Crystal Montoya

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I am the new San Diego Nutrition Examiner on Examiner.com. If you are interested in reading my short and to the point articles on everything nutrition related, please visit and subscribe to receive an update when I write something new.

Photo Credit Dallas News

WHO Advisor Secretly Pads Pockets with Big Pharma Money

WHO Advisor Secretly Pads Pockets with Big Pharma Money.

California to Ban Trans Fat!

Oh glorious day! If my sources are correct, California will be the first state to ban trans fat in restaurants and I could not be happier. Let's get to work on high fructose corn syrup next and then we can talk about aspartame, I am fired up and ready to go! Certain people will be surely thinking I am a wacko liberal that feels my government should force me to behave but those people are wrong. I am for as little government as possible; a small yet effective government. I do not want your right to do anything to be taken away, I just don't think you understand exactly what trans fat or high fructose corn syrup really are and what they cause our bodies to go through. I would like to suggest that the government who we currently employ to help protect us against things like trans fat have colluded with food companies and allowed these non foods to infiltrate our food system while tauting the supposed benefits and ignoring the most blaring evidence which is our heart disease, cancer, obesity, and diabetes crises. 

The other day at work this woman asked me about a good(healthy) creamer for her coffee. I suggested that she use a little bit of organic half and half. She explained that she uses vanilla soy milk but she was hoping "the food scientists had developed something better, yet still healthy."  I literally had to control my gag reflex as not to vomit on this person. Really? I mean...really? We were standing in the premier health food store and you still think somehow mucking up the food with science could possibly be healthier? If you aren't lactose intolerant or a vegan then use a little bit of half and half - Cheeses rhymany! 

The people on the radio like Limbaugh, Hannity, or Beck who strongly feel it is their right to eat trans fat or high fructose corn syrup are normally the same people who have a strong relationship with God. I believe God gave us abundant, beautiful, and important foods to fuel His creation(us) with. I don't think God is happy about us applying our science to His food, at least not to the extent that we currently do. We are taking the food and transforming it with chemicals and processes that make it inedible, yet the shelves are lined with it. I feel your right to continue eating this impure, unnatural, and harmful food is interfering with my right to eat the wonderful, diverse, and healthy collection of food that God intended for us. I can't find actual food unless I seek it out, I have to pay way more because so many resources - our precious tax dollars - are being used to grow corn, process corn, invent more horrifying ways to muck up the corn, and sell it in almost everything.

My Car is as Good, if Not Better Than a Prius - Get Over It!

I am the very proud owner of 2009's green car of the year. It's not a hybrid. It still counts. It's a Volkswagen Jetta TDI. TD means Turbo Diesel. It's the new diesel and the 2010 green car of the year will not be a hybrid either - it will also be one of these new immaculate diesels. Why do you care? You probably don't, I'm just pissed so you're going to get a little bit of an opinion about the almighty hybrid that is suppose to save the planet and why I, the proud owner of 2009's car of the year should also qualify for the little contest going on at work. My car is the greenest car of the year - have I mentioned that yet?

The fact that I am getting the same gas millage in my non hybrid, green car of the year as you are getting in your Prius hasn't seemed to be enough for you to stop and consider that there may be more than one way to skin a cat, or that there may be more than one type of new green vehicle. Gas millage aside, and even the fact that I spent $1300 less than you did, the Jetta has several other things that I see as superior to your damn Prius. First, if you got the sport package you have leather! Really? A full leather interior somehow equates in what is suppose to be the ultimate in green cars? Volkswagen was a little smarter than that - they developed a "green" leather like material for the seats in my car. I can't tell the difference except that I know my car contributed less to the cruelty of animals and the pollution that cruelty emits than your loaded Prius did. 

Next is that I have a full size Sedan I actually feel like I am sitting in a car, rather than a shoe. My car says Vroom! Vroom! while yours says Whaaaaaaaa. My car will beat yours off the line every single time. My car feels sporty and fun. My passengers have plenty of room. But, none of that has anything to do with being green - just cool.

Come out from Under that Rock Already.

    I know I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed sometimes. I know there are just things happening around me that I have absolutely no clue about and that there may be other people who are disgusted and amazed at my complete stupidity so while I write this I know that there are people who have had similar experiences with me; the kind of experience that leaves their head shaking and makes them think I've been hiding under a rock for a good part of my adult life. For instance I've lived in San Diego for over 6 years and I still have no clue how to get to Mira Mesa or El Cajon. Half the time I think Oceanside is to the south of us and even though I live right downtown, I would probably print directions before I drove myself to Coronado. I realize this is pitiful, it's like I just got here yesterday, this not knowing the lay of the land after 6 years. It's something that leaves people wondering if I have indeed been hiding under a rock. 

