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[Ben]:Your priorities are wrong Discuss This [1 comment so far] View Comments
Unemployment benefits do not guarantee you the ability to have all the luxuries to which you have grown accustomed.
The ranks of the unemployed include Jerome Boyd, 48, a father of four who lives in Arlington. He was laid off in August from his job as a sous chef at Gaylord National Hotel at National Harbor.

He receives $1,200 a month in unemployment benefits, less than half the $3,000 a month he brought home from his job. Now he is often behind paying about $1,500 in rent, a car payment and other expenses. "I'm stealing from Peter to pay Paul," he said, adding: "There's [b]the cable, the phone bill[/b]. I owe the bank overdraft fees and the insurance is lapsing a little bit. I can't take my kids shopping for school clothes because I don't have enough to do that."

If you are on unemployment and are falling behind on debt payments, [b]you cannot afford [i]cable[/i][/b] and you should probably take a good hard look at what kind of phone plan you're supporting.

And people on food stamps shouldn't be buying iPhones, right Nate?
The checks may be meager, but Boyd does not know what he would do without them. "I depend on this money," he said. "I'm wondering every other week if it is going to keep coming in or not. It's stressful, and especially when you're trying to look for a job, too."

*snip*

"I can't take something that's minimum wage because I just won't be able to pay my bills," he said. "I'd have to work three jobs to pay the bills, and that doesn't make sense."

Addiction to unemployment is keeping him from taking jobs. He's happy with the little checks he gets because he isn't working, so why should he bother to work for a little check?

Entitlement sucks.
  2010-03-10
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Your priorities are wrong
 
 
[Ben]:Stupid Vandals Discuss This [2 comments so far] View Comments
When we got trash cans last year, I ran a length of paracord between the lid and the can itself so the lids wouldn't go missing.

Today I came home and as I was bringing them in, I noticed that someone had cut the paracord off of both cans at each of the knots.

Punks.
  2010-03-04
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Stupid Vandals
 
[Ben]:Principles of Convenience Discuss This [1 comment so far] View Comments
It's funny how strong, principled stands made when someone is out of power are simply tossed aside when they become inconvenient.

This is your leadership, America.

Congress has a monumentally bad 10% approval rating. I guarantee that the incumbent reelection rate will end up much, much higher than that. What I don't understand is why.
  2010-02-24
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Principles of Convenience
 
[Nate]:Come March On Washington DC with me Discuss This [3 comments so far] View Comments
Ok so it's not a march in traditional sense of the word, but hey this is the 21st century.

Online Tax Revolt

By the way Nathan from Brownsburg, IN marches under the Neal Boortz's FairTax Brigade banner.
  2010-02-19
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Come March On Washington DC with me
 
[Ben]:News in brief Discuss This [3 comments so far] View Comments
Apparently some people are sick and tired of taxes.

Trillions of dollars of government-spent stimulus money have astonishingly failed to fix everything.

The Mossad offed a Hamas goon in Dubai and some people are upset.

Brits in solidarity with US in obesity.

Portable electronics may cease to be included in "persons, houses, papers, and effects".
  2010-02-18
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News in brief
 
[Ben]:Some thoughts for today Discuss This [0 comments so far] View Comments
One hundred and thirty pounds of .451 bullets placed strategically in the trunk of a Ford Mustang makes a world of difference when it comes to traction in snow. Those are staying in there until July.

Paying off said Mustang a couple of years early feels good. I'm going to have to double down on the Exploder now.

Heard while talking to Uncle Sam about my taxes: "Yeah, the watch too. Hurry up, man, I haven't got all day. Any change in your pockets? Don't make me pop a cap in you, dude, just hand it aaaaaall over."

Have you ever gotten a naval orange with a naval so large and well developed that it was more like an orange inside another orange with a naval of its own? Or is that just me?
  2010-02-11
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Some thoughts for today
 

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