I was well-represented

11:00 AM today was the scheduled Branson Tea Party, an event staged by the Missouri branch of Concerned Women for America.  I did not go, but it wasn’t because I didn’t care.  We had spent our Friday (9:00 AM to 10:30 PM) visiting with some folks who are interested in a ministry we support, and having made that significant but very worthwhile time investment, I just couldn’t pull several more hours out of today.  However, Scott, Jessica, and Andrew went and represented our family well.  They stood shoulder-to-shoulder with many others for an hour along The Strip (roughly from Applebee’s to The Great Wall Buffet), holding sign and banners with messages like, “Obama is Change We Can’t Afford!”  “America Bless God” and “Stop Spending Our Money!”

They stood from 11:00 AM to noon, and then there was a gathering somewhere with some guest speakers from noon to 2:00 PM, but our gang left at noon.  There seems to be so little we can do to influence our elected officials anymore (besides pray and write them, which I do), so I’m glad our family was able to do something else concrete to respectfully voice our disapproval of the atrocious policies being acted upon in Washington, D.C.

Big Brother’s America

1984 was required reading when I was in high school, and at the time (1976?) it really troubled me deeply.  The ideas presented in that book caused real, heartsick fear in my 16 year old gut.  Now, 30+ years later, I must say that reading it was nowhere near as scary as watching it come to pass right before my eyes.

Just within the past week, I have heard news stories about concerted efforts on the part of “our” (?) government to:

~ determine and control how much interest credit card companies can charge  (uhmmm. . . whatever happened to free enterprise?)

~ require Americans to have health insurance  (excuse me, but I thought that how I spend my money – or not – for my health care was my business?)

~ regulate the salaries of high officials in financial companies  (is this China or Russia we’re talking about?)

Of course, “our” government already owns a chunk of the U.S. auto industry, with no telling how many other formerly private industries it will soon be swallowing, hook, line, and sinker.  And now, not only do “we” provide free food, spending money, and health care for those citizens and illegal immigrants who don’t or won’t work, “we” are bailing out people who didn’t use the sense God gave a centipede when they bit off insanely more mortgage than they could possibly chew.

I feel like Archibald in Veggie Tales, who says, “Where’s MY water buffalo?!?!?”

I can tell you that “our” government isn’t helping pay our mortgage, buy our groceries, or cover our health care.  In fact, we actually have to make tough choices on how our dollars are spent – unlike “our” government, which simply steals from honest people, spends blindly and mindlessly, and bills our grandkids.

Today I was at the doctor’s office discussing some health concerns and possible  treatments.  Concerning one relatively minor problem (the restless legs syndrome which I have simply endured for as long as I can remember), she said, “Oh, there are two different meds out now to treat that and they work really well.  If we got that under control, you’d sleep well, and sleeping would help you in a lot of other areas: blood pressure, mood, blood sugar, etc.”

Now, it used to be when a doc said something like that, you’d say, “Great.  Write me the prescription and let’s try it,” but times have changed.  I asked if those drugs were expensive.  “Well, it depends on what kind of insurance you have.”  (I happen to have the sky-high kind that covers very little and has a $1500/year cap on prescriptions.)  “Some insurance will covers them, but some won’t, and if yours won’t, they are REALLY expensive.”  Well, forget those ideas.  With my weight issues, I take several essential  prescription meds – the kind that are hopefully preventing diabetes and significant heart disease – and when those vital Rxs are added up, there’s just not a lot of margin between that total and the magic $1500.

But if my husband didn’t work, or if we were living here illegally, I’ll bet you anything that good ole’ Uncle Sam would be glad to ante up for those ‘extra’ meds.

Well, that is my rant for the day.  I still choose to believe that America can once again be the land of the free and the home of the brave, but it will surely involve electing some officials with more than jello between their ears and cartilage in their backs.  Fortitude in other locations would also be a plus.

Concerning the tags

With our vast array of vehicles, it is frequently the case that one or more of them needs to be re-registered with the Great State if Missouri.  We do this at the license bureau in Branson, and that would generally be the royal we.  It is not financially feasible for Scott, who is paid by the hour, to take off time to go wait at the license bureau, so he usually sends me to do that little taskette.  (Time is money, but his time is more money than mine!)