    So while I am about to call out others for being stupid, I can agree that I too fall into this category - occasionally. We can't all be all knowing. I'll even admit that I probably expect people to know more than I should expect them too. I'm always asking my husband random questions about historical people or events, questions that he does not know an answer to and I'm sure he wonders why in the hell I would think he does. He happens to be college educated and 12 years older than me, that's why. He paid good money and spent four years in a higher learning establishment, he should know these things - some of them he should simply recall - I mean he was there and I wasn't. Granted he may have only been 4 or 5 at the time but still he was there so the facts of the matter should just be a part of him. like the hair on his head.

I know that I don't remember the facts about anything that happened when I was 5 years old but I fully expect other people to. This kind of stupidity is not really what I'm venting about at all. I don't think Dick is stupid because he can't tell me all of the bands that played at Woodstock off the top of his head, I just think I would know this if I was his age but it doesn't change my opinion of him. I know he's smart, just because he didn't pay attention to the biggest rock concert of all time doesn't mean he's stupid. I only find this mildly annoying because he should know the answer so I don't have to look it up. I clearly wasn't that interested because I didn't look it up. It's not like he said he didn't know what the newest and greatest gadget was - then I would be concerned. Gadgets are what Dick loves. His life's work is based in computers and gadgets, so I don't think I am out of line in thinking he should know a little something about them. And for sure if I ask him about the best cars available right now, he'll give me every fact and figure as if his grade in life depended on it. He is a car buff. This makes sense. 

The kind of stupidity that I'm talking about is the kind that makes you take a step back and wonder how certain people actually make it through their life. These stupid people working in their stupid jobs and have no knowledge of the things that relate to what they do. For some reason these people always seem to work in professions that can seriously affect your life. Let's put all of the idiots in places where their stupidity will really mess you up. Anytime you call a utility company, an insurance company, or any kind of customer service line, you need to watch for an impending hassle. I wonder if this is their work place moral program; put the idiots in roles where they make mistakes or are just completely ignorant about things that really matter to people and then we can all have a good laugh at the people who get screwed.

I'm talking about the Medical Assistant who feels insecure enough already because her patient (me) has clearly established that she knows her stuff when it comes to all of this medical bullshit and she won''t be pushed around. Maybe this is the wrong way to start with the Medical Assistant but I'm now in the business of preventing hassles in my life rather than going along with things until they become a hassle. If you're not careful, the stupid people will lead you cheerfully down the path to a great big fucking hassle. Constant vigilance is required and I am constantly on guard with these stupid people. This is something I can thank my wise husband for, watching him take control when he is on the phone with some tech support guy is really thrilling. He will never let that guy cheerfully lead him down the road to a big hassle. My husband's direct, to the point, and at times forceful approach as soon as he figures out someone is a moron is enough to turn a girl on, he speaks some serious geek.

So the medical assistant; I know she has about 9 months of education to prepare for this role and I've had nearly 6 years of education in being a regular patient. This girl looks as if she was celebrating her 16th birthday around that time so clearly I am more qualified than she is to try and address my concern. This particular doctor visit occurred because I thought I had a bladder infection and I wanted a culture taken on my urine to determine if I did or not. There are two different ways to test for infection in the urinary system - well probably more but there are 2 that are used regularly. One is called a dip stick and the other is a culture. I have dip sticks at home, I wanted a culture. The medical assistant has to dip it first, just part of the process which was fine. I knew that my dip stick was normal because I have them at home. When the medical assistant told me it showed signs of an infection, I wanted to know what specifically and she told me my leukocytes were slightly elevated, when I asked her if I could please see this evidence she looked at me like I was the moron and handed me a prescription for 20mg of cipro for 30 days. Cipro is not a drug to be taken lightly and 30 days is absolutely unheard of. 

At this point both the medical assistant and I are frustrated. I wanted to talk to a nurse - at least let me talk to a damn nurse because this is how I want this to go down: I want to make this decision based on a culture, not the stupid - inaccurate dip test. Then, if and only If I actually choose to take an antibiotic, I am certainly not going to take that much Cipro. That much Cipro might make sense after losing a limb in a dirty explosion but not for a suspected bladder infection. The medical assistant was appalled that I was just not accepting her orders as if they were doctor's orders. I was livid that she would not go get the person who actually wrote this outlandish prescription - because yeah sweetie, I know it wasn't you and the person who wrote it needs to be made aware that this mistake occurred and they are lucky I was the patient rather than a lesser informed one. I stormed out; there was no other choice. Later I would discuss this with the doctor and she would also gasp at the amount of Cipro they were trying kill me with and explain that it was a mistake. I would say yes, I know. I wonder if the office got a good laugh at my expense after they got me so irritated and annoyed that the only option they gave me was to storm out angry, yelling at the woman then slamming the door as I left. 

