The more I read about welfare, the left, the right, the politics, the war.....the madder I get.  I had said a couple of weeks ago that Dharma-The-Blunt was going to make her appearance more and more often, and she's been doing so.  Not in a mean way, I've jusy been asking questions about things that I think are relevant...but my comments have been deemed "petty" and have been deleted.

So, seeing as I have my own blog in which to air my opinions, that is exactly what I intend to do.  Be warned, some people might find the following statements offensive.  I don't care.  I'm done treading lightly around certain topics.

So, let's start with disability.  I'm all for people who really do have medical problems, and who cannot support themselves being given a helping hand.  Notice I said a helping hand, not a hand-out.  I see people who have horrible conditions that make each and every day of their lives excruciatingly painful working full time and supporting themselves.  I see people who have conditions that are fatal pressing on and refusing to let themselves be defined by the disease and illnesses they have.  I see and know people who are missing limbs, who have a diminished mental capacity, who are confined to wheelchairs, all working full time or part time, all taking care of (or making a concerted effort to take care of) themselves. Yes, some of them are on supplimental disability, but they're at least making an effort to look after themselves.  

I also see people who are content to be on disability for the rest of their lives, who have absolutely no intention of going back to work and trying to support themselves. 

Next, let's talk about welfare.  I've written about this before, but this still makes me mad...there are people who are perfectly content to keep churning out kids in order to receive a mothly payment for that child.  There are people who will play the system and who will make sure they have a child under that age of 3 living at home with them so they don't have to go to work to 'earn' their TANF. There are people who will keep on having kids so that even when the TANF runs out they still get a stipend for all the kids living in their household. There are people who will use their Food Stamp cards to purchase name brand items, who are eating steak twice a week, when me and my family are eating tuna helper and ramen noodles and drinking store brand sodas.  Not because we have to, not because we're trying to make ends meet, but because we're being frugal with OUR OWN MONEY.  OUR MONEY, that my husband serves his country to earn. OUR MONEY, that we're trying to save so that we can one day be self sufficient.  I've had sarcastic comments thrown at me (like "oh, how noble of you") when I blogged about trying to shop frugally to see just how much it costs to feed a family of 4 a week....why?  Because I'm trying to show that it can be done? That people who are on Food Stamps get to spend more on food than those of us who earn our own money?

I have been accused in the past of 'riding the gravy train' myself because I don't work, because I choose to stay at home and raise our children.  Let me explain something to you:  I'm not taking a government handout.  I work for my husband's paycheck as well.  I may not be the one who puts on the uniform, who deploys to foreign lands, but my children and I make just as many sacrifices as he does. What do you think, that stay-at-home mom's sit on their asses watching soap operas and eating bon-bons all day?  Wrong.  I'm lucky, because we can afford for me to stay home and raise our kids.  How do we afford it?  By living at, if not slightly below our means.  If it was a choice between my having to go back to work to make ends meet or taking welfare.....well, there wouldn't be a choice. I'd go back to work.  I have injuries that would qualify me for disability - I'll be specific, I don't care who knows - I have a herniated L2 disc and arthritis in both L1 and L2 vertebrae, which makes it painful for me to sit and stand for extended periods of time, limits the amount of weight I can lift and carry, causes me to have weakness in my left leg, gives me sometimes excruciating pain because of the neurological damage that's been done.  My neurologist has advised me many times in the past that I would qualify for at least partial if not full disability if I cared to apply for it.  I don't care to.  I'm still capable of working, so I will.  I'm trying to better myself, and I'm doing so with OUR money.  No grants or loans, with OUR money.

Now on to the war......I'm mad.  Scratch that, I'm furious.  That some people can come out and say that the people who were beheaded deserved what they got for being there in the first place....I find that absolutely disgusting.  That has to be the lowest, most reprehensible thing I have ever heard.  Here's what I really think about Al Queda: they're a bunch of barbaric assholes who deserve to be anhilated.  There is no 'religion of peace' behind what they do, it's a religion of blood and torture and violence.  They will not be satisfied (and they already stated this) until the western world is kneeling in prayer to Allah.  Not me, brother.  I won't be wearing a burkah.  I'm not going to be dictated to like that.  I'd rather be dead than adhere to that particular brand of Islam.

There was going to be more that I was going to rant about, but I've run out of steam for now.  Like I said, there are going to be some folks who don't like what I had to say.  I don't care.  Oh, and just so you know, I'm not afraid to use the blacklist feature either.  I welcome logical, sensible, debate, but you make it personal or come out with some unsubstantiated bullshit that you can't back up with unbiased stats....consider yourself blacklisted.