Scott told me that the van – a 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan – needed new tags before the end of the month, so on Monday, November 24, I took the parcel of paperwork he provided and headed to one of my favorite places – not.  It was important that I get the tags that day, because we would be out of town Wednesday the 26th through Friday the 28th, and the end of the month would fall on Sunday.  I was unwilling to try to get the tags on Tuesday, because I have learned, both from having two daughters take driving tests and from observation over the years that Tuesdays and Thursdays are driving test days; therefore no one in his right mind should EVER enter the license bureau on either of those two days for any reason other than taking a driving test.  So I HAD to get the job done on Monday.

It seems that Monday was the first day for a new company to take over the license bureau.  The state contracts with a company to run the joint, which means the folks there aren’t actually employees of the state.  That fact gave me pause, but the line was short and the lady I got was very nice.

I have not yet fully comprehended the logic of the various papers that must be presented to renew one’s vehicle.  I do have a college degree, but I confess that I just trust Scott to hand me the right sheaf of documents and hope that everything is correct.  The lady riffled through my collection, which included, but may not have been limited to:

- the renewal notice

- the current (or expired?) registration

- a safety inspection less than 60 days old

- proof of insurance (I dug through the glove box in an attempt to find this and located three different proofs of insurance.  One of them expires in June of 2009, so I figured that was the correct one.)

- paid personal property tax receipts for 2006 and 2007

All seemed to be in order until she got to the tax receipts.  “Wait a minute.  It looks like you bought this van in October of ‘05.”  Yes, we had done so.  “So that means you would have owned it on January 1 of ‘06.”  Yes, that made sense.  “And it’s listed on your 2007 tax receipt, but not on your 2006 tax receipt, so I can’t renew your registration because this receipt doesn’t show that you paid taxes on it in 2006.”  Lovely.  I looked more closely at the 2006 receipt.  It listed our 1995 Ford Aerostar (check), our 1999 Honda Accord (check), our 1997 Ford Windstar (check), our 1986 Toyota Camry (check), our pop-up trailer (check), and our canoe trailer (check). WAIT A MINUTE!  “Hey, this 2006 receipt – the one that doesn’t list our 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan – lists our 1997 Ford Windstar, which was a lemon, and we haven’t owned that vehicle for several years!”  She looked too.  “Hmmm… it looks like Taney County really messed this up.”

She continued.  “How did you get the renewal done last year?  They would have looked at your 2005 and 2006 receipts, and they couldn’t renew it last year if it wasn’t on the 2006 receipt.”  I replied that I didn’t know the answer to that question and by the way, what would she suggest, given that this was my only opportunity to renew the vehicle before the end of the month.

She told me I would have to call Taney County and talk to them.  She kindly looked up their phone number for me and gave me the license bureau fax number.  If they could fax her proof of taxes paid on the van, she could proceed.

I stepped out of line and and thanked God for cell phones.  I called the number I’d been given, which ended up being the county collector’s office, and explained my situation.  The county collector lady heard me out them said I would need to talk to the assessor’s office and she’s connect me.  I explained to the assessor lady my situation and asked her advice.  She pulled up our account, and (unlike health-related entities) was glad to talk with me about it, even though I am technically not Scott (in whose name all this tax stuff is listed) but am only married to him.

Yes, she could make those changes, and she wondered aloud how I had gotten my renewal last year.  I told her I had no idea.  She replied that the license bureau had clearly messed things up.  = )  I told her which vehicles we did and didn’t own – or at least which ones I thought we had or had not owned as of January 1, 2006.  She then told me that there was a problem.  Since the Caravan was valued higher than the Windstar, and significantly so, we would owe more tax.  Lovely.

Would I need to drive to Forsyth (read 15 miles one way) to pay the tax or could I do it over the phone?  Yes, I could pay over the phone, BUT there would be a charge to use a credit card.  And how much, pray tell, would that be?  Well, I would need to wait ten minutes (becuase she had to enter my updated information) and then call back to the county collector’s office.  They would take my money.