Two days later I was able to get into a specialist (thank God for private insurance) and in the meantime I had consumed enough fluids to wash away any infection that may have been there. I was seen by an actual nurse as well as a doctor who both understood that I did not want to take antibiotics unless I needed them. See that's all I needed. I needed to know if I needed antibiotics, I did not need to be told just to take them regardless. I never want to take an antibiotic but I will take reasonable advice from a trained physician - even a nurse. That medical assistant was stupid and has no business treating me as a patient. I am too educated in medicine even without a formal education to just trust her and thank God I am. 

My friend Kim recently experienced some stupidity at the clothing store Ross. Ross abounds with stupidity, many of these stores don't even have a public restroom. On more than one occasion I have left Ross without buying the 15 items I wanted to buy because by the time I had sifted though the endless jumbled up racks and tried things on 8 at a time I had to pee so bad I would not have been able to wait the 30 minutes it would take to get through the line and the employees simply refused to let me use their bathroom. Okay - well go fuck yourself. Kim coined this phrase all on her own after just such a trip to Ross, the difference was that she didn't have to pee or if she did, she was in one of the Ross stores that has figured out women are gonna have to pee after sifting through endless racks of clothes and trying them on for hours on end but I digress. Kim had found the items she wanted and proceeded to the line. She was in good spirits at this point, due to this adorable little dress she couldn't believe she was lucky enough to find and for $10. This is where Ross gets you, they have awesome deals on decent stuff if you have the patience. I wonder if the Ross teams discuss the fine line between slightly annoying and outright infuriating. This day for Kim though, it was not Ross that caused her the headache, she was mentally prepared for the annoyance that is inevitable at Ross. She got in line, made some friends during the 30 minutes she waited, she was having a good time. Finally there are two people in front of her, the wait is almost over when all of the sudden this woman appears out of nowhere with a cart overflowing with merchandise and she tells Kim that she is with the guy in front of her. The guy in front of Kim has been standing there with 3 items in his hand for 30 minutes. 

The woman was from Europe somewhere judging by her accent and maybe this is how they do things where she is from but where Kim is from that ain't how it goes. Kim says no, you are not with him, you need to go to the back of the line. The woman then tries to explain to Kim that it's okay because she knows the guy in front of Kim. You know, I think this would have to be considered rude, no matter where you are from but I've never visited France or Germany, maybe this is how they do it. Well this woman learned quickly that this is not how it's done here; Kim took her cart and ran over the woman's toes while saying "Go fuck yourself!" on her way to the register when the next customer was called. Now we just say GFY. We seem to find more and more GFY moments in life. Are we just getting older and grouchy or do people act more stupidly :o) and rude than ever?

I called to schedule a massage the other day and I was informed by the receptionist in the medical office where I get my massages that my therapist had called in sick that day but there was an opening the following day. Now I needed more information because I try to avoid sick people - you know if it's contagious. I am a little worried about the flu this year - you know H1N1 but not worried enough to "protect" myself with some crazy vaccine. So I say to the girl "Well do you know what's wrong with her?" and the girl says "I don't know, I think she's just sick." so I say "Well I don't know if I want to come in tomorrow because I'm worried about H1N1." and the girl nervously giggled and said "I don't think it's anything serious like that." I said "Okay, well has H1N1 been going around your office?" I knew it was all over when the receptionist in my medical doctor's office replied "I guess I don't know what that is, what is H1N1?"  Okay, Come out from under your rock already.

   

Voices from the Past

"It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning."  -Henry Ford

"The bankers own the earth. Take it away from then but leave them the power to create money, and with a flick of the pen they will create enough money to buy it back again. However, take away from them the power to create money and all of the great fortunes like mine would disappear...for this would be a happier, better world to live in. But if you wish to remain the slaves of bankers and pay the cost of your own slavery, let them continue to create money."  -Sir Josiah Stamp, Former Director, Bank of England

"I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the civilized world no longer a Government by free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men." -Woodrow Wilson, after signing the Federal Reserve into existence

"If the American People ever allow the banks to control the issuance of their currency...the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their father conquered." Thomas Jefferson

"In the absence of the gold standard their is no way to protect savings from confiscation through inflation. There is no safe store of value."  Alan Greenspan before he joined and compounded the problems with the Fed

"Paper is poverty, it is only the ghost of money and not money itself." Thomas Jefferson

"A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you have."  Barry Goldwater

"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys." P.J. O'Rourke 

"It's not the voting that's democracy; it's the counting."  Tom Stoppard 

 

Ignorance Would be Bliss

I have found myself saying I wish I was still ignorant often over the last few weeks. I never used to pay attention to politics or world news. My initial excuse for that when I was in my 20's was that I was too busy trying to manage apartments and be successful. Then I was too busy fighting cancer. Now, I wonder if it's just that I'm not as busy as I used to be or are things today way worse than they were 10 or 15 years ago? 

