dvorasnell's Open Salon Blog

WHY THE HELL SHOULD I PAY TAXES!

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:03:44 -0400

OK, I have to admit that I am extremely ambivalent this year about paying taxes. Ordinarily, I don't mind paying taxes. I believe in paying my fair share. I mean, I like having clean water, and smooth roads. I loving having National and State Parks. And damnit, I expect Social Security and Medicare to be there for me. I have paid into the system for 30 some odd years and I expect it to be there! So, as I said, ordinarily, paying taxes is a no brainer. But not this year.

This year, I find I resent the simple idea of paying the salary and insurance of these semi to outright crooks in congress. I mean, I HATE the idea that my taxes pay for John Boehner to sob, and Eric Cantor to be the insolent little twit he is, and for Paul Ryan to issue sickening budgets that will gut everything I hold dear, and Rand Paul. IT MAKES ME PHYSICALLY ILL THAT MY TAXES PAY FOR THESE MEN WITH EVIL INTENTIONS!

As a single woman with no children, I feel I pay way to much in and get way to little back. Don't get me wrong, I fully support public education. I want kids to get an edcuation, whether I'll ever send kids to these schools or not. But I believe an educated person is a person with a future and I will pay my share! I am the person who believes that what affects one of us affects us all. So, I am not against taxes for taxes sake. No, I am against my hard earned money going to pay for the salaries and insurance of men who DO NOT RESPRESENT MY INTERESTS.

We seem to have lost sight of the fact that we, the people, are the employers of the Congress and the President. They work for us. And yet, we watch them sell us down the river and are helpless to resist! Our state, sales and federal taxes make their corruption possible, and I'm sick of it!

Every time these people take a bribe from Big Oil or Wall Street, I lose. And yet, I don't have the luxury of opting out! I mean, if the Catholic Church can bitch about contreception because of "religious freedom" then my religious freedoms are being trampled because IT IS AGAINST MY RELIGIOUS CONVICTIONS TO KNOWINGLY SUPPORT CROOKS. So I ask you, where is my religious exemption?

And as we sit on the brink of the Roberts court possibly striking down the Affordable Care Act, I, as the employer of the congress, decree that our representatives in Congress are not allowed to have insurance until they provide cost-effective insurance to every single damn one of us.

I hear Mitt Romney in his unrivaled cruelty and stupidity, declare that "people with pre-existing conditions, if they haven't been insured before should never have insurance." So, let me get this straight... In Mitts world, my neice born with Cerebral Palsy, a PRE-BIRTH condition (talk about pre-existing) should be left to die because she has never been insured before? Who is this jerk?

These, so called, representatives, and wanna-be representatives, actively work against my interests and I'm supposed to pay for the privilege?

I say No More! I'm Sick and Tired and I'm Not Going to Pay for It Any More! I don't know the full answer, but I know that I'm coming to a breaking point. I am sick of these Tea-Party types enthralled to the Koch Brothers, Republican Overlords, Democratic Blue Dogs and every other representative at the Federal and Local level! I propose a line item veto for tax payers! We can be CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS with our tax return. Don't favor paying representatives salarys? Check! Want to support the EPA? Check! Check!

Oh if only!!!!!

A Question and a Dare for Mitt

Mon, 9 Jan 2012 20:01:10 -0500

In have a question for Mitt, as he is hell bent on protraying himself as a man of the people. I want to know the last time Mr. Romney had to live pay check to pay check, or when he and his wife had to struggle to get around on public tranist.

This morning, Mitt had the audacity to say that he has worried in the past about receiving a pink slip. WHEN??? WHAT JOB?? Frankly, the statement reeks of bullshit!

So I have a formal dare to Mr. Mittens.

I would like Mr. Mitt to spend 6 months living in the inner city, say New Orleans, with no car, no support no millions only menial or food service jobs. In that time, Mitt must

A. Find a place to Live

B. Only take Public Transit

c. Pay Utilities

d. Pay Medical expenses

e. Save Money

Mitt is to do this all while working at MCDonalds or some other unskilled job. or two.

