Social Security does not and never has added a single dime to the federal deficit.

(Email I received. Man! They are just salivating over that Social Security money. Dubya even said that his biggest regret during his presidency was that he wasn't able to privatize it. They just can't sleep knowing that pot of money is being used for folks' retirement without them being able to gamble with it.)

Either House Majority Leader Eric Cantor doesn't understand how Social Security works or he doesn't care.

Just hours after President Obama said that Social Security cuts and privatization are off the table, Cantor said that Social Security had to be cut to balance the budget. But here's the thing: Social Security does not and never has added a single dime to the federal deficit.

Let me try to explain this to Mr. Cantor. Social Security is paid for through the payroll tax. Currently, the payroll tax raises way more money than Social Security pays out and things are projected to keep going this way for another couple of decades.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? They add to the deficit. Tax breaks for billionaires? They add to the deficit. Subsidies for big oil? They add to the deficit. Bailing out Mr. Cantor's friends on Wall Street when they make a bunch of shady deals, cause a financial crisis and almost ruin the world economy? That adds a lot to the deficit.

Simply put, Social Security will run a surplus for decades. The rest of the budget runs a deficit. So, why are we even talking about Social Security?

Here's why: Eric Cantor and his right-wing friends want to destroy the program. That's the only reason we're having this conversation. Join me now and let's send Eric Cantor and other members of Congress a message -- Keep Social Security safe, stable and secure.

Please sign the petition now.

Eric Cantor's comments aren't anything new. Right-wing Republicans have been trying to tear down Social Security for generations. It's the holy grail of the right-wing.

Now Republicans are playing with fire -- they're threatening to shut down the government. They're holding the debt ceiling hostage. They'll do whatever it takes to put cutting Social Security on the table.

But America is a community. We stand up for one another -- including our seniors. That's why DFA has launched it's biggest campaign ever to push back against the right-wing lies and spin and to push a real solution to keep Social Security safe, stable and secure forever.

See, right now people like Mitch McConnell and Sarah Palin don't pay the same percentage of their income into Social Security that most Americans do -- and big surprise -- neither does Eric Cantor. That's because the tax is capped at $106,800, but most Americans don't know it. All we need to do is scrap the cap and make the payroll tax fair and equal for everyone to keep Social Security safe, stable and secure.

Join the movement to beat back the right-wing and keep Social Security safe, stable and secure.

When we stand up for our values of community, security and liberty, America wins.

-Arshad

Arshad Hasan, Executive Director
Democracy for America

Democracy for America relies on you and the people-power of more than one million members to fund the grassroots organizing and training that delivers progressive change on the issues that matter. Please Contribute Today and support our mission.

Life is tough. It's even tougher if you're stupid!!!!

(Email I received this morning.... LOL! Now I know why those plastic dividers at the checkout are missing so much... The cashier probably sat it aside when they couldn't find the barcode. LOL!)

ONE

Recently, when I went to McDonald's I saw on the menu that you could have an order of 6, 9 or 12 Chicken McNuggets. I asked for a half dozen nuggets.
'We don't have half dozen nuggets,' said the teenager at the counter.
'You don't?' I replied.
'We only have six, nine, or twelve,' was the reply.
'So I can't order a half dozen nuggets, but I can order six?'
'That's right.'
So I shook my head and ordered six McNuggets
(Unbelievable but sadly true...)

TWO

I was checking out at the local Wal-Mart with just a few items and the lady behind me put her things on the belt close to mine. I picked up one of those 'dividers' that they keep by the cash register and placed it between our things so they wouldn't get mixed.
After the girl had scanned all of my items, she picked up the 'divider', looking it all over for the bar code so she could scan it. Not finding the bar code, she said to me, 'Do you know how much this is?'

I said to her 'I've changed my mind; I don't think I'll buy that today.'

She said 'OK,' and I paid her for the things and left. She had no clue to what had just happened.

THREE

A woman at work was seen putting a credit card into her floppy drive and pulling it out very quickly. When I inquired as to what she was doing, she said she was shopping on the Internet and they kept asking for a credit card number, so she was using the ATM 'thingy.'

(keep shuddering!!)

FOUR

I recently saw a distraught young lady weeping beside her car. 'Do you need some help?' I asked. She replied, 'I knew I should have replaced the battery to this remote door unlocker. Now I can't get into my car. Do you think they (pointing to a distant convenience store) would have a battery to fit this?'

'Hmmm, I don't know. Do you have an alarm, too?' I asked.

No, just this remote thingy,' she answered, handing it and the car keys to me. As I took the key and manually unlocked the door, I replied, 'Why don't you drive over there and check about the batteries. It's a long walk....'


PLEASE just lay down before you hurt yourself !!!


