The IRS is so slow this year. We are still waiting for my check weeks later. I know that it is faster than previous years because it used to take a lot longer for people to get their checks. It is really annoying because the IRS told me it would be faster than this. I have a few bills that need to be paid off and then I am purchasing a new truck and laptop as well as a phone. Then I am spending money on my kids. They have earned a few new things with good grades an doing chores as they are supposed to. Hurry up IRS. grrrr
Taxes
Tax season is always hectic for people with tax preparer jobs. I have thought about taking the class and getting certified to do taxes for some extra money. I am always looking for a way to make a little extra cash. Being a stay at home mom is a job in itself, but we are able to afford the extras by the money I make on the side doing various jobs online and such. I have a lot of different things I do and adding one more wouldn’t be too much of a hardship. There are lots of classes out there to take.
The tax class is relatively easy according to my friend Sally. She ordered the books and studied them before taking the test itself online. She was certified in no time at all. We all know that getting our taxes done is something that everyone must do, and the more people there are to do your taxes the better.
I think I will make sure to do it over the next year, so that I am ready for the next tax season. I will have plenty of time to study and take the test before then. I have recommended this to my sister as well, since she is a stay at home mom as well.
Election year
Well this election year looks to be full of the obligatory scandal as can possibly be. The back stabbing, wavering back and forth and taking side has officially begun and is officially making me sick to my stomach already. Our electoral process is broken as far as I am concerned. The two party system just does not work. I am beginning to think we need to go with a route somewhat similar to Jury duty, but with elections of the candidates that are chosen who no one knows.
Honoring our Veterans Today
This poster was made for Veteran’s Day last year, but I still like it. If I had a way to change the date I would have it say 2011. But it is a good poster and I like sharing it, even if the date is wrong.
Ten Interesting Facts About Homeland Security
The Department of Homeland Security is the newest cabinet of the US government and the third largest. Though many Americans certainly remember a time before the department even existed, there are many interesting things they may not know about how the department got its start.
Here are ten facts about the history and development of the Department of Homeland Security.
- It was created in 2002 as part of the Patriot Act, in direct response to the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States.
- The creation of the department represents the most significant reorganization of the government since 1947, when the National Security Act was passed. This act was in response to the Cold War and created the CIA, among other things.
- Though the agency is charged with protecting the “homeland” and is therefore distinct from the military, which protects abroad, the Department of Homeland Security later absorbed the US Coast Guard, which previously fell under the Department of Defense, along with the other branches of the military.
- In 2003, the Department of Homeland Security absorbed the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The INS was then divided into two agencies: Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Citizenship and Immigration Services.
- Once the Department of Homeland Security was complete, it represented the most diverse merger of federal functions, incorporating 22 agencies under one organization.
- Former Pennsylvanian governor Tom Ridge was the first Secretary of Homeland Security. He had been appointed by President George W. Bush as the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security in October of 2001, before the Department of Homeland Security was created.
- The Department of Homeland Security has been located at its “temporary headquarters” on Nebraska Avenue, across from American University in Washington DC, since its inception. Permanent office space has been secured for the department at the St. Elizabeth’s Hospital Complex. However, the soonest personnel could begin moving into this complex is 2012, a full ten years after the creation of the department.
- The Department of Homeland Security developed the “terror threat” advisory system scale that we use today. It reports the current threat level of terrorism on a scale from “low” to “severe”.
- The seal of the department carries several important symbols. The shield in the center is divided into three sections, for land, sea and air.
The air has 22 stars in the night sky, representing the 22 agencies that came together to form the department. The 13 arrows in the eagle’s left claw and the 13 olive branches in his right claw represent the 13 original colonies. - The development of the Department of Homeland Security created new jobs and job titles within the government, including the creation of federal air marshals, who ride on commercial airline flights to protect passengers and crew.
Though the department has seen its share of criticism for how agencies were absorbed and how measures have been carried out, there’s no question that the creation of this department has had a major impact on how the government does business and provides safety to Americans on our own shores.
Phyllis T. Zerkle particularly likes to write about issues surrounding homeland security and the various courses studied when earning a homeland security degree online.
Turn the Page
Everyone has been so paranoid about the 10th Anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center Twin Towers. Thankfully we did not have an incident to ruin the day. But that does not mean we should let our guard down. When you take that big sigh of relief and go back to being lazy – that’s the perfect time for the bad guys to strike.
So, remain vigilant, friends. But also, let’s move on. Let’s find a way to get our lives back before the war and all these terrible things that were launched on Nine Eleven. We need to get back to normal.
Free Cell Phones
There have been a lot of commercials on TV promoting two companies who claim to offer free cell phones and free minutes each month to people who are disadvantaged. I can’t help wonder who is actually paying the bill for all these people to get free cell phones. Its not like they are a necessity – a cell phone is a luxury.
Why am I paying over $50 a month after all the fees and taxes for a phone when all these other people get their phones free? Is the Government spending my tax money to give all these people phones? I want a free phone, too!
Yard Waste
Sometimes a word or phrase sounds so practical, so perfectly descriptive, that you wonder why you never heard it before.
I have been trying to find out where to take a load of fallen tree limbs and bags of leaves to dispose of them. I know this is not considered trash and its not even considered recycling.
Turns out the proper term for it is yard waste and there are only two places in the county that will accept it. And neither one is open on Saturdays and Sundays. Sigh.
Never Forget This Date
Nine years ago, we were attacked. Here in America, on the mainland. By chickenshit muslims who decided they hate America and it must be their god’s message to kill innocent people on suicide missions. I will never forget that day and will have a hard time forgiving those cowards for killing so many Americans.
This is very important. It only takes a few seconds
This is a very important email I got from my mother who is a nurse about a Proposed Mastectomy Law Change and was written by a surgeon;
I’ll never forget the look in my patients’ eyes when I had to tell them they had to go home with the drains, new exercises and no breast. I remember begging the doctors to keep these women in the hospital longer, only to hear that they would, but their hands were tied by the insurance companies.
So there I sat with my patient giving them the instructions they needed to take care of themselves, knowing full well they didn’t grasp half of what I was saying, because the glazed, hopeless, frightened look spoke louder than the quiet ‘Thank you’ they muttered.
A mastectomy is when a woman’s breast is removed in order to remove cancerous breast cells/tissue. If you know anyone who has had a mastectomy, you may know that there is a lot of discomfort and pain after wards. Insurance companies are trying to make mastectomies an outpatient procedure. Let’s give women the chance to recover properly in the hospital for 2 days after surgery.
This Mastectomy Bill is in Congress now. It takes 2 seconds to do this and is very important. Please take the time and do it really quick! The Breast Cancer Hospitalization Bill is important legislation for all women.
Please send this to everyone in your address book. If there was ever a time when our voices and choices should be heard, this is one of those times. If you’re receiving this, it’s because I think you will take the 30 seconds to go to vote on this issue and send it on to others you know who will do the same.
There’s a bill called the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act which will require insurance companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. It’s about eliminating the ‘drive-through mastectomy’ where women are forced to go home just a few hours after surgery, against the wishes of their doctor, still groggy from anesthesia and sometimes with drainage tubes still attached.