The horror that has left us with fear

Words are useless in considering the bombing at the Boston Marathon which took the lives of three and inured more than 170, many of them losing a leg.  We thought we had recovered from 9/11, the feeling of helplessness, the need to watch our back as citizens and the government. Now must we again worry every time we go to a mall or a football game?

Perhaps some answers will be found.  We can only wait and see and resist the temptation to lay blame on any group before our questions are answered,.

No tax alone is fair

This is THAT day; midnight is the deadline to file federal income tax or face a penalty for late filing. Take comfort if you just can't quite make it to the post office in time; one or two days late usually (I said usually) does not draw a fine or penalty.

Today the state legislature is supposedly hearing proposals to eliminate state income tax and increase the sales tax.  No one can  dispute that Louisiana has a high tax on income.  I remember when it was not much more than an annoyance.  But to replace it by increasing the sales tax would by wrong.  For wealthy persons, the sales tax is little more than a bother while for those persons living in poverty it is a killer. A sales tax is popular for politicians because it can raise a lot of revenue and it is not opposed by the wealthy and powerful.

Persons really hit hard by income tax are unmarried workers with low wages.  Take a worker earning in the range of 30 to 35 thousand a year. He or she will pay 21 per cent of total income in federal and state income taxes and social security.  With what is left, the worker must pay apartment rent and utilities,  pay for a car and high-priced gasoline in order to get to work, health premiums and retirement.  Nothing or very little is left for food and barest necessities.  That same individual can choose not to work and get "entitlements" from the feds and live much easier and better.

That is not right; the individual should be freed of paying federal and state income taxes.

On advice to teenagers

As I review the Sunday School lesson for tomorrow, my thoughts (as they often do) go back to my years attending McIntire Methodist Church.   (United wasn't added until 1968)   

When I left to join the Navy I was a member of a class that must have been for teenagers.  The class was taught by my very conservative aunt, the mother of nine, two or three attending this class. The literature the class was studying must have been on teen romance and dating.  I just remember my aunt ending the discussion with these words:

"It's all right for a couple to hold hands when they become engaged."  What more advice on sex does a teenager need?

Yes Washington, we voters are stupid

But not so stupid as to buy the crap you have in your budget plans.  This is especially true of  the budget released (two months late) by Obama.  He has the gall to claim Obamacare will save money when his own administration admits that it is just opposite to the facts.

The working poor and middle class would be hurt, along with the elderly, while those "entitled" would fare well.  Investors Business Daily lists six huge problems with the Obama budget:

     1) Boosts spending and deficits over the nest two years.

     2) Vastly exaggerates spending cuts.

     3) Relies  almost entirely on tax hikes.

     4) Cuts deficit less than claimed.

     5) Creates a new entitlement without a reliable means to pay for it.

     6) Boosts taxes on the middle class.

Investors Daily adds,  "If it wasn't for smoke and mirrors, Obama would have no budget plan at all."

Surprise -- I'm negative on a Gallup survey

Completed another Gallup survey today, found it to be more interesting than most others.  I was asked to rate President Obama and Congress on their actions; I don't have to tell you how I rated them but the choices ranged from very favorably to very unfavorably.  Among other questions was how the news media treats Obama. Why does the media treat the president as if he were rock star, superb  athlete , and economic expert  rolled into one?  Why do journalists refuse to ask him serious questions concerning the condition of  our nation?

Is the news media giving too much or too little coverage to guns, sequestration, the economy or North Korea?  I was pleased to give my opinion on that as I was on TSA, and on whether the government is treating veterans too well or not well enough.

So much of the survey concerned usage of the internet.  That included social networks  like Face Book, My Space, Twitter and several I had never heard of.

I found most of the survey interesting although I recognize that it will have little influence.  Personally, it was worthwhile because I was able to say how I feel about Obama and TSA.

Happy Birthday, Carol

I remember when we first met.  I was 19 years and four months old and on the way to New Orleans to get my discharge from the navy. You were about a month old so I doubt you remember. us becoming acquainted. 

I hope this has been a great day for you.  Love, Roy

A pleasant morning at the hospital

What an enjoyable day!  Spent hours in hospital waiting rooms and additional hours for a test.

My appointment was at  10:15 and since I had not visited the cardiologist at this  place before, I left home at 9:30,  By the time I went to the wrong place twice, I benefited from a kind nurse who led me on a long trek down the hall to the correct waiting room.  The time was now eight minutes past l0 and at 10:45 I was led to the first room I was to visit.  Another period of waiting and then a test that lasted about 35 minutes.  At 12:30  my visit was over except I am to have another test May 1.

Isn't one of the pleasures of getting older spending time with  physicians and lab technicians?