Why Washington Shouldn't Be In Charge Of Washington

Has anyone else seen this on the internet? My husband read it last night and emailed it to me...

I'm against the $850,000,000,000 bailout.

Instead, I'm in favor of giving $850,000,000,000 to America in a ""We Deserve It Dividend"".

To make the math simple, let's assume there are 200,000,000 bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+.

Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up..

So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $850 billon that equals $425,000.

My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a "We Deserve It Dividend".

Of course, it would NOT be tax free.

So let's assume a tax rate of 30%.

Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes.

That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam.

But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500 in their pocket.

A husband and wife has $595,000.

What would you do with $297,500 to $595,000 in your family?

Pay off your mortgage - housing crisis solved.

Repay college loans - what a great boost to new grads

Put away money for college - it'll be there

Save in a bank - create money to loan to entrepreneurs.

Buy a new car - create jobs

Invest in the market - capital drives growth

Pay for your parent's medical insurance - health care improves

Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean - or else

Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.
If we're going to re-distribute wealth let's really do it...instead of trickling out a puny $1000.00 ("vote buy") economic incentive that is being proposed by one of our candidates for President.

If we're going to do an $850 billion bailout, let's bail out every adult US Citizen 18+!

As for AIG - liquidate it.

Sell off its parts.

Let American General go back to being American General.

Sell off the real estate.

Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.

Here's my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn't.

Sure it's a crazy idea that can "never work."

But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!

How do you spell Economic Boom?

I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion

"We Deserve It Dividend" more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC .

And remember, The Family plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.

Ahhh...I feel so much better getting that off my chest.

Kindest personal regards,

A Creative Guy & Citizen of the Republic.

Now, I think the actual number is $700 Billion, not $850 Billion - is that right? So by this man's thinking, that comes out to $350,000 per US citizen over 18 which would still be something like $245,000 per person after taxes.

Creative Citizens always seem smarter, Ruth!

Swap Jackpot!

Y'all know how I love to swap. Lately, I've been getting shorted or flat out stiffed! It's been kind of a bummer.

I joined YarnThing's swap on Ravelry and this time I got a stellar swap partner! Look at all these goodies.....


The sock pattern (Francie) was in my Ravelry queue, my partner asked what books I've been wanting and sent me one I told her about (Anticraft! Go check it out - it's so cool!), a jar of blueberry jam and a Citrus Basil soy candle from Etsy, gorgeous stitch markers in chocolate brown and blue, a cell phone charm she made,

and this....


That's yarn she handspun and it's beautiful beyond belief! It's spun from a Wooly Treasures batt in the Surf and Sand colorway and the fibers are BFL, alpaca, bamboo, and silk. I can't stop touching it!

Here's a closeup of the stitch markers and cell phone charm. The charm has, well, charms on it and one says I (heart) 2 Knit and the one below it is a sheep. So cute! (I asked if she had an Etsy store and she said no but she sells these at some of the LYS's around Colorado.)


Thanks so much CreativeProcess!


Then in another swap for green yarn, my partner sent this lovely Indigo Moon. Score!

Thanks Lalchee of Swapbot! I'm so jealous that Indigo Moon is a local dyer for you - lucky!


This next stuff isn't from a swap but from a yarn club that I'm in. It's theme is Nefarious people in history and it's creator is Cosmic Fibers. (I showed you the Lizzie Borden yarn from the last send out.) This is a lovely merino/silk/nylon blend with a thrilling bit of silvery sparkle running throughout. May I introduce you to.... Sweeney Todd!


My crappy pictures don't do them justice, Ruth!

I Haz A Foot

Pattern: Baudelaire Yarn: Claudia Handpaints Butter Pecan





and a sleeve....


Some of you may recognize the foot as the Baudelaire I started/attempted last year for the Tour de Force KnitALong. I got halfway thru the foot and got to the increase part but the increases would've been between the needles (Magic Loop method) and I couldn't figure it out. It wasn't until months later that it occurred to me to move the stitches around so the increases would be on the needles instead of in between. DUH!