In fact, I think all candidates for President or Congress must meet the same Dare.

There is still time!

Rand Paul and the Amazing Sleight of Hand...

Fri, 21 May 2010 22:05:53 -0400

I was finally able to watch the amazing segment on Rachel Maddow, in which she masterfully deconstructed Rand Paul. I would have watched earlier, but I was finally offered a job this week after a two year dry spell (Yay Me!), so my ability to be up to the minute has been up to the week.... But I digress.

I was eager to watch the segment because I love Rachel Maddow and how smart, incisive and yet, polite she is, and the segment did not disappoint. As I read in Crooks and Liars and Salon, Rachel did, indeed, mop the floor with Dr. (Mr.) Paul, and it was a thing of beauty to behold. But it occurs to me that Mr. Paul was a bit wilier than I initially thought.

In the segment, Mr. Paul rambled on about the 2nd Ammendment and equating it with the struggles of blacks and minorities in the '60's, He wouldn't let that point drop, and accused Rachel of using "red herrings" to make him look bad. But I see a more disturbing thread here.

By equating the Civil Rights movement with the rights of gun owners to carry loaded guns into public restaurants, Mr. Paul apparently feels one of two things: 1. Both Gun owners are deluded into thinking they deserve a right, eating at lunch counters - holding jobs, or carrying loaded weapons into public places) or 2. The civil rights act is just as much an act of civil disobedience as carrying a loaded pistol to TGIFridays. Either way, it's a scary thought.

On the one hand, he appears to be making the line that poor put upon gun enthusiasts are like black people, downtrodden, in need of shelter and hope. But more than anything, I really think he is coming more from the deluded category. He is trying to downplay the importance of the civil rights act, and how most of us have benefitted from it, since, and place basic human rights with a so-called privledge.

It is a truly frightening sleight of hand Mr. Paul pulled on Rachel Maddow's show the other night. But I do wonder if it may not continue to bite him in the patooky.... Frankly, I doubt that the gun enthusiasts like being compared to black people. I'm just saying....

Now back to work for me! I apologize if this post is a bit choppy, but I grabbed a couple of moments to post. Thank you for reading!

Dating Sucks! and other Singles Laments

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 18:01:04 -0500

Imagine you are a single something, male, female, doesn't really matter, and looking to connect out in the cold cruel world with other single somethings, where do you go? Well, the logical answer might be a church group, or bar (if you're into bars), or friends, or the ubiquitous dating website.

As a single something, I see the ads everwhere, come to Match.com, EHarmony.com, Chemistry.com, ursingleandyousuck.com, liarsanonymous.com. Well, you get the idea. So, I ventured to a couple of dating sites and tentatively put up a profile and a picture. Yes, the picture is me, not some airbrushed bimbo, but I digress.

I have written about other dating nightmares, but this one takes the cake. Are you ready? Really?

So, I get an email saying that someone has sent me a flirt. Naturally, being a somewhat inquistive single something, I check it out. It seems that a fellow named "caringman070" wanted to chat with me. Again, after verifying that he seemed to be somewhat attractive, and being an inquistive single something, I replied.

I won't bore you with the email by email details of our weeklong correspondence. Suffice it to say that by email 2, he was telling me that we would make a great loving couple and he wanted to be my hero. Now, I may be an inquisitive single something, but I am also a cautious and wary one as well. So I would try to ask pointed questions like, "wow, your syntax is really odd, are you sure you're from Minnesota? " or "Just why do you think we'll make a great couple since we have never really spoken in person??" You get the idea.

This is what I learned:

He grew up in Russia. Ok, could be, that would explain the odd syntax.

His parents died 2 years ago in a car accident. Sad, very sad.

He inherited a business from his parents

He would relocate to find love.

We would make a great couple

Then came his business trip....... He told me that he had to travel to Texas to get some product out of Customs. He would be staying with a friend. He showed my picture to his friend, with whom, he was now giddily planning our life together. He wanted to keep writing.