I can't stomach what I am seeing anymore yet I can't stop watching. Those of you who know me know I have not been motivated to write lately - you've been telling me that I need to. I am motivated now and unfortunately the thing that is on my mind is the state of affairs in Washington. I don't like this topic any more than you do but it is what it is. I guess I am merely an instrument of God, although not a very refined one, because sometimes I feel as though there is a force beyond me that guides when, why, and what I write about. I don't know anything about politics except for the past couple of administrations but I'm learning. I'm discovering our history and I'm looking closely at what is going on today. While I am still quite ignorant, I can plainly see that our politicians need strong and unyielding guidance. I guess that's why I'm writing, maybe some of my perceptions, ideas, and observations can validate what your feeling and we can start to make a difference.

I have to say that it was quite easy for me to let the American people down by not paying attention and not voting when I was young. My whole childhood was set up to lead me to believe I had to focus on acquiring things rather than learning things. My parents had very little responsibility for instilling this value in me, I got it from watching TV. I got it from going over to my friend's houses and seeing all of their things. I got it from being teased in school because I didn't have all of the required things to make me one of the valuable people. I trusted that the politicians were elected by the people and they carried out our will. I knew there were always the two sides and fights between them but I had no idea there were so many destructive forces between the people and politicians. The money grubbers that grease all the wheels. 

Looking back I completely understand why I was so focused on acquiring things instead of knowledge. All of the messages I received told me that designer clothing, fancy gadgets, beautiful jewelry, and other things were where my value was placed. Along with this desire for things was a desire to achieve a certain status in my career - if I could achieve both simultaneously then I would be a successful person; a contributing member of our great society. Partially because of my parents and partially because of media, I have always had a need to contribute something. I believe this is actually something - this need to contribute- is something that many American people have inherited from many generations past. I believe this need to contribute to the greater good is exploited by the people who can sleep well at night after stealing your hard earned money. 

Now I can plainly see that the two parties are always fighting for our entertainment and to keep us fired up about "the issues". I'm not saying that the issues are not issues but that the issues are only a facade as far as the politicians are concerned - their real issue is the issue of what will help their campaign, what will put money in their pocket, and what will make their pets happiest. These people may go to Washington with the best of intentions but once there they become immersed in this unethical mud pit. Our dollars are not and cannot possibly be spent ethically with the current politicians. They have been there too long. They have gotten away with too much already.

The corruption on both sides has gone on too long. They are too comfortable. They know how to get away with it and every dollar you pay in taxes is subject to greasing wheels, enhancing the lives of cronies, or at best just being wasted or even LOST! I can't imagine what my husband would say if I told him I just lost $1000 - I have no idea where it went.  There are reports of millions of dollars just vanishing. Our politicians are not being held to the same standard as we are. They are robbing us blind or at least facilitating this process. If they don't know it is happening they are too stupid to be there and if they are allowing it and participating in it they should be prosecuted as well as the those who are benefiting from it. 

Corruption is the real issue right now - the one that requires immediate action. We have some serious problems in this country, they need to be addressed, time is of the essence. The economy needs to be addressed, healthcare needs to be addressed, education needs to be addressed, the environment needs to be addressed, our food system needs to be addressed. I wish I could spend more time evaluating and researching our food system; it's a hot button issue for me but I don't feel that I can because there is another much more pressing issue. Imagine the country as a person with an internal wound, it's bleeding out and bleeding out, now you can pump in more blood and more blood trying to keep up but at some point you have to repair the injury - you have to patch the hole because if you don't the poor man will surely crash - get the crash cart! 

I am very concerned that our economy is about to fail completely. I realize this is quite a statement, after all how could the almighty dollar fail? Well, I believe the almighty dollar has not really been almighty since we went away from a gold standard and we gave private bankers the authority to coin our money - to actually print money out of thin air. I'm no economist but I am pretty sure paper is just worth paper when there is nothing of actual value to back it up. I'm not the only one who thinks the dollar is in grave danger, there are prominent people everywhere actually conceding to the possibility. 

Is capitalism the problem? I don't think so. I think capitalism can nurture great and amazing accomplishments and I know of no other system that gives so many people so many opportunities to do so. I think the capitalistic society that our founders set up for us is very different today than what they imagined for us. I do believe that even though they were a bunch of wealthy white men, they set a foundation for us that would have led to the most equal and free society the world has ever known. I believe that we have allowed exactly what they were trying to help us avoid to happen. I don't think their ideal and vision was flawed, I think the American people failed to carry it out, myself included. 

