Friday Wrap-Up

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Ahhhh ... it's Friday! It's been somewhat of a hectic week, but a productive one! Taxes are done and paid (ouch!), Cam finished up his 3rd quarter of the year (and it looks like we'll see a HUGE improvement in his report card) and the trees are beginning to bud! In fact, I actually saw some Scotch Broom in bloom yesterday. Spring might finally be here.

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I've been getting a handful of requests from businesses/organizations asking if I'll publicize their products/activities. Normally I decline - I don't want to feel an obligation to any outside source for my blog content - but I received one this week that I thought was worth passing on. I did do some research to insure this organization was legitimate, and was quite touched by many of the stories I read.

The Fresh Air Fund matches up boys and girls, 6 to 18 years old, who live in New York City with host families throughout the northeast United States. The majority of Fresh Air children are from low-income communities - often families without the resources to send their children on summer vacations. It's a great opportunity for kids to just be kids and for host families to make a difference.

If you are interested in learning more about the Fresh Air Fund, clicking on their graphic will take you to their news release.

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There was a lot of political talk on many of the blogs I read this week. The tea parties seemed to be something that irritated the left leaning folks. It was interesting that most of the posts I read on this, no matter what their political leaning, stayed away from the name calling (thank you Jay and Hammer), but their commentors? Not so much. I saw this phenomena more on the left leaning blogs, but I have no doubt it occurred on both sides.

Look people, it is wonderful that we disagree. Really! But can you disagree without the name calling? Sure, there are some far right conservatives with their heads up their collective asses, but there are just as many far left liberals in the same predicament. Insisting that the only type of person who could possibly disagree with Obama is one who is racist - who is upset that a BLACK Democrat in office - does nothing more than make you look like someone who cannot form a logical argument.

There are many of us out here who disagree with the POLICIES, not the man. It isn't about who is making the decisions, but rather about the decisions they are making. It's not that we don't want to pay taxes, it's that we don't agree with how our taxes are being spent (and this is not new to the Obama administration). Let's have a discussion - not a name calling fest.

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Read [THIS] article in the Washington Post the other day. Just to give you a little inkling as to the content, the article is titled, "When You're Flush, But Acting Flat Broke." Seems the media now wants to blame those of us who still have jobs, but are more aware of our discretionary spending for the continuing economic woes. This paragraph sums it up:

The frugality of the Kimberlins and Scanlons and millions of other Americans who still have their good jobs feed back on the economy, holding down growth and encouraging other worried workers to trim their spending -- causing the whole vicious cycle to run another lap.

Ummm ... hello? Had EVERYONE been doing this from the start, rather than over-extending themselves with credit cards and outlandish mortgages, we likely wouldn't be where we are now!

Will someone please stop blaming those who are doing what they should have been doing all along for causing the problems? It wasn't - and isn't - us. If acting financially responsible is hurting the economy, then let the damn thing fail!

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