By the time I figured it out, the sock was deep in the Closet of No Return. I dug it out to try it again for this year's TDF KAL. I finished the foot! But got stuck on the next set of increases for the gusset. sigh. Maybe next year....


Then there's the Pimlico Shrug I attempted for the Ravelympics. I signed up for the Ravelympics but I think I needed to sign up again and didn't know. I couldn't find me anywhere in the arena's or whatever. Just as well since I didn't finish. I finished 13 of the 36" of body knitting and one sleeve. I'm still plugging away at it. The yarn is Alpaca With a Twist Highlander and I'm in love with it. It's warm and soft and tweedy and lovely to work with! I've been spit-splicing the ends so no weaving in ends except at beginning and end of piece. (A word of warning, this stuff felts super easy! Might want to take extra special care when washing. Just sayin') I have 17" of body now and both sleeves (although I need to redo the BO on the second sleeve, I always forget to bind off tighter when in rib.)

The 16 row pattern is easy and pretty intuitive but after 17" and another 19" to go, it's getting a bit boring! I'm still working on it a bit every day. Our friend (and godmother to our kids), D'Lynn picked out this pattern and also picked/bought the yarn for me to make it for her. I was so excited! I've been wanting to try both the pattern and the yarn forever! I probably won't make a second one for me as I don't see facing another 36" of that pattern, easy as it is. But I definitely will acquire some of that yarn for me!

I know you're all shocked that I have been knitting. I have. Constantly and obsessively. I've discovered I'm a process knitter. Couldn't sleep the other night and worked on a hat I'd cast on for. Working it, I knew it was looking WAY too big. I was too tired to try to rip and do math and re-cast on so I just worked the rib for another... 3 inches. Ripped the following morning and did some math and it's just waiting for me to cast on again.

I can't believe I didn't finish anything for the R'lympics and TDF KAL again!

I haz a fail, Ruth!

6 Random Things

Thank goodness I got tagged for a meme! I've had so many things to write about lately that I've been paralyzed to do so.

Sam tagged me with the '6 Random Things About Me' Meme.

Here are the rules:

* Link to the person who tagged you.
* Post the rules on your blog.
* Write six random things about yourself.
* Tag six people at the end of your post.
* Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
* Let the tagger know your entry is up.

1. I'm terrified of driving on the highway. I'm going to be one of those women who by age 50, I just won't drive at all anymore - I won't leave the house unless Dave drives me somewhere!

2. Next month will be ten years ago that my husband and I met.

3. I'm pretty adept at ASL (American Sign Language). Like most languages, I'm better at "speaking" it then "reading" it.

4. I finally made my own jam. It wasn't nearly as difficult as I'd previously suspected.

5. I design a lot of knitting patterns. The problem is, my designs usually far outreach my actual abilities (as in, I know what I want them to look like, I just don't know how to make them look how I'm picturing them) and most of them are half-finished but thrown into the Closet of No Return.

6. I'll be in California (specifically Fresno but flying in and out of San Francisco) next month. Anyone want to take me yarn crawling?

Trying to un-paralyze my writing, Ruth!

P.S. I tag

Rachel
Kelly
Uberstrickenfrau
Tammy
YarnHog

Be Gentle

The Perilous Reading thing had a contest last year to write something within the genre of the Perilous Reading requirements (thriller, horror, gothic, mystery, etc.). The catch was you couldn't repeat a single word and the length of the piece had to be exactly 100 words long. (The title doesn't count for word count or repeated words) The entries for that contest are here. People are so creative!

It's a very difficult writing exercise! I highly recommend it to everyone who likes to write. I once had an English teacher who would instruct us to come up with a story/essay/whatever but to never use the verb "to be" (are, am, is, etc.). Try it - it's maddening!

I was thinking about that contest and what I'd come up with. As with much of my creative writing, things come to me in my sleep. 2 of my best pieces (which I may someday be brave enough to share) came to me as dreams. I've always had very vivid, detailed dreams that I usually remember in full detail.