The entire system is suppose to be managed and controlled by us. We are the employer, yet while congress only has a 9% approval rate from us, their employer, they are reelected 97% of the time!? How is this possible? I keep hearing people say "well there will always be corruption, we need to focus on(enter hot button issue here)" WTF sheeple! Do you think George Washington would have allowed that Halliburton shit to go down? Do you think John Adams would have sat around and allowed politicians to forget to claim their income while at the same time influencing what we are to pay in taxes??? The list just goes on and on with these people not doing what they tell us we must do. We do have the power to stop it. Americans have the power if they get past the democrat/republican facade that politicians and the machine put up. We all have our sweetheart issues but in this moment in time it is crucial that we wait a little longer before giving any more of our precious sweat to our government. 

None of us trust them. I don't care what side you're on, we all feel they are weasels. Yet we reelect them and we use them as our guide - they have shown us living beyond their means for many years and we have followed along, buying and spending to keep the machine running. We have ignored the important stuff while we were living it up on borrowed printed money. If the money has a standard then this artificial wealth everyone acquired would have never happened. Our dollar would still be worth a dollar. We would have smaller houses, less stuff and less credit but we would have more security, more opportunity, and more freedom. The spend all you make and then some mentality was fun but we were guided by an unethical force. Our system is not moral because it is not based on real money. We have been played, the value they told us our things have was not the real value. It is smoke and mirrors and a complete collapse could be the consequence. 

At this point I cannot see how we can move forward and how anyone else can put any more faith in this system that is still bleeding out. We have to repair the injury. In my mind the problem is that we have allowed the current players to remain in place for too long. Most of them were bought and payed for by big corporations and their own greed years ago. We need to shake them up. We need to put the fear of the people in them before we put any more trust in them. They never do the right thing and its been a long time since they have. The right thing means agonizing over the way every single one of our dollars is spent. They don't agonize, they don't even read the legislation. 

I also cannot imagine a successful future in America while the Federal Reserve controls the money. Did you know that Diane Feinstein and Susan Davis do not support a bill to audit this private entity that has the power to print money at will. Why not? Do your representatives support HR 1207?  An audit of the fed seems like a good idea to me - when we ask what they are doing they tell us it would be counterproductive to release the info...You should find out - do you know who your representative are? Unfortunately we have to start paying attention to them. We have to scare them. All of you who think Washington will always be corrupt can do something to stop it. Our future depends on it. We can't afford this anymore. 

At first I thought I just won't vote for anyone that does not support term limits. Term limits are key because it creates an environment where people cannot get comfy and it will attract people to politics who want to serve their country rather than get rich off the sweat of innocent Americans while protecting their favorite corporation and specials interests. Then I realized that just supporting term limits is not enough - we need a complete overhaul. I would love to go in and give them the benefit of serious investigations into their affairs but we don't have enough time to give them that benefit. We need to impose term limits. We need to not pay attention to anything except shaking them up so they know we mean business. I don't care if you are a lifetime democrat who has always been a democrat and always will be a democrat, this time I propose we all vote against the current guy even if that means voting for a republican. I would like to say with the exception of Ron Paul we should vote everybody out because I love Ron Paul. I think you should read End the Fed and I look forward to supporting him in the next presidential election. I can't say that though because some of you may love Nancy Pelosi or John McCain. We can't save any of them. We need a sea of fresh faces in Washington and then we need to do it again! We can impose term limits. We can start in 2010.

We have to unite on this and make it the only issue on the table. We can't afford to put any more trust in this government. They do not manage things well. None of us are happy with their results up to this point. There are no really good government programs, are there? We need to speak loudly and vote them all out. We can make it happen if we temporarily refuse to support every issue they focus on unless it is an issue of corruption within their own party. No more finger pointing, they have so much dirty laundry all over the place that it would take every housewife in America years to sort it out. Write them - I do daily - tell them they are on their way out. Them them that you know they serve their precious lobbyists and not the people. 

When you talk to your friends talk to them about the bleeding. When they tell you there will always be corruption in Washington beg them to listen to reason. We can stop them. We can vote them ALL out. All we have to do is pay attention and vote. Our money is no longer based on anything close to a moral foundation and it has created an immoral "norm" that we have been pulled into. My observation is that our entire economy is based on smoke and mirrors that very few people really benefit from. The people that are benefiting know they are playing with monopoly money, they are gambling addicts and the bills are coming due. Our government should have never allowed this to happen - we have regulations that should have been enforced, they should have done more prosecuting rather that joining and our government had no business bailing out the banks and big business. It only delayed what is inevitable.  

