republicans and BuSh claim they increased the program, when they actually cut people (in need) off the program. When a Democrat says that BuSh cut Medicaid, Food Stamps and Veterans Benefits, the Republicans say, no we increased them. Analogy: Let's say I had three children living with me and I gave them $30 a week allowance between them. They would get $10 each. Let's say I adopt a 10 year old child and I "Increase" the allowance to $32 per week, then each child would get only $8 per week. To each of the first 3 children, that would be a cut in his allowance. To the people on Medicaid, Food Stamps and Veterans Benefits, they had a cut in benefits. Should the Republicans have cut Medicaid, Food Stamps and Veterans Benefits? Maybe they should have. I would be a lot happier if the Republicans and BuSh just said that we are spending too much on Medicaid, Food Stamps and Veterans Benefits, so we will cut the benefits (effectively per recipient). But no, they want to get the US voting public to belief that they are supporting these programs (which have the voting support of a majority of the voters) while still doing what the minority wants; cutting. Right now there is an ad being played on TV and radio telling people how wonderful the Medicare Prescription Plan is and how it helped Mrs. (name) of (name of town). Then they say that some people are trying to thinker with the wonderful Rx plan and then ask you to contact your Senator and tell him to give the Rx plan a chance to succeed. The Rx plan is costing seniors a lot of money. The Rx plan is too complicated for the average senior to understand and the Rx plan is going to bankrupt Medicare. The tinkering that the commercial objects to is a bill to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices with the pharmaceutical companies, like Canada does, like the Veteran's administration does and like all major company's employee medical insurance Rx benefit plans do. Result if bill passes and becomes law: Lower Costs to Seniors and Lower Costs to Tax Payers. Recently there was another add on TV and Radio in my area claiming that HR800 is a bill sponsored by Unions to force Union workers to lose their right to vote in private (in union elections) and then the add claimed that these same Liberals want to allow Mexicans to be able vote in private. Call your Congressman (a Democrat) and tell him you object to HR800: "Americans: No private vote, Mexicans: Private vote" paid for by the "Committee for Democratic Voting". Guess what? The "Committee for Democratic Voting" is a Republican political organization. Was anything illegal? No! But why not call a spade, "a spade"?