OK, all plausible, possible scenarios, except of course for the life planning after a week, but you get the idea.

On Saturday, I receive this:

How are you doing? Thank you so much for your call yesterday. I am always very happy reading your messages. like i said in my previous message, I believe that we shall make a very good match and i believe that you are a very nice and caring woman and you have all i am searching for in my dream woman. I want you to know that i am ready to be the man of your life, i am ready to be your hero. I went to the sea-port this morning to get my goods and when i got there the customs informed me that my good has been placed on hold and will not be shipped to my store in Minnesota until i pay for the custom duty fees, they said the reason for this fee is because the goods are coming in from Asia and so due to their policy , i will have to pay $14,500 for the custom duty fees, I was so sad when i heard this, I have been trying my best to get the money since i cam back and all i have been able to get is $8,500, I called two of my friends in Minnesota and they were only able to send me $2800 so right now i have the total of $11,300 and when i explained to kelvin, he was able to loan me $1000 so right now i need about $1,700 to complete the money. I have been trying my best to see how to get the rest money but no luck.

I am really not happy right now and i am so worried because i invested so much to purchase the goods, the goods are worth $290,000 so i really do not want anything to go wrong, i need to pay for this duty fees so that they can ship my goods to my store, i have already contacted my back and declined giving me a loan since i took a loan from the recently when i wanted to purchase the goods.Honey i really do not want to buy you with my problems but its just that i am so confused right now and do not know what to do next. I will really appreciate it if you can loan me the $1700 left and i promise to pay you back in 3days time, i promise. I will really appreciate you help this time and i will really be happy to get the money paid. Please i want to say a very big sorry if i am bugging you with my problems , its just that i do not know what to do next.

I will be happy to hear from you

Hugs

Now, I have been in and out of work for the past 2 years, so I don't have this kind of disposable income sitting around me. And, even if I did, would hesitate to lend it to a man I have emailed to for a week. So, I replied:

Hi Jeff, I am sorry to hear about your problems with Customs. Unfortunately, I do not have cash to loan you right now. Hopefully, you will be able to find a short-term loan to get your items back to Minnesota.

Good luck.

I didn't really feel that I need to go into the work situation because who in their right mind would actually ask for $1700 from a virtual stranger, right?

Then I get the Coup De Gras:

Hello Honey,

How are you doing? Thank you so much for your email. I feel sad that you do not trust me enough to help me and that's not nice at all.

Hugs

To be honest, I have very few words to describe this semi-internet dating scenario except to say, Nigerian bank fraud anyone??

Next time I get an itch to go on a dating website..... somebody hit me!

Open Call: Who am I?

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:01:45 -0500

The question has been asked "Who are you?" On the surface, this is a throw away line, a blip, a moment. But when you look deeper and plumb the depths, what a conundrum is found. All the questions rush in, "how deeply shall I answer.."

What does your name mean?

When I was young, I thought I had a stoopid name.. I mean, come on, Deborah? WTF? Deborah comes from Hebrew and means "The Bee". I fantasized about being named Brenda, or Heidi, or Shelley, anything but Deborah.

I go by Deb, not Debbie, Deby, Debbi, etc. In High School Debbie Does Dallas had just come out and, let me tell you, after a couple of years of Debbie teasing, the name loses it's lustre!

In What era were you born?

I was born at the tail end of the '60's to a REALLY conservative family. To give you an idea, my father was convinced that Nixon was framed, Ted Kennedy was a murderer, and, were he alive today, would demand Obama's Birth Certificate. It was a volatile time to grow up, with Viet Nam, Civil Rights.

My parents were fearful of just about everything, Blacks, Hippies, Riots, Commies, Democrats. I grew up terrified of unspecified evil all around me. The first time I figured out that being outside after dark didn't automatically kill me, I kind of went crazy and would sneak out and spend all night walking around my town. I was very lucky, actually, because the dangers were real, but I had to grow in caution. I had to work my way out of the complete terror my parents instilled in me.

Where do you come from?