We need to elect watchdogs, we need to demand prosecution of criminals, we need to pay attention to all of the loop holes, get rid of lobbyists, etc, etc. I am done listening to politicians who say they are going to do this - I don't believe them. We need to accept nothing less than a complete and accurate accounting of all of the money. We need to start by making sure our representative support HR1207 and then in 2010 we need to fire Washington - all of them and then do it again. That's my best plan, I think we can do it. At this point, it can't hurt.  

  

 

   

 

 

    

It's a Crazy World

What's going on? Does anyone else feel like the world around you is going to crap in fast motion? Is the average Joe able to see how backwards and bizarre the news is anymore? It's not just your average craziness anymore - we've really got our priorities mixed up. Have common sense and decency left the majority of Americans or did they just never have it and I failed to notice?

When I was growing up I had a sense that people were free thinking and actually literally free to do what they felt was right and what they felt would benefit their family. I knew there were laws to make sure people did "the right thing" but in my mind the more important factor was conscience, not some law that guided one's decisions.

I didn't have a religious family but I came up among hard working and decent people who had no sense of entitlement whatsoever. They instilled in me a sense of right and wrong from the beginning of my life. I understand that right and wrong is very subjective and I guess this is my struggle. I feel like my idea of right and wrong now suddenly differs from the norm. I feel like I'm suddenly an old fuddy duddy who is looking at the kids wondering how dare you?

We were on food stamps once for a month or so when I was growing up but other than that my family did everything they could do to pay their own bills and take care of the family. Sometimes this meant long hours, disgusting and/or labor intensive jobs that paid a pittance but they did it and I learned early that I was going to have to work hard in life to take care of myself. There is no free ride. 

I had my first job at 12 years old babysitting two kids in the neighborhood and then took a newspaper route as a second job not too long after that. I continued to babysit those same kids until I was 15. I picked raspberries in blistering heat the summer between 7th and 8th grade and as soon as I was 15 and could get a work permit I went to work busing tables at a restaurant. I have been continuously employed, paying taxes, since the time I was 15 years old with the only exception being about 2 years when I was too sick to work. I was fighting for my life during that time but even still I was taking classes that we paid for ourselves during 12 of those months. I work now even though I'm exhausted and unable to perform in the same way I used to able to. I feel like I have an obligation not only to my own family but to society to do what I can do to contribute to the machine. I don't think I could sleep well at night if I just sat back and took disability payments without at least doing what I can to pay back into the machine.

Most of the time I can't do as much as I would like, actually all of the time I can't do what I would like. I would like to be back at the top of my game where I left off. I loved working and I got great satisfaction out of being a very hard working, independent woman. I was on the heals of earning 6 figures when I got sick and my life changed. I don't fault anyone who works hard and gets paid well for what they do.

You must be wondering what I am getting at by now. I just keep hearing day after day examples of situations that go completely against my sense of right and wrong. I heard someone on the radio the other day say that the best solution to the economy would be to limit everyone to a maximum net wealth of $80 million dollars. It pains me to think that some of you may actually be reading this and agree with this idea. If everyone could only have $80 million dollars, because really how much money does one person need, then we could take the rest of their wealth and pay America's bills. This kind of thinking really troubles me. Why don't we just decide that no matter who you are or what you do you will make the exact same amount as everyone else. Let's just pay every person $25 per hour for every job. If you are a business owner then you can only pay yourself $25 per hour and each of your employees has to be paid that same from the janitor to the CFO. Wouldn't that be fair?

Some of you may be thinking that requiring everyone be paid the same is a far cry from simply limiting the amount of wealth that one person is allowed to amass but I think if we were to go down the road of deciding who could have what that is eventually where we would end up.  We have no business limiting people's incomes in any way except for when those incomes are generated illegally. I understand there is a lot of greed and people unethically take money when they should not, let's focus on prosecuting those people, not taking away the motivation for some people to become superstars in their field. Let's face it, some people are smarter, more ambitious, more dedicated, and more motivated than others. It's one of the things that is so great about humans, we all have unique gifts. Some of those gifts lend themselves to making a lot of money, some of them to being wonderful mothers, some to helping community, etc, etc. It takes all kinds of people to make the world turn.

The idea that some (I hope not most) of my fellow citizens feel that robbing Peter to pay Paul is not only moral and ethical, but the right thing to do for our country is only a start to the things that have been turning my stomach lately. 

