Government shut down

The title alone says it all. The US government is shut down because the chosen president won't budge on is wish to have funds to build a wall. It is perfectly fine to have 800,000 people not getting paid to do their work. Sounds like a solid plan...

Let's imagine that these people get $7/h. Per week that equals $224,000,000 in savings that can go towards the wall. A couple of months of government shutdown and the wall will pay for itself... Who would of guessed that Mexico wouldn't want to pay for that ridiculous notion? Now everyone needs to make sacrifices and what not...

This is all so ridiculous it's hard to grasp....

Tax Season 2

Here's the season to be flooded in forms, receipts, 1099's, W2, 1040, M1M, ... again...
Last Friday I brought the "tax folder" with me to work. Since I was alone and very bored, seemed like the perfect scenario to get them ready. And so I did. Up to the point where I found out the values I should be paying. I mentioned this phenomena a couple years ago and it holds true: I never get money back despite sending them money every month. Never enough i guess.

So if my calculations are correct, to pay for the total taxes owed this year, two of my pay checks (or three, if I have slow months) are to be diverted directly to the government. Add to that property taxes, due next month, and another pay check is gone. So i am working the first quarter of the year to be able to afford paying taxes. And I know mine isn't the only household income, and all the good reasons that can be pointed out of why we have to pay taxes. But it still sucks!

Just for curiosity, I made a quick google search:

"How are federal taxes spent"

According to the Turbotax website, federal taxes are mostly spent on:

• Major health programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid - This confuses me greatly, because I am pretty sure every month a sum of my pay check goes off to Medicare. Box 6 of my W2. Also sure health isn't socialized like in Portugal, so no free healthcare out there for the grabs. Maybe Medicare helps people that need it, because they can't afford the mammoth bills health care gives you here. That is another Google search, left for a different day. 
• Social security -  Once again, this is already on box 4 of my W2. Neither box 6 or 4 count towards my taxes, federal taxes are on box 2... But sure, Social Security is a good thing. IF my hubbie dies before me, I can collect survivor's benefits. If I die first he is SOL because I need to work 10y here to get enough credits and I am only at 5y and not planning on sticking around for 5 more. 
• Defense and security - Armed forces deserve my utmost respect. No complaints here. 

Guess this is going to be all the bitching for now. Off to work a few more hours to pay for taxes! 

This day in history (January 2017)

According to the History Chanel website, this days marks the 72nd anniversary of the Soviets liberating Auschwitz. 


"On this day, Soviet troops enter Auschwitz, Poland, freeing the survivors of the network of concentration camps—and finally revealing to the world the depth of the horrors perpetrated there.

Auschwitz was really a group of camps, designated I, II, and III. There were also 40 smaller “satellite” camps. It was at Auschwitz II, at Birkenau, established in October 1941, that the SS created a complex, monstrously orchestrated killing ground: 300 prison barracks; four “bathhouses” in which prisoners were gassed; corpse cellars; and cremating ovens. Thousands of prisoners were also used for medical experiments overseen and performed by the camp doctor, Josef Mengele, the “Angel of Death.”The Red Army had been advancing deeper into Poland since mid-January. Having liberated Warsaw and Krakow, Soviet troops headed for Auschwitz. In anticipation of the Soviet arrival, the German Gestapo began a murder spree in the camps, shooting sick prisoners and blowing up crematoria in a desperate attempt to destroy the evidence of their crimes. When the Red Army finally broke through, Soviet soldiers encountered 648 corpses and more than 7,000 starving camp survivors. There were also six storehouses filled with literally hundreds of thousands of women’s dresses, men’s suits, and shoes that the Germans did not have time to burn."

From the website: This is just a small account of the horrors that some groups of people had to endure during WWII. Only 70y ago this was happening. There was the kind of bigotry and narrow minds that roamed around and could run the world. Or try to.The US had such an important role in ending these despicable behaviors... Standing for the free world and for the rights of all people. At least that is how I have always seen or imagined the US. 

Going back a bit more in history, during the anti-Semitic campaign that the Nazis embarked on, there was something now labeled "Nazi propaganda". That propaganda included newspapers dedicated to exploit the "evils" of Jews and they devious behaviors. One of them was called "Der Stuermer". In one of the front articles of this publication, titled “Who is the Enemy?”, Jews are blamed for destroying social order and claims that Jews want war, while the rest of the world wants peace.

And today, while reading an Executive Order released on the 25th from the Office of the Press Secretary on "Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States":

"(...) To better inform the public regarding the public safety threats associated with sanctuary jurisdictions, the Secretary shall utilize the Declined Detainer Outcome Report or its equivalent and, on a weekly basis, make public a comprehensive list of criminal actions committed by aliens and any jurisdiction that ignored or otherwise failed to honor any detainers with respect to such aliens.(...)" 

I won't even go on to mention that these sanctuary jurisdictions are now to be deprived of Federal grants, so that alone will be a cause for an increase in crime rate. 

