Well, I think it is worse to mail tax break checks to

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How many of you enjoyed your Stimulus Checks? I for one loved mine. Think back to what you did with that check? Maybe you paid some bills, bought that CD you have been wanting, maybe a night out with your family to a nice restaurant or even Pizza Hut. A lot of us were able to buy new clothes for our children.

Admit it, it was worth going to the mailbox for. I looked forward to the mail for once.

Senator Obama has pushed for more Stimulus checks immediately for the American people. But who do you think veto'd it? President Bush did. Senator McCain has sided with President Bush 90% of the time. Believe me, you won't be going to the mailbox to find anymore Stimulus Checks in there if you elect John McCain on November 4, 2008.

I'm ill, have no health insurance, and if we get another stimulus check, I'll be able to go see the doctor again. (I've been there twice: When I received my income tax refund and when I received the first stimulus check.)

The doctor is pretty far away, and I need to rent a car (with a $250.00 deposit) since my daughter's car is very old and probably wouldn't make the trip. (My car was repossessed when I couldn't afford the payments any more due to being in the hospital so often.)

I hope we get another stimulus check so I can see the cystic fibrosis specialist again. In the meantime, I'm fortunate to have found a good doctor for low-income people in my town.

Below is a copy of an e-mail that was sent to me by a friend. The friend who sent this to me is an independent and very impartial. She is a lawyer and almost always researches things before she sends them. I checked it out on snopes.com and it lists it as true. It is information and opinion on Palin written by a woman who knows her from Wasilla.

Dear friends,
>
> So many people have asked me about what I know about Sarah Palin in the last 2 days that I decided to write something up . . .
>
> Basically, Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton have only 2 things in common: their gender and their good looks. :)
>
> You have my permission to forward this to your friends/email contacts with my name and email address attached, but please do not post it on any websites, as there are too many kooks out there . . .
>
> Thanks,
> Anne
>
> ABOUT SARAH PALIN
>
> I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992. Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her
> father was my child's favorite subst itute teacher. I also am on a first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the
> residents of the city.
>
> She is enormously popular; in every way she's like the most popular girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and won't vote for her can't quit smiling when talking about her because she is a 'babe'.
>
> It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents for seven months.
>
> She is 'pro-life'. She recently gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby. There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby.
>
> She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.
>
> She is savvy. She doesn't take positions; she just 'puts things out there' and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit. Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palin's kind of job is highly sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or so in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their major source of income. Nor has her life-style ever been anything like that of native Alaskans.
>
> Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters.
>
> She's smart.
>
> Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000 (at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about 670,000 residents.
>
> During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had
> gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had give n rise to a recall campaign.
>
> Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a 'fiscal conservative'. During her 6 years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over 33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation (1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they benefited residents.
>
> The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration weren't enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece of property that the City didn't even have clear title to, that was still in litigation 7 yrs later--to the delight of the lawyers involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.
>
> While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office redecorated more than once.
>
> These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city.
>
> As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus in Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state. In this t ime of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while she proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today's surplus, borrow for needs.
>
> She's not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas or compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren't generated by her or her staff. Ideas weren't evaluated on their merits, but on the basis of who proposed them.
>
> While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin's attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.
>
> Sarah complained about the 'old boy 's club' when she first ran for Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of 'old boys'. Palin fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people, creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally grateful and fiercely loyal--loyal to the point of abusing their power to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the case of pressuring the State's top cop (see below).
>
> As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla's Police Chief because he 'intimidated' her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska's top cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure and she had every legal right to fire him, but it's pretty clear that an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn't fire her sister's ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she later fired,pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew her support.
>
> She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didn't like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.
>
> Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything publicly about her.
>
> When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got the best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one of the few jo bs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no background in oil & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great job which paid $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the high salary. I was told that she hated that job: the commute, the structured hours, the work. Sarah became aware that a member of this Commission (who was also the State Chair of the Republican Party) engaged in unethical behavior on the job. In a gutsy move which some undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah solved all her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a gutsy fighter against the 'old boys' club' when she dramatically quit, exposing this man's ethics violations (for which he was fined).
>
> As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the 'bridge to nowhere' after it became clear that it would be unwise not to.
>
> As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget guidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing projects, calling them pork. Public outcry and further legislative action restored most of these projects--which had been vetoed simply because she was not aware of their importance--but with the unobservant she had gained a reputation as 'anti-pork'.
>
> She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party leaders hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated them. Other members of the party object to her self-description as a fiscal
> conservative.
>
> Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah. They call her 'Sarah Barracuda' because of her unbridled ambition and predatory ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made point guard on the high school basketball team.
>
> When Sarah's mother-in-law, a highly respected member of the community and experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her.
>
> As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package of legislation known as 'AGIA' that forced the oil companies to march to the beat of her drum.
>
> Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to global warming. She campaigned 'as a private citizen' against a state initiaitive that would have either a) protected salmon streams from pollution from mines, or b) tied up in the courts all mining in the state (depending on who you listen to). She has pushed the State's lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior's decision to list polar bears as threatened species.
>
> McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a heartbeat away from being President. There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more knowledgeable and experienced than she.
>
> However, there's a lot of people who have underestimated her and are regretting it.
>
> CLAIM VS FACT
> - 'Hockey mom': true for a few years
> - 'PTA mom': true years ago when her first-born was in elementary school, not since
> - 'NRA supporter': absolutely true
> - social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill that would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships (said she did this because it was unconsitutional).
> - pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to promote it.
> - 'Pro-life': mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life legislation
> - 'Experienced': Some high schools have more st udents than Wasilla has residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska. No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city administrator to run town of about 5,000.
> - political maverick: not at all
> - gutsy: absolutely!
> - open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at explaining actions.
> - has a developed philosophy of public policy: no
> -'a Greenie': no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores and disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.
> - fiscal conservative: not by my definition!
> - pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built streets to early 20th century standards.
> - pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on residents
> - pro-small government: No. O versaw greatest expansion of city government in Wasilla's history.
> - pro-labor/pro-union. No. Just because her husband works union doesn't make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim that she is pro-labor/pro-union.
>
> WHY AM I WRITING THIS?
> First, I have long believed in the importance of being an informed voter. I am a voter registrar. For 10 years I put on student voting programs in the schools. If you Google my name (Anne Kilkenny + Alaska), you will find references to my participation in local government, education, and PTA/parent organizations.
>
> Secondly, I've always operated in the belief that 'Bad things happen when good people stay silent'. Few people know as much as I do because few have gone to as many City Council meetings.
>
> Third, I am just a housewife. I don't have a job she can bump me out of. I don't belong to any organization that she can hurt. But, I am no fool; she is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will cost me somehow in the future: that's life.
>
> Fourth, she has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the 100 or so people who rallied to support the City Librarian against Sarah's attempt at censorship.
>
> Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to say anything because they were somehow vulnerable.
>
> CAVEATS
> I am not a statistician. I developed the numbers for the increase in spending & taxation 2 years ago (when Palin was running for Governor) from information supplied to me by the Finance Director of the City of
> Wasilla, and I can't recall exactly what I adjusted for: did I adjust for inflation? for population increases? Right now, it is impossible for a private person to get any info out of City Hall--they are swamped. So I can't verify my numbers.
>
> You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for the populat ion of Wasilla, ranging from my 'about 5,000', up to 9,000. The day Palin's selection was announced a city official told me that the current population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was 5,460. I have used about 5,000 because Palin was Mayor from 1996 to 2002, and the city was growing rapidly in the mid-90's.
>
> Anne Kilkenny
> annekilkenny@hotmail.com
> August 31, 2008