There is a single woman in California that just gave birth to 8 children, instantly making her the proud mother of 14. All of her children required medical intervention to be created and her spoke person says we have no reason to believe she is not a wonderful mother. Wonderful mother? Really? She's supporting these children with your tax dollars, are you okay with this? What about the fact that your tax dollars are paying to educate and medicate over 12 million people who decided to enter our country illegally? Many of them do not pay taxes and I would venture to say most of them do not pay their share of taxes. I have nothing against people wanting live here, I was absolutely blessed to have been born here but we have a policy in place for helping people move to the United States. I know Mexico is a tough place to be for many of its citizens and I do hope that they are able to improve their country so the Mexican people do not want to leave. I feel that is Mexico's responsibility and until they get it together I welcome the people who choose to move here using the programs that are in place. I realize this is not possible for everyone, I'm sorry but as my mom would say, that's just the way the cookie crumbles. I don't believe people have a right to come here and use the resources if they are not contributing to the pot. What disturbs me the most about this topic is our solution; build a massive, ugly, and expensivee wall rather than getting tougher on our policy regarding what we do with the illegals that are already here. Why don't we send them back home, especially when they have been caught perpetrating crimes?  

There are also a lot of American citizens that do not contribute to the pot. Many of them are legitimately in need of help and they they are entitled to it based on the fact that they have paid into the systems that are in place. People who work hard for the majority of their lives should be given help during the rough patches. I'm afraid that more and more people feel like their government is suppose to protect and take care of them. Is there a general feeling that a person's basic rights include home ownership, new cars, flat screen TV's, and PlayStation 3? I have more respect for the people that come here illegally and work their asses off day in and day out than for the citizens of this country that sit on their ass and make excuses for why they can't contribute to their own survival. You've all heard the stories of this person or that who spends their life working the welfare system to get by, when they have no real reason not to go out and work. Is it me or are these people becoming more and more common and demanding more and more from the system? Is government planning on stepping up and doing just what these people want? More government programs for everything? Can anyone give me a specific example of any government program that is actually working? What I mean is a program that is getting the people that need it the most help in a timely manner and also cutting off the people that are abusing it? A program that is actually using our tax dollars in a productive, efficient, and responsible manner?

I'm not talking about all of the honest, hard working people who have recently fallen on bad times. I am so sorry if you are one of the people who has lost your job and livelihood due to this current economic fiasco. I hope you have no problem getting the unemployment benefit you need and I hope it gets you through until you are able to find work again. The people I am talking about are the ones who have never tried and do not care about trying because they know there is a system that they can rely on and they make it their life's work manipulating it. I hope this is not the new answer to the question what do you want to be when you grow up? "I want to be the lady that lives in a shoe with so many kids I don't know what to do, oh but wait I do know what I'll do...Hey kiddies meet your Uncle Sam, he's the enemy of every hard working person in this country but he's our best friend."

What about the fact that the property taxes you pay to educate children are producing some of the most uneducated kids on the planet. Am I allowed to bitch about the lack of education when I don't have children? If I did have children I would not rely solely on public schools if at all for their education. I'm bitching because there has been a general dumbing down in our school system and I am seriously worried about the future. I really do mean dumbing down in the Orwellian sense of the phrase because dumb people are easy to manipulate. I'm not sure if this is entirely the fault of our government or if it just happens to be their luck because so many parents have checked out. When I was a kid my mom knew the instant I missed a homework assignment and my ass was grass. It was her job to make sure I was doing my work and actually learning something. My classes had about 20 kids in them and every single one of them was proficient in speaking English. Now classes have over 30 kids and some of them are not proficient in English, how are teachers expected to overcome this? Especially when they don't get nearly the amount of help from parents as they used to. It pains me to think about how many kids don't get to bed on time, don't even consider studying, don't get fed breakfast, and whose teachers never get talked to because parents are too busy with their other real priorities; a big screen or a new car, whatever it is. Then when you do have a very bright child who is bored in the classroom and starts acting out, they are diagnosed ADHD and medicated - really dumbed down. Why aren't we trying to find productive ways for these kids to use their excess energy? Parents have you done everything you possibly can to try and discover the root of the problem and address it with lifestyle choices before medicating your child? Really? I don't believe that 99% of the time.

I don't think it is optimal for children to be raised in a single parent home, I don't think it's optimal for children to be raised in a home with two parents that work full time. Kids don't raise themselves and I'm sorry but I don't know a single person I would trust to leave my child with 8-10 hours a day. At least not one who would be able or willing to raise my child for me. I know some people make it work, I know some people literally have no choice. My point here is that I am hoping the next generation will produce more promising young people.If they don't I'm afraid the movie Idiocracy will be reality. Our experiment with having children without real families does not seem to be working; more and more young people are in jails, addicted to drugs, have serious emotional problems, or simply feel like they are entitled to have every thing they want and see no problem with the idea of taking it from someone else. The majority of these children are a result of broken or unconventional homes. I really hope people are going to start thinking a little more seriously about the effect they are having on the population as a whole when they have children that they do not take responsibility for. It does take a village and I don't mind paying my fair share of taxes for education and other necessary programs to make sure they get the best possible start in life. My problem is when the parents of these children don't take primary responsibility; they expect others to.