FIVE

Several years ago, we had an Intern who was none too swift. One day she was typing and turned to a secretary and said, 'I'm almost out of typing paper. What do I do?' 'Just use paper from the photocopier', the secretary told her. With that, the intern took her last remaining blank piece of paper, put it on the photocopier and proceeded to make five 'blank' copies.

Brunette, by the way!!

SIX

A mother calls 911 very worried asking the dispatcher if she needs to take her kid to the emergency room, the kid had eaten ants. The dispatcher tells her to give the kid some Benadryl and he should be fine, the mother says, 'I just gave him some ant killer......'

Dispatcher: 'Rush him in to emergency!'

Life is tough. It's even tougher if you're stupid!!!!

Adult Truths

(LOL! Email I received today. Yep... those are some adult truths alright....)

*** Adult Truths ***

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.

13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

15. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

16. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.

17. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

18.. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

19. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?

20. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

21. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

22. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

23. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time.

24. The first testicular guard, the "Cup," was used in Hockey in 1874 and the first helmet was used in 1974. That means it only took 100 years for men to realize that their brain is also important.

Slow, steady, stir...

And we wonder continuously, how... how it is, that we are still battling demons from our collective past, where among Black people, in all of our various shades of cream, tan, coffee, chocolate, brown, black... that it is still an issue among some of us.

I just finished reading a story in the book, Tales of Conjure by Charles W. Chesnutt called 'A Matter Of Principle'. It was sad and funny in it's irony, at the same time. The story takes place a few years after the Civil War, among a family of 'well-to-do' very light-skinned, black folks who believed in the principle of keeping their blood line as white as possible. It was amazing, yet not surprising, how they so freely discussed dark, black folks in the same regard and vernacular that you'd expect from racist white folks. I had to laugh at how based on their steadfastness in making sure that their daughter did not ever become involved with a man who was darker than 'olive-skinned' tone with 'good, straight/curly hair', caused such an ironic missed opportunity. But in the end, it's such a sad legacy of confusion we continue to deal with, and on the surface seems that it should be such a trivial matter.... but it's not.

The fracture runs so deep among us, and although I believe we've come a long way to get over these psychological wounds, the toxicity of that sad legacy is as pervasive as a virus and it continues to seep into our realities here and there. I have to admit, it's shocking to meet folks who still live by the principle, but then it is how they were raised, I suppose, as well as how our society still responds in some instances in their perception, where it's worth holding on to that principle.

I was at a car dealer one morning a few years ago, waiting for scheduled maintenance to be done on my car, and a woman came in. We began to chat and somehow got on the subject of dating. She told me that she had met a real nice man while walking in the park and how they began to date, and how she ended up marrying that man. She went on to tell me how she almost missed out on marrying this nice man who is very good to her, because she said initially, she felt that he was too black.

I looked at her when she said that with some confusion... what could she have meant by that was my initial thought... and she went on to explain as she recognized the confused expression on my face, that he was too dark.

I was so shocked... I believe my mouth fell open. I mean, it wasn't like she was all that light-skinned. I'm glad she got past her initial reservations about the man based on his hue, and it ended with them both being happy together.

And now when I think about it, I guess she has a right to her preference, just like anyone else. So after reading that story... I was inspired to write about the 'slow, steady, stir'... the blending of our blood, our spirit, our souls... where over the centuries and after being so sorely segmented in such tragic and devastating ways, that we might continue to grow together with love and respect in the spirit of a loving God. We have to recognize where some of these principles come from, and have some compassion, and then work toward relieving ourselves of this kind of mental bondage.

'Happiness is a choice'

TWO WOLVES

TWO WOLVES                                 
                                                                            
  One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on 
                               inside people.                               
     He said, "My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all".     
                                                                            
     "One is Evil -  It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed,    
  arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride,  
                           superiority, and ego".                           
                                                                            
   "The other is Good -  It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility,
  kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith". 
                                                                            
        The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his       
                       grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"                      
                                                                            
            The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."            

Haters By Maya Angelou

Haters By Maya Angelou

A hater is someone who is jealous and envious and spends all their
Time trying to make you look small so they can look tall.
They are very negative people to say the least. Nothing is ever
Good enough!

When you make your mark, you will always attract some haters...

That's why you have to be careful with whom you share your
Blessings and your dreams, because some folk can't handle seeing
You blessed...

It's dangerous to be like somebody else... If God wanted you to be
Like somebody else, He would have given you what He gave them! Right?

You never know what people have gone through to get what they
Have...

The problem I have with haters is that they see my glory, but they
Don't know my story....

If the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, you
Can rest assured that the water bill is higher there too!

We've all got some haters among us!