This is a modern witch hunt. Any and all data collected in those cities will be changed and edited in order to make it look like all illegal aliens are criminals. They won't publish how much they are contributing to the communities. How much they are saving employers and how hard workers they are. They won't list crime rates for US citizens. They will be "alternative facts". Facts that any person can disprove and counter in 5 minutes, but they will be accepted as true for the government because it fits their agenda. 

Today I feel the US went back 80y in time... 

White House Website

Can't help but follow the political developments as if it was a soap opera. Since yesterday I couldn't bring myself to watch the 1st presidential interview, I decided go to the White House webpage and try to educate myself a bit about this new presidency. 

Thought that clicking on the Statements and Releases from the Press Office would be a good start. And there I saw listed: 

January 25, 2017
President Trump Approves Georgia Disaster Declaration
January 25, 2017
President Trump Approves Oregon Disaster Declaration
January 25, 2017
President Trump Approves Mississippi Disaster Declaration

Wow, that is not so bad. Hopefully the federal aid will make it easier for these communities to recover from the fury of Mother Nature. Just because the POTUS is messing up the environment doesn't mean he doesn't try to mitigate effects... 

But then I ran into this:  

January 25, 2017

Praise for President Trump's Bold Action

What now? There is a "pat in the back" page? This presidency needs confirmation so bad that they roam news and social media looking for a "job well done" publications that they can copy and display? 

First listing read: 

A tweet! They have the transcription of a tweet right there! I kept making fun that the country was going to be ruled by Twitter. Apparently I wasn't all that wrong!

If only i could bring myself to tweet something nice so my name would show up listed in the White Houses official website...

Disclaimer: I do not know if previous presidencies had a similar page! If they did, my comments also apply to them! 

Oy vey

The wall and some more measures that will hurt the environment... Every day is a sad political day since 1/20/2017...

                                           (http://peterwsage.blogspot.com/2016/04/choosing-ugly-photo-of-trump.html)

POTUS (ii)

The day where I follow politics is nearing. It is impossible not to these days. 

And it just dawned on me that the gentleman that occupies the position is a former reality TV presence. All he does must be focused on having people talking about him. Too bad he doesn't put in the effort to do good things and have the voices praising him instead of acting as expected and f$#@in' up...

Pictures of the crowd during inauguration day were online. There is a webcam that showed it while the ceremony was happening. During the parade, we could see that the streets were deserted in many areas. And yet I saw the statement saying there were bigger crowds than during Mr. Obama's inauguration. That this year they had protected the grass and that was why you could see the white. This is such a sad and pitiful excuse it is not even funny. 

And that ties up with the blatant disregard and disrespect for the Saturday parades. At the most, the outcome was him reinstating the Antiabortion policy for overseas groups. 

I could go on, the fact that work is slow and I insist in staying the full day allows me to read the news and follow these events, but I will stop now. It is a bit too depressing to carry on writing about... 

The new POTUS

I should start by saying I only learned today what POTUS means. Never had I ever heard or read that. Google told me it means "President of the United States". Fair enough, a title that big needs an acronym.

CNN's website has been open on my second screen all morning long, following the Inauguration day events. As of now, the USA has had a new president for 3h. And I strongly believe there is a fair amount of people out there thinking it is about time to get a new one... 

That must be the reason for all the protests. Namely the ones raving through DC. Big fan of peaceful protests. They are the perfect representation of a society that can express their opinions. But as soon as the first rock is thrown, or the first glass is broken, they loose all their validity. How will breaking the Starbucks storefront help make a point?

Saving the experience of listening to his speech later today, but couldn't help myself and read it online. 

These are the things that jumped at me while doing it: 

 "For too long, a small group in our nation's Capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost. Washington flourished -- but the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians prospered -- but the jobs left, and the factories closed."

This comes from a billionaire business man... Clearly he has reaped some rewards himself. 

"You came by the tens of millions to become part of a historic movement the likes of which the world has never seen before."

A lot of wishful thinking when he wrote this... 

"One by one, the factories shuttered and left our shores, with not even a thought about the millions upon millions of American workers left behind."

Wonder how many factories he employ out of the US. How many jobs he could be giving to the good american people... 

"The wealth of our middle class has been ripped from their homes and then redistributed across the entire world."

I like this line. It acknowledges who actually pays for everything: the middle class!

"We will follow two simple rules: Buy American and hire American."

This one kind of jeopardizes my position here... Legally in this country, but i'm still not American... 

"We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones -- and unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the Earth."

This statement feels a bit radical on its own... 

And these were my main thoughts on the speech. Not that someone cares, but I wanted to write it down anyway. All part of this wonderful country that allows for free speech! First Amendment rocks! 

And now I will keep watching the inaugural parade. Just waiting for them to pass some people watching, so far there is not much of a crowd showing...