This contest had me wracking my little peanut brain and I didn't think I could do it. A couple of days ago, as I was waking, the first three lines came to me. I went back to sleep, thinking I should write them down first but I didn't. Then later in the day, they came back to me. So I started writing. As with most writing (at least mine), I started in one direction but the piece took on a life of it's own and ended up somewhere else.

Anyway, here's what I came up with. If I don't have 100 words (too many or not enough) or if you see that I've repeated a word, please let me know! I'm trusting y'all to be my proofreaders. And as the post title says, be gentle with any criticisms - see what you come up with before you tear me up - haha!

CHRISTINE

Dark wings taking flight
Into seamless air of night
Escaping our chaos, this perilous plight
Casting away mortality, shaking off fright
Touching, kissing, then you bite
Passionate adoration, stealing sight
Soulless arias soar like feathered black kites
Up beyond clouds past dizzying heights

We. Are. Done.

Find your own salvation, I'm no white knight
Stand on solid ground, prepare the fight
Knowing here within me resides enough might.
What's ahead? Glowing light.
How distant? Far, but not quite
Rediscover original persona, feels a bit tight
Growing from inside, soon it will fit. All is right.

I thrive.

My future awaits....

Planning more creative writing, Ruth!

ETA: Edited per me7of11's and YarnHog's excellent suggestion/observation. Thanks!

Perilous Reading - 1

I finished the first book in my Perilous Reading read-a-long thingy.

It was Speaking In Tongues by Jeffrey Deaver. Dave and I are huge Deaver fans. He wrote The Bone Collector which is the first of his that either of us read. My favorite from him is The Devil's Teardrop. It involves a document authenticator in the quest for who-dunnit. A Devil's Teardrop is when someone writes an i and the dot looks like a teardrop.

Deaver makes forensic science fascinating! He's gotta be doing so much research on most of his books, it's unreal. I love a book that can thrill you to death, scare the crap out of you and educate you at the same time. Plus his books almost always have this neck-snappin' twist at the end. Can't beat that!

The first time I tried reading Speaking, I was using it as my workout book. I would pick a book I really wanted to read and would only allow myself to read it while working out. This book was the third or fourth of my workout books and it just wasn't doin' it for me. I couldn't get into it. The characters were all whiners who pointed the blame at others. I put the book down.

That's something I never do. No matter how bad a book is, I have to finish it. I hate not knowing the end of a story. This book wasn't necessarily bad, I just couldn't get into it. When I picked it up this time for this read-a-long, it still had the bookmark in it from my last attempt - on page 136. I started from the beginning again (I'd put it down about 2 years ago) and apparently, I should have kept at it for a few more pages. Soon after page 136, the book takes off! It was Deaver's usual very good stuff!

I read short stories between books, to clear my brain from the last one. I finished, I was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crosley. It's pretty funny. The cover touted her as a female David Sedaris. I don't know about that, but she was funny!

I'm continuing my quest to read/listen to everything by James Patterson. Man, is he good! I was listening to Kiss the Girls while making my keychains. I was reading Speaking at the same time and they were getting a little mixed up in my head as they both involved kidnapped females and crazed killers.

I wonder who came first. I'm pretty sure Patterson is the first I ever read that uses the style of really short chapters (averaging around 300 pages, his books usually have over 100 chapters per book). He also has that maddening technique where one character is in dire peril and the chapter ends and the next chapter goes to some other character and, well, whatever, Patterson makes you wait to see what happens to the threatened character.

Deaver, Dan Brown (of The Da Vinci Code fame), and countless others use that same style. It's breakneck speed and it sucks you in. D and I stay up so much later then we intend to because of these books. The short chapters are what do you in. You just keep telling yourself, 'It's only a few more pages, I gotta know what happens' and then suddenly it's past midnight.

Started my second book last night. I'm on page 20 and it's already creepy! Yay!

Loving the fake scary, Ruth!