Some people envy you because you can:
a) Have a relationship with God
b) Light up a room when you walk in
c) Start your own business
d) Tell a man/woman to hit the curb
(if he/she isn't about the right thing)
e) you are a strong person and don't let people run you over
f) you have a strong and loving marriage and they can't get in-between spouses
to spoil it

Haters can't stand to see you happy.
Haters will never want to see you succeed.
Most of our haters are people who are supposed to be
On our side (like some family and friends).

How do you handle your undercover haters?
You can handle these haters by:

1. Knowing who you are & who your true friends are
*(VERY IMPORTANT!!)

2. Having a purpose to your life: Purpose does not
Mean having a job. You can have a job and still be
Unfulfilled.

A purpose is having a clear sense of what God has called you to be.
Your purpose is not defined by what others think about you

3. By remembering that what you have is by divine
Prerogative and not human manipulation.

Fulfill your dreams! You only have one life to live...when its your
Time to leave this earth, you want to be able to say, 'I've lived my
Life and fulfilled my dreams, Now I'm ready to go HOME!

When God gives you favor, you can tell your haters, 'Don't look at
Me...Look at who is in charge of me...'

Watch out for Haters...BUT most of all don't become
A HATER!


Maya Angelou

This is a Woman 's Brain

This is a Woman 's Brain

One night President Obama and his wife Michelle decided to do something out of routine and go for a casual dinner at a restaurant that wasn't too luxurious. When they were seated, the owner of the restaurant asked the president's secret service if he could please speak to the First Lady in private. They obliged and Michelle had a conversation with the owner.
Following this conversation President Obama asked Michelle, why was he so interested in talking to you. She mentioned that in her teenage years, he had been madly in love with her. President Obama then said, "so if you had married him, you would now be the owner of this lovely restaurant" , to which Michelle responded, "no, if I had married him, he would now be the President".

Greens!

So for the past few days, I've been having a taste for some Mustard Greens. I searched last week in ShopRite for the Glory Greens (already cleaned and cut in a bag) kind, but found none, and ended up cooking some collards and kale.... and it was good! :)

So today.... I broke down and decided to grab the bundles that were sitting there looking so fresh and green... all the while thinking about how much work it was going to be to clean and cut them up. It was as if I was on 'auto-pilot' that I grabbed them, weighed them and put them all in my cart. I didn't leave one bundle there... took all of them... LOL! I took them all because I could hear my mother's voice in my head saying... 'they cook down to nothing'.

And so here I sit smelling the aroma... YUM... I started off with some EVOO and cut up a red onion, fresh garlic, celery, red pepper and jalepeno. I cooked all that in the EVOO with the lid on the pot, tight so that the juices would marry together in the pot. Ohhhh it smells so delicious as I lifted the lid to stir it around.

In the meantime.... I washed all those greens, cut them and put them in my salad spinner to get the excess water off. UGH... it was a job because I had to do that 5 times. Each time I spun some, I put them in the pot and as they wilted, I spun another batch. Oh... and I had dissolved a Vegetable Bouillon in 2 cups of water and added it to the pot. I used to use some pork neck bones years ago... then I started using turkey bacon after getting a recipe from Oprah's magazine. But lately, I've ditched the meat altogether.... and they taste so good that way!

So now I've turned the heat way down to simmer and letting those greens cook for a while... after 30 minutes, I'll start adding some seasoning.... butter, Lawry's Seasoned Salt or Sea Salt... (shhhhhhh.... I add a little sugar too.... got that from Oprah! LOL!) and then I let them cook for 30 or so minutes more.... and then WALA....... they're done!

YUM!

(Thanks for keeping me company while I cook my greens :)

Beware! A. O. Smith Hot Water Heaters.... hundreds of complaints!

(I'm passing this message on that I received from a friend, after we spoke on the phone. The water heater company actually lied to her. They said they've never heard of any problems like hers... but when she googled it, there were hundreds of complaints. Beware of A.O. Smith Promax Hot Water Heaters!)

I purchased an A. O. Smith Promax hot water heater 6 years 3 months ago. I started having problems with the pilot going out for no reason. I called Advantage Plumbing (they installed the unit) to investigate. Each time the plumber came to light the pilot he said that he couldn't explain why the pilot kept going out. Advantage owner told me that they hadn't received any other complaints on the unit. One week before Christmas the pilot starting going out every 20 minutes. Now they've determined that we need to replace the unit. The warranty was up 3 months ago. A hot water heater should last longer than six years. I decided to check the internet to see if there was a recall or something on that heater. I found out that there have been hundreds of complaints over the past couple of years. Please beware of the A.O. Smith Promax water heater!!!!!

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/ao_smith.html

Have a blessed day,

Cheryl