I waited 12 minutes for good measure and then called back to the county collector’s office.  I got someone different from the first collector lady, so I explained my situation again.  She looked up our account, saw the changes that had been made and said we would have to paid more tax.  It was about $25.  I told her I was fine with that and that I understood from the assessor lady that I could pay over the phone. Yes, I could, but there would be an extra charge to use a credit card.  Okay, how much is that fee?  It would be an additional 4.125%.  I heard her punching her calculator.  The credit card fee came to a whopping $1.84, but I was pretty sure we could spring for that.  I gave her the necessary information, while everyone in the license bureau listened in.  = )

Now that everyone agreed on which vehicles we had owned on a certain date nearly two years ago, and now that we had paid Taney County appropriately for that privilege, all that remained was for the collector lady to fax the license bureau lady proof of it all.  Which she agreed to do immediately.  I waited another five minutes for teh fax to come through then returned to the license bureau lady to pay my ~$58 to renew the van for two years.  As I told her, even though it’s pushing 200,000 miles and we are looking toward replacing it, I really would have preferred to renew it for ten years, just to avoid the hassle, but at least I won’t be back at the license bureau for that particular vehicle until late 2010.

The curious thing is that in the Great State of Missouri, SOME cars can be renewed SOME years by mail.  This year, the van HAD to be renewed in person, and it could be renewed for one or two years.  Other times, I have gone in and been told that I can only renew the vehicle in question for one year.  I am sure there is some logic to this, and I think I’ve been told that it has something to do with odd and even numbers, but I cannot remember those details.

I think a better way to do it would be this:  ALL the vehicles one owns should all be due for renewal in your birthday month every two years.  If you were born in an even year, they renew every even year, and likewise for odds.  You get them all inspected within 60 days of the final day of your birthday month.  You mail in the inspection, proof of insurance, and a check for $40 per vehicle.  They mail you back the new two-year tags for each vehicle and you don’t think about renewing ANY vehicles for two more years!

By doing a flat $20/year= $40/vehicle fee, there are no goofy assessments or calculations to be figured.  You never have to go to the license bureau except to get a driver’s license, so lots of staff positions can be cut.  The state saves taxpayer money, and everyone is less stressed.  Less stress means less Prozac prescribed, so health care costs and insurance rates go down.  With lower health care costs, people have more expendable income, which they can save, spend, or invest.  This would stimulate the economy, jobs would be created, and there would be no conceivable reason to bail out banks, auto manufacturers, Lowe’s, Wal-Mart, or Best Buy.

This is my vehicle registration plan, and I approve this message.

The numbers crunch for Missouri

There are 115 counties in Missouri.  Seven of them went to Mr. Obama.

There were 2,879,358 ballots cast for President in Missouri.  Mr. McCain beat Mr. Obama in our state by a mere 5,868 votes.

I will rejoice!

The Top Line: I will rejoice!

The Explanation: Sunday morning at church, we sang a song that includes these lyrics:  “There is a fountain full of grace and it flows from Emmanuel’s veins. It came and it healed me.  It came and refreshed me.  It came and washed my sin away! I will rejoice.  I will rejoice, and be glad.”

While we were singing that, God really made clear to me that as a Christian, my response to the then upcoming election should be to rejoice, no matter who won.  I Thessalonians 5:18 says (my interpretation in parentheses), “In (not ‘for’) everything give thanks, for this (giving thanks) is the will of God.”  At that moment, I made a firm decision that even if I were strongly displeased with the outcome of the election, I would act just the same the day after as I had all the days before.  I would rejoice because God is good and worthy, no matter who lives in the White House.

The Circumstances: Yesterday we voted.  Last night we went to bed without even turning on the TV.  We figured the voting was over (so no need to keep praying for Christian conservatives to vote in droves), and the results would be the same in the morning, so we might as well get some sleep.  Which we did.

This morning, I learned the results:

President:  I voted for the Republican, John McCain.  The Democrat, Barack Obama, won.  (0 for 1)

Governor:  I voted for the Republican, Kenny Hulshof.  The Democrat, Jay Nixon, won.  (0 for 2)

Lieutenant Governor:  I voted for the Constitution Party candidate, James Rensing.  The Republican, Peter Kinder, won.  (0 for 3)

Secretary of State:  I voted for the Constitution Party candidate, Denise Neely.  The incumbent Democrat, Robin Carnahan, won.  (0 for 4)

State Treasurer:  I voted for the Constitution Party candidate, Rodney Farthing.  The Democrat, Clint Zweifel, won.  (0 for 5)

Attorney General:  I voted for the Republican, Mike Gibbons.  The Democrat, Chris Kostner, won.  (0 for 6)