I'm a California Girl.... I know, I know you wish they all could be like me....

Actually, I grew up in a small town in Southern California called Idyllwild. It was a really picturesque place to call home. It was filled with all the Hippies my family was terrified of.

What is your favorite way of dressing? Perhaps a favorite outfit? Shoes? Do you like to wear socks? Do you color your hair? Do you wear underwear? Hats?

Sandals. When I lived in New Orleans, I discovered the joys of being clad in sandals year round. It was heaven, if you could get past the icky streets and the cockroaches.

As far as clothing, I go in cycles, sometimes I like to be a bohemian earth mama, sandals, big earrings, long, swishy skirts. Others, I go for a streamlined elegance. Mostly, I'm somewhere between bohemian & elegant. And if sandals can be worked in, so much the better!

Who or what do you resemble? Do you have any quirks? Anything odd in your appearance?

That's a hard one. I have a goofy, kind of lop sided smile. I don't like to smile in pictures because I don't think it's pretty. I prefer to go for enigmatic, like the Sphinx. I dye my hair strawberry blonde. I swore, when I was younger, that I would never dye my hair under any circumstances! Then I hit 30, and my hair color changed from a really pretty golden blonde to brown bletch. A friend of mine drug me to the supermarket for a bottle of nice and easy. And for the next few years I tried to get my hair to as close to natural as possible.

At 40, I said, Screw it, and went red. I love it! I should have done this years ago!!

Do you like art? Who is your favorite artist? Your favorite art work?

David Hockney is my guy! I love his whimsical take on life. My favorite of his is Mulholland Drive. I saw the original in LA and LACMA in the permanent modern collection and my heart has been there ever since.

I am also, a Kliban cat girl. I think Bill Kliban was da Bomb! love his subversive little felines, and wish he were still living to make more!

I also collect cookie jars. I got started in New Orleans when the Warner Brothers Store was going out of business. I went bananas on the Pepe le Pew jars. From there, I branched out into other really fun shapes. To date, I have an Ice Cream Cone - Strawberry, Jukebox, In-n-Out, Harry Potter, Frog Prince, Oreo Cookie and whatever else tickles my fancy....

Is there a film you think of often? Has it changed you in some way? How?

Ah, film. I am a great lover of film and have so many favorites for different moods or tastes. I'll try to be concise....

I love Cinderella stories. I know, she is rescued, not very feminist, but I reserve the right to my own speical hypocrisy.... My favorite is "Glass Slipper" with Leslie Caron. Her take on Cinderella as a hurting, angry, hungry to be loved person rang so true for me. I love the dancing (yes there is dancing from the Paris Ballet) and Michael Wilding & Keenan Wynn aren't too bad either. This is pre-Disney Keenan Wynn when he was one damn fine fellow! After this would be Ever After with Drew Barrymore. I just like her.

Aunite Mame - Life is a Banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death has become my mantra. But really, it's Roz Russell I adore. I like to think that were she still living, we could do lunch. I love how feisty and alive she is. I have her memoir - and love it!

Ok, I know I am a girl, but ANYTHING with Bruce Campbell. He makes me laugh and smile

Die Hard, Terminator, other action films - when I'm frustrated, I love a good action flick. It makes me feel powerful and capable. And I love Linda Hamilton in the Terminator flicks! She be jammin!

1776 - This movie began my love affair with John Adams. Yes, it's true, I am a Founding Father groupie. I don't have much use for Jefferson or Hamilton. But Adams? He's my guy!

Are you in love? With what?

I adore Why didn't anyone tell me they were so much fun???

Vocation, avocation, passion?

I have been working in Sexual abuse and Domestic abuse issues for years. I find it challenging and have a passion to help families deal with and heal from the ravages of abuse. Personally, I feel that is we dealt with Sexual abuse, all other societal ills would take care of themselves.

Politics. I have become unabashedly political in the past 8 years. My father and I would be at loggerheads, were he alive. Ah well.

OK, that's me in a nutshell... Hope it helps explain a little about me!