Next time you make some colossal blunder at work, here's your excuse: "I was rushed". Apparently, that's good enough for the feds, who have sent around 10,000 checks to dead people...some of whom were never even in the Social Security system. Wonder where they're getting the names?

Of course, we knew that the fraud, abuse and waste would be gargantuan since the government has never been able to handle our money without fraud, waste and abuse.

http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/your_money/consumer/090514_Dead_People_Get_Stimulus_Checks

I wonder what he will do. Or will he say one thing while doing another or completely ignore the situation.

Here in OR we mail in our ballots. I filled mine out and signed the back of the envelope as it says its not valid unless signed. However, I signed my husbands envelope by mistake (din't realize they had our printed names off to the side). Do you think it will make any difference if I cross out my name and he signs or do you think the state would have a problem with this and just throw it out?

Homeland Security opening private mail
Retired professor confused, angered when letter from abroad is opened

WASHINGTON - In the 50 years that Grant Goodman has known and corresponded with a colleague in the Philippines he never had any reason to suspect that their friendship was anything but spectacularly ordinary.

But now he believes that the relationship has somehow sparked the interest of the Department of Homeland Security and led the agency to place him under surveillance.

Last month Goodman, an 81-year-old retired University of Kansas history professor, received a letter from his friend in the Philippines that had been opened and resealed with a strip of dark green tape bearing the words �by Border Protection� and carrying the official Homeland Security seal.

�I had no idea (Homeland Security) would open personal letters,� Goodman told MSNBC.com in a phone interview. �That�s why I alerted the media. I thought it should be known publicly that this is going on,� he said. Goodman originally showed the letter to his own local newspaper, the Kansas-based Lawrence Journal-World.

�I was shocked and there was a certain degree of disbelief in the beginning,� Goodman said when he noticed the letter had been tampered with, adding that he felt his privacy had been invaded. �I think I must be under some kind of surveillance.�

Goodman is no stranger to mail snooping; as an officer during World War II he was responsible for reading all outgoing mail of the men in his command and censoring any passages that might provide clues as to his unit�s position. �But we didn�t do it as clumsily as they�ve done it, I can tell you that,� Goodman noted, with no small amount of irony in his voice. �Isn�t it funny that this doesn�t appear to be any kind of surreptitious effort here,� he said.

The letter comes from a retired Filipino history professor; Goodman declined to identify her. And although the Philippines is on the U.S. government�s radar screen as a potential spawning ground for Muslim-related terrorism, Goodman said his friend is a devout Catholic and not given to supporting such causes.

A spokesman for the Customs and Border Protection division said he couldn�t speak directly to Goodman�s case but acknowledged that the agency can, will and does open mail coming to U.S. citizens that originates from a foreign country whenever it�s deemed necessary.

�All mail originating outside the United States Customs territory that is to be delivered inside the U.S. Customs territory is subject to Customs examination,� says the CBP Web site. That includes personal correspondence. �All mail means �all mail,�� said John Mohan, a CBP spokesman, emphasizing the point.

�This process isn�t something we�re trying to hide,� Mohan said, noting the wording on the agency�s Web site. �We�ve had this authority since before the Department of Homeland Security was created,� Mohan said.

However, Mohan declined to outline what criteria are used to determine when a piece of personal correspondence should be opened, but said, �obviously it�s a security-related criteria.�

Mohan also declined to say how often or in what volume CBP might be opening mail. �All I can really say is that Customs and Border Protection does undertake [opening mail] when it is determined to be necessary,� he said.

Well, I think it is worse to mail tax break checks to

see link