US Representative:  I voted for the Constitution Party candidate, Travis Maddox, mainly because our incumbent Republican voted in favor of the $700,000,000,000.00 bailout – TWICE.  The Republican, Roy Blunt, won. (0 for 7)

County Coroner:  I voted for the Independent, Debby Ware.  The Incumbent Republican, Kevin Tweedy, won.  (0 for 8]

State Supreme Court Judge:  I voted that Patricia Breckenridge should not be retained in office.  She was retained.  (0 for 9)

State Supreme Court Judge:  I voted that Gary Lynch should be retained in office.  He was retained.  (1 for 10)

State Constitutional Amendment to make English the official language of public policy.  I voted yes. The amendment passed. (2 for 11)

State Constitutional Amendment to change financing of stormwater control projects.  I voted no.  The amendment passed.  (2 for 12)

State Proposition to change gambling/casino laws.  I learned at the last minute that this was poorly (deceptively) worded and although when I read it, it sounded good, it was actually pushed by the gambling lobby, so I voted against it.  It passed.  (2 for 13)

State Proposition to create and fund a council to oversee nursing homes.  I voted against it.  It passed.  (2 for 14)

State Proposition to require investor-owned electric utilities to generate or purchase electricity from renewable energy sources.  I voted against it.  It passed.  (2 for 15)

Therefore, I was successful in only 13% of the ballot measures.  Almost nothing turned out the way I had hoped and prayed.

The Bottom Line: I will rejoice!

Will the House hold firm again?

I am proud to say that on Monday at least one of Missouri’s representatives voted down the proposed $700 billion financial bail-out.  Now it’s Thursday and the Senate has approved a re-worked proposition.  It again goes to the House, and I wonder who will have the intestinal fortitude and backbone to stand strong again.

I found the following quote to be timely.  (my emphases added)

“As a very important source of strength and security, cherish public credit. One method of preserving it is to use it as sparingly as possible, avoiding occasions of expense by cultivating peace, but remembering also that timely disbursements to prepare for danger frequently prevent much greater disbursements to repel it, avoiding likewise the accumulation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of expense, but by vigorous exertion in time of peace to discharge the debts which unavoidable wars may have occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burden which we ourselves ought to bear.”

Perhaps President Bush and the Secretary of the Treasury (not to mention Senators McCain and Obama) would be well-advised to re-read the above.  It was spoken some 212 years ago by President George Washington in his “Farewell Address.”

Is this proposed $700,000,000,000.00 targeted to pay off war debts?  No.

Is our government today using public credit as sparingly as possible?  Definitely not.

Will our descendants be saddled with much of this “investment?”  Most assuredly.

Will the House hold firm again?  God knows.  May men of wisdom and discernment will vote their consciences and prevail.

Mr. Combs came by the other day

He’s running for Eastern Taney County Commissioner, against the incumbent Mr. Strahan. I really didn’t know anything about either man. There are three commissioners for Taney County; one presiding, one western, and one eastern. The presiding commissioner (Chuck Pennel, whom Andrew at age three referred to as “Truck” Pennel – do you sense an early interest in vehicles there?) is a friend of our family and a very strong Christian. We like him a lot, and both times he ran for office, we had an eight-foot sign for him in our yard. In his re-election bid, he won by grand total of EIGHT votes.  (Don’t try to tell me one person can’t make a difference!)  Chuck’s not up for re-election this time; only the eastern and western guys are.

So Mr. Combs came by the other evening and handed us a lot of “premiums,” (junk?) all embossed with his name. We received a comb, a glossy, full-color, two-sided business card, a pen, a brochure, and a silver key chain with a light in one end and a set of tiny screwdrivers in the other. I was skeptical, and I didn’t need or particularly want any of that stuff – except maybe the screwdrivers and the brochure.

I asked him who he was running against and why I should vote for him. He said he was running against Mr. Strahan, that he’d do his best to serve us, and that he’d tell the truth. Hmmm. . . ?  I asked him what his main issues were. He said he wanted to have less arguing and get more things done. He was convinced that the county needed to be educated about recycling. (Perhaps). He asked if we were concerned about the moral quality of the clientele who hung out around the creek. (Yes). He told me that he’d do his best to do a good job. He didn’t down-mouth the incumbent.