I feel like I've woken up and suddenly found myself in this ass backwards world of blame the government for everything, yet look to them to bail us out of it and take no personal responsibility whatsoever. If the government is to blame for our current economic crises than how in the hell does expanding government seem like the best solution? We have just seen the beginning of the greatest government expansion in the history of our country. When the government starting writing checks to bail out private companies they also gained some control over how those private companies conduct business. Some people strongly feel this will greatly reduce corruption and greed but come on, aren't our politicians (the government) the purest and oldest examples of corruption and greed? Is it really in our best interest to give them more control?

Isn't control exactly what people who are corrupt and greedy want? Are we so ignorant, unmotivated, and lost that we need a government agency to direct our every move? Again, maybe I would be a little more excited about handing my freedom to choose my own path over to politicians if I had seen some good examples of government programs that work.

The movie Sicko comes to mind and the story about the French family who had nannies, housekeepers, and so many other programs that were provided to them by the government. Many of you watched the movie Sicko and left convinced that socialized medicine is the best and only answer to our healthcare crises. I didn't leave convinced. I know people who live or have lived in these countries and most of their first hand experiences with the quality of care they received was not as glorious as the movie Sicko made it out to be. I don't want a nanny, housekeeper, and other help assigned to me if it means that I only get to keep 40% of my income because the rest is being stolen to pay taxes for all of these services. I don't want to pay any more for services that I am not in need of until the programs that are already in place are more successful.

I don't want healthcare that is sub par because there are not enough doctors willing to work for less than they deserve, sub par because there is not enough equipment to go around. I already wait 2 months to get an appointment with certain specialists, what is it going to be like when medicine is socialized? There has to be a better way, maybe we should start with looking into why it costs more than $1500 to take an ambulance 3 miles. Is it because there are so many people using the system but not contributing to it? Why are we paying $200 per month for medication that you can buy In Mexico for $20? Is it really because drug companies spend a billion dollars to get a drug approved or is it because they are greedy and the greedy politicians are getting lubed by them left and right?  Shouldn't we try to address some of these issues before we decide to force hard working, responsible people to pick up more of the tab and get in return a clogged up ans sub-standard system? Why would we trust our government to take over control something as important as healthcare when they've already mucked it up without having complete control? Which successful governement program will this program be modeled after? 

We are about to print $800 billion dollars out of thin air to pay our bills. Bills that have accumulated because of greed and corruption from government and big business. This mess, however, is not theirs alone. I'm not hearing enough about the responsibility of the people in this mess. If you accepted a loan on a home without showing proof of income, without paying a down payment, with an adjustable rate, or any other non conventional loan and you knew that you could not afford to make the payments at the time that you signed the loan then you are also responsible for this mess. If you loaded up thousands of dollars of debt on credit cards without the income to pay it back, this is also your fault. People who spent money they did not yet have because they thought they would get a pay raise should learn from this and accept that they made some mistakes. I have not always been the most responsible person when it comes to money. After all, we do live in a society that encourages us to live beyond our means but I would never make this kind of mistake and then expect to be bailed out while my neighbor who bought the house he could afford with proof of income, a hefty down payment, and a fixed mortgage had to continue making his same monthly payments even those the value on his home has plummeted because of my irresponsible actions. That's right, home values are plummeting because of your foreclosures, because you bought a home you couldn't afford and you knew you couldn't. Just because you CAN get a loan does not mean that you should or that you are entitled to it. 

So what is the answer? I really have no idea. I do know that I would like to have less governmental influence rather than more. I value my freedom and I am afraid I am watching it rapidly being taken away, sometimes under the guise that it's what's best for me, sometimes under the pretense that it's what the people want, sometimes because it is what is "politically correct", etc. Whatever the case I can actually see Orwell's 1984 becoming a reality, I know people have been saying that probably since he wrote the book but now we are closer to that than ever before. 

I sincerely hope people will start relying more on their conscience, start striving to be the best they can be, value their freedoms, and teaching their children. How many people are there about there who don't even know what they are missing because they learned early on to do as little as possible and not to worry because they'll get by with a little help from Uncle Sam. They may never know how much satisfaction they actually get from setting a goal and achieving it, how well they sleep after a hard day of work, how much more they can have by expending some effort, how knowledgeable they could become just from putting themselves out there.

I truly hope that the response we receive to just printing hundreds of billions of dollars is not extreme inflation, or higher and higher taxes, or a massive war effort but it seems to me that those are the  possibilities. When you print money out of thin air the value is going to drop. The money has to be paid back. I am very concerned to say the least but as always I have a positive attitude. I know there are enough people left in our country that understand the value of freedom and hard work. There just has to be.