The great blessing of mankind are within us and within our reach; but we shut our eyes, and like people in the dark, we fall foul upon the very thing we search for, without finding it.
Seneca
As I have searched for the good life I have learned that a Timex watch keeps about as good time as a Rolex, likewise a Ford Focus can take you anywhere a Ferrari can. Yes, with a reasonable amount of luck, a modest income and a manageable economy life can be pretty good. Sometimes however external factors can create roadblocks. I am concerned that what is going on in Washington might become one of the biggest yet.
I have been expressing my concern about our ever growing deficit for years, but I did not expect the problem to catch up with us so quickly. What shocks me is how little my fellow citizens seem to know about the risks we are facing. Just one catastrophic example would be the significant rise in interest rates if we fail to raise the debt ceiling in the mistaken belief that it would result in reduced spending, when in reality the increased interest cost on the National Debt would be staggering.
Surveys say the public wants to solve the debt problem by drastic spending cuts and yet they fight against any cuts in social programs like Medicare or Social Security. We want roads that are now falling apart repaired, we want world class education and so much more and yet we don’t want to pay for it. Sadly that is what got us in trouble in the first place. We say that we support no revenue increases, in fact we want to pay even less for what we get. As an example I don’t understand our unwillingness to eliminate tax breaks that would result in loophole beneficiaries paying the same taxes as others.
Now is the time to take a big bite out of the problem yet my Republican Party House Members, say no way, they seem to feel that if we crash and burn things will be better. What we need to do is cut as much as we can, save as much as we can and pay for what we get. There is no way we can get to where we need to be with token cost cutting and a free lunch tax system.
Why do I care? While I can drive a modest car, limit spending on luxuries, avoid expensive food choices and be fine, I cannot do even modestly well if my retirement funds shrink because of government fiscal irresponsibility. The sad part is that so many politicians are depending on our lack of understanding of the issues. Too many of us believe that everything will be OK if they just cut everyone else, in truth there is not that much to cut. We are like the guy who fell off the top of the empire state building saying as he passed the 50th floor, I don’t see the problem I am OK so far.
I apologize for putting this uncharacteristic rant in the Daily but I just want to shout one more time to the members in Washington, “Stop posturing and pandering to the polarized party base, hopefully you are smart enough to know we need significant action with everything, costs, revenue, and social program modification on the table if we are going to stay afloat. Quit using job protection as your excuse for inaction, be a statesman for that is what our country needs now!”
~~~
“A politician thinks of the next election. A statesman, of the next generation.”
James Freeman Clarke
~~~
Getting away from their high-stress jobs, a couple spends relaxing weekends in their motor home. When they found their peace and quiet disturbed by well-meaning, but unwelcome, visits from other campers, they devised a plan to assure themselves some privacy. Now, when they set up camp, they place this sign on the door of their RV: “Insurance agent. Ask about our term-life package.”
~~~
One of the many things nobody ever tells you about middle age is that it’s such a nice change from being young.
Dorothy Canfield Fisher
~~~
He said: My six-year-old grandson called his mother from his friend Charlie’s house and confessed he had broken a lamp when he threw a football in their living room. “But, Mom,” he said, brightening, “you don’t have to worry about buying another one. Charlie’s mother said it was irreplaceable.”
~~~
When I get real bored, I like to drive down town and get a great parking spot, then sit in my car and count how many people ask me if I’m leaving.
Steven Wright
~~~
An amateur photographer was invited to dinner with friends and took along a few pictures to show the hostess. She looked at the photos and commented “These are very good! You must have a good camera.”
He didn’t make any comment, but, as he was leaving to go home he said “That was a really delicious meal! You must have some very good pots.”
~~~
“When I die, I want to die like my grandmother who died peacefully in her sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in her car.”