I asked him why my sample ballot said I’d be voting for eastern commissioner when we live in the northwest corner of the county. (We are to Taney County as Yellowstone National Park is to the continental United States.) He explained that it was really based on population, and since most of the county’s warm bodies are concentrated in and around Branson and Hollister, those areas are “western” and the rest of the county is “eastern.” I was glad to hear that explanation, because I like to learn something every day.

Mr. Combs was a massive “good old boy,” and he drove a massive white pickup; the kind of man and truck you’d be relieved to meet if you got stuck at a low-water crossing. He was tall, probably in his late 50s, sported a blonde moustache, was definitely not slim, and walked like a country fellow. He talked with a drawl. I asked him where he lived. Out past Taneyville; he’d lived his whole life in Taney County (that would explain the drawl and the truck) and he’d been cattle ranching for 30 years (that would probably explain the walk).

I told him I’d consider him at the poll and I thanked him for coming by. After giving Andrew the comb, commandeering the light-up-screwdriver-key-chain for myself, and reading the brochure, I called our good friend, “Truck.”

I had to leave a message with a secretary, and a couple hours later, I answered the phone to hear a gravelly man’s voice say, “I want to get some information about homeschooling. . . Just kidding! This is Chuck Pennel.”

I explained that it was that time of year again; the time when I have no idea who is good or bad in county politics, but when I must nevertheless vote for someone or the other in the Republican primary. (Where I live, if you want your vote to make any difference, you vote in the Republican primary, after which there’s no real reason to vote in the general election – although I ALWAYS do. If there even is a Democratic challenger, s/he will probably garner less than 5% of the vote.)

“So, Chuck, on this matter of commissioners. . . I vote eastern, and who would you rather work with: Mr. Strahan or Mr. Combs?”

“Mr. Combs, hands down.  And thanks for asking.”

“And there’s some other county race that’s not unopposed. . . I don’t have it in front of me. . . “

“I’m planning to vote Davis for Public Administrator.”

“Okay. Noted. And for coroner. There’s a man and a woman, but I can’t remember their names. I’m driving right now.”

“I’d pick the lady.”

“Will do. You know, we do try our best to keep our presiding commissioner happy!”

“Thanks for calling and asking. I really appreciate it a lot.”

We talked on a bit about families, churches, etc. and then hung up. It’s nice to have friends in high places. I pray for Chuck all the time. It can’t be easy for a godly man to try to lead the government of a county that includes one of the prime vacation destinations in the Mid-West. A destination which is fighting tooth and toenail to maintain its Christian, family-friendly atmosphere in the face of BIG bucks from BIG out-of-state and international interests who say our values are “too patriotic and too religious” and who are attempting to exploit/destroy our part of the county in order to make more big bucks.  Can you tell I’m enraged not enarmored with HCW and that I refuse to patronize the Landing?

All that to say that Chuck’s a good man and we surely need more men like him in government. May Mr. Combs be the one of them.

As California goes. . .

Many crazy ideas start in California and then move at various rates across the country, but today I heard one that I sincerely hope bucks that trend. NPR just announced that the California Supreme Court has decided that “to limit marriage to one man and one woman is unconstitutional.” So I guess gay marriage will now be legal in California.

Which other states will be foolish enough to permit such idiocy? More to the point, will Missouri? And if so, when?

See President laugh

I think the president laughed more during his State of the Union address tonight than he has in any other one-hour period in the past year.  I guess when you have absolutely nothing left to lose, you can say whatever you want and have fun while you say it.  The man was certainly relaxed, and Ms. Pelosi had some interesting facials, as well.

Now it remains to be seen who will be selected to lead our country next.  I am 97.43% sure I have decided how to cast my vote in our primary on “Super” Tuesday, although I don’t think my man will gain the nomination.  With my pen, I will vote my principles, and with all my heart, I will pray for our nation.

My government at work

“Hello.  I’m renewing my vehicle registration by mail and I have a question. I see that I have to send in proofs of insurance, inspection, and personal property tax paid. Will these items be returned to me?” “Maybe. The State cannot guarantee that they will be returned.” “Okay, so may I send in copies of these?” “No, the State will not accept copies. You must send your originals.” “But will they send my originals back?” “Well, they might or they might not. There’s really no way to know. It’s just a risk you take.” This from the lady at our local revenue office.