June 13, 2003

• And the truth will be covered up!

  
  

   

  
  

  I recently accepted information emails for an activism organization that focuses on making change in our government to benefit the masses. This organization is called ActForChange. I receive email alerts for things that they sponsor to send to our government's representatives, calling for change, enlightenment, etc, in the forms of emails & petitions. One such recent one had to do with the recent tax reform bill, which withheld the $400 child tax credit from working families earning between $10,000 and $26,000 per year...the families who REALLY need the financial help.

  
  

   

  
  

  It is my theory that the reason these families were left out of this is that statistically, they don't vote, so giving them extra money wouldn't help the candidates in the next major election. Those they did include for the credit do tend to go to the polls at election time, so this was thought to be a good way to manipulate the voting public into retaining current government officials in the next election. Their excuse for not including these poor families is that they 'don't pay income tax.' To that, I say BULLSHIT, since our government withholds money from their paychecks every month, which the Federal government then earns interest income on. In other words, the Federal government is making money off the poor's withholdings, but not giving anything appreciable back for it.

  
  

   

  
  

  Well, there has been an amendment to that bill in the Senate, including these families for the child tax credit of $400 per child. BRAVO, Senators! However, the bill is still before the House, which shows signs of not approving that amendment. Please let your Representatives know that you would like that amendment to be passed through the House as part of the Tax Reform bill. Your voice DOES count!

  
  

   

  
  

  Currently, this activism organization is circulating a petition, asking the Senate to set up a committee to dig into the truth regarding the information of Iraqi 'Weapons of Mass Destruction,' which our Administration used as its platform for a preemptive strike against Iraq, committing thousands of our troops & billions of US Taxpayer dollars for what may have been a blatant lie. To date, there have STILL not been any WMD found within the borders of Iraq. It is believed that the information was either trumped up, fabricated or overblown & that it was intentional on the part of the Administration.

  
  

   

  
  

  Whether you believe this may be the case or not, it would better serve our Nation to have the exact information released to the general public, rather than kept sealed behind the doors of the specially assigned Senate Intelligence Committee, as is in current process. Please add your name to the petition, which they hope to acquire 50,000 signatures on & currently have over 11,000. Let's make the Administration accountable for its words & actions, as they should be, since they work for US !!!

  
  

   

  
  

  Their service is free & doesn't hang a recipient out to dry with endless spam if you choose to receive their email alerts. I hope you chose to enlighten yourself to the workings of your government, "... of the People, by the People, and for the People." They should be working for the good of the Nation, & now the world, not just themselves.

  
  

   

  
  

  In other subject matter, my community has finally been blessed by cooling, cleansing & nurturing rains! After weeks of blistering sunlight that has been killing the green, turning lush tropical plants into washed-out pale greens or even to yellows, rusts & browns & causing people to run out of their catchment water supplies, the rain has been falling in considerable levels most of Thursday! It started with Wednesday morning, but stopped in the afternoon, turning mostly cloudy, muggy & hot, leaving the ground still dusty & the plants wilted.

  
  

   

  
  

  Thursday's rains have produced enough moisture to restore what hasn't yet died. It's also cleaned the air of the volcanic gases that have been inundating us with the winds from the South, Southeast. These gases have resulted in flareups of chronic bronchitis, asthma & sinus trouble for many, especially my kitties, one of whom has chronic pneumonia. Hopefully, with the air clearing of pollutants, she'll start to do better. I still don't know how she survives with the pneumonia.

  
  

   

  
  

  Today, I awoke to partly cloudy skies, with excellent Trade breezes. No more rain today, but the clouds & breezes have been keeping me cool. There are occasional periods of sunshine, brightening up the region, but I'd be happy if it stayed cloudy. I've always enjoyed the rains, that's why I chose to move back to the Big Island's East side, which receives an average of 250 inches per year away from the ocean (which only gets about half that!).

  
  

   

  
  

  Summer is here, & it's obvious that my teenager will be making plans that keep him away from home as much as possible. As an example, he's spending the weekend with a friend in Kamuela (Waimea District) when the friend is on his weekend with his dad in visitation. That's a long way from here, being close to the Hilton Waikaloa Village, with its dolphin encounters. He plans to skate in Kamuela, where there may be a new skate park that supposedly recently opened. They're also renting movies as well as watching some of my son's skate videos he took along. There's no telling what all else they'll get into.

  
  

   

  
  

  So, this means a weekend all alone for me. As far as I've come from my fears related to my home invasion back in 1986, when the house is empty except for me, those fears return. I just about panic every time one of my dogs bark. If I hear a loud 'bang,' which can be gunshots, I sit here almost paralyzed, not knowing what to do, whether I should call the police & seem like an 'hysterical woman' or let it slide. Other weird sounds really have me in a tether. See... I KNOW my house isn't safe to an intruder. It would cost a fortune to make it secure & there is much more needed to be done to this house before going to the expense of security stuff. The house is just an unfinished shell. When it comes to the issues of my security, I just leave it up to the Supreme Being, silently pleading to be kept safe. I don't even have close neighbors who would hear me scream if I needed help.

  
  

   

  
  

  Non-locals don't realize how far away things can be on this island, which is large enough to accommodate ALL the other Hawaiian Islands & Rhode Island (state) with still room to spare! Hilo, the largest 'city' (no city charter) on this side of the island is 20 miles away from where I live. Kona is about 100, driving the better roads, with Kamuela about 55 miles from here on the way to Kona. These aren't Interstate-type highways either, with possible speeds of 65 mph. Most speed limits are between 45 & 55 mph, with 30 mph through each community (& there are lots of them!), so it does take awhile to get where you're going. There are also many things along one's travels that can side-track the traveller, causing delays. It's never a good idea to be in a hurry to go anywhere here! It's so vast & contains so much area that is undeveloped (thank you, Lord!) that individuals can easily get lost from society, & do! Privacy is plentiful here as well, which many residents take advantage of, including me.

  
  

   

  
  

  I will manage being alone this weekend. I'll go to the VFW tonight & the monthly DAV meeting with lunch afterwards tomorrow at the Nani Mau Gardens. I will also be doing some shopping & will do some things for my 'new' car, like checking into the spray-on bed liner stuff to coat the roof, since it has corrosion from a leaky after-market sunroof. I'm also going to have step rungs put on, making it easier to get into the vehicle, especially since my son will be having knee surgery in less than 2 weeks. He seems to think he'll have no problems getting in since he currently doesn't, but I know better! Even with the rung, he'll still have difficulty, since it's his left knee that will have surgery & he has to get in the passenger side, so will have to swing the injured leg in. Not fun! I also need to get a lube & oil change as well as find a decent used tire for my spare, since this one has a bad cut in the sidewall. The car is also missing one seat belt buckle, so I'll hit the junkyard for that. Busy day!

  
  

   

  
  

  Also tomorrow, while in Hilo, I'll be taking care of the paperwork that will give me a mortgaged deed to my property, allowing me the Homestead Property Tax Exemption, which will save me alot of money. It will also give me a vote in the community association & entitles me to run for a board position! I'd definitely like to see some changes made in the way the community is run, back to how we were getting it when I worked in the office. Currently, we're lucky to see the mowers on the private roads once in 2 months, yet we are paying for them to be maintained on a regular schedule! The subdivision looks like shit, compared with how it did while I was employed there (not necessarily saying I was responsible for that... just that we had an excellent maintenance crew who really cared about their community, but either quit or were fired by the current board president, one-by-one!). We definitely need people on the board who truly care about this community.

  • 10:27 pm
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