Author Unknown
~~~
For months Bill had been Lynn’s devoted admirer. Now, at long last, he had collected up sufficient courage to ask her the most momentous of all questions. “There are quite a lot of advantages to being a bachelor,” Bill began, “but there comes a time when one longs for the companionship of another being, a being who will regard one as perfect, as an idol; whom one can treat as one’s absolute own; who will be kind and faithful when times are hard; who will share one’s joys and sorrows.”
To his delight, Bill saw a sympathetic gleam in Lynn’s eyes. Then she nodded in agreement. Finally, Lynn responded, “I think it’s a great idea! Can I help you choose which puppy to buy?”
~~~
I have to exercise in the morning before my brain figures out what I’m doing.
~~~
A group of country neighbors wanted to get together on a regular basis and socialize. As a result, about 10 couples formed a dinner club and agreed to meet for dinner at a different neighbors’ house each month. Of course, the lady of the house was to prepare the meal.
When it came time for Jimmy and Susie Brown to have the dinner at their house, like most women, Susie wanted to outdo all the others and prepare a meal that was the best that any of them had ever lapped a lip over.
A few days before the big event, Susie got out her cookbook and decided to have mushroom smothered steak. When she went to the store to buy some mushrooms, she found the price for a small can was more than she wanted to pay. She then told her husband, “We aren’t going to have mushrooms, because they are too expensive.”
He said, “Why don’t you go down in the pasture and pick some of those mushrooms? There are plenty of them right in the creek bed.”
She said, “No, I don’t want to do that, because I have heard that wild mushrooms are poison.”
He then said, “I don’t think so. I see the varmints eating them all the time and it never has affected them.”
After thinking about this, Susie decided to give this a try and got in the pickup and went down in the pasture and picked some. She brought the wild mushrooms back home and washed them, sliced and diced them to get them ready to go over her smothered steak. Then she went out on the back porch and got Ol’ Spot’s (the yard dog) bowl and gave him a double handful. She even put some bacon grease on them to make them tasty. Ol’ Spot didn’t slow down until he had eaten every bite. All morning long, Susie watched him and the wild mushrooms didn’t seem to affect him, so she decided to use them.
The meal was a great success, and Susie even hired a lady from town to come out and help her serve. She had on a white apron and a little cap on her head. It was first class. After everyone had finished, they all began to kick back and relax and socialize. The men were visiting and the women started to gossip a bit. About this time, the lady from town came in from the kitchen and whispered in Susie’s ear. She said, “Mrs. Brown, Spot just died.”
With this news, Susie went into hysterics. After she finally calmed down, she called the doctor and told him what had happened. The doctor said, “It’s bad, but I think we can take care of it. I will call for an ambulance and I will be there as quick as I can get there. We will pump out everyone’s stomach and everything will be fine. Just keep them all there and keep them calm.” It wasn’t long until they could hear the wail of the siren as the ambulance was coming down the road.
When they got there, the EMTs got out with their suitcases and a stomach pump and the doctor arrived shortly thereafter. One by one, they took each person into the master bedroom and pumped out their stomach. After the last one was finished, the doctor came out and said, “I think everything will be fine now, and he left.”
They were all looking pretty peaked sitting around the living room, and about this time, the town lady came in and said, “You know, that fellow that ran over Ol’ Spot never even stopped.”
~~~
A disposition to preserve, and an ability to improve, taken together, would be my standard of a statesman.
Edmund Burke
~~~
Stay well, do good work, and have fun.
Ray Mitchell
Indianapolis, Indiana
Management is not responsible for duplicates from previous dailies. The editor is somewhat senile.
This daily is sent only to special people who want to start their day on an upbeat. If you have system overload because of our daily clutter, let me know and I will send you the information via mental telepathy. If you have not been getting our daily you can request to be added by e-mailing me at raykiwsp@yahoo.com. Back issues are posted at http://raykiwsp.multiply.com/journal and https://raykiwsp.wordpress.com/ currently there are about 2000 readers from around the world.
Ray's Daily 
Leave a Reply