The Baby and The Bathwater

I should be used to it by now. The knee jerk reactions that make it so difficult to really affect and effect change.  Somehow, we always end up throwing out the baby with the bathwater – despite our best intentions to do otherwise. And yet I find myself getting more and more irritated with stupidity.  Two great examples of this are the current hot button issues of gun control and dog ownership (particularly pit bull ownership).  Owning a gun and owning a dog carry many of the same responsibilities if you think about it.   You have to make sure your guns are well maintained (cleaned, oiled and stored properly), and you have to do the same for your dog (vet visits, shots, grooming etc) .  You have to make sure your dog is properly leashed or fenced in your yard, and you have to be sure your gun is stored safely and properly and the safety left on when not in use.

For some reason, we cannot seem to figure out a way to hold offenders accountable for their actions. For some reason, its easier to restrict the activities of the population at large than it is to arrest, prosecute, and incarcerate criminal offenders.  I’ll use an example from the workplace.  Most workplaces have a dress code. Enforcing said code presents its own particular set of challenges that may or may not be quite humorous on occasion.  Like dealing with an employee who showed up to work in their jammies and couldn’t for the life of them figure out why they were being sent home – because they dress that way to go to the mall….. sigh.  Or, banning everyone from wearing sleeveless dresses, shirts or tops in the summertime because some of the men decided to cut off the sleeves of their t shirts and the gaping holes gave everyone a glimpse of nasty pit hair…. Instead of telling these guys they had to classy it up they just tell everyone – NO SLEEVELESS.  Baby. Bathwater…. and gone…..

So many people are negiligent when it comes to pet ownership and gun ownership.  Letting their dogs roam free to chase and bite people; leaving their guns out where children, toddlers, and flat out  crazy people can access them (with tragic results).  So what do we do?  Can I get a “Harrumph?” from you all? Because thats what we do. We get on our sanctimonious soapboxes and engage in inefficient hand-wringing – then we make ridiculous blanket laws that restrict and penalize mature,  RESPONSIBLE dog and firearm owners.  Look what just happened in Maryland with regard to pit bull ownership.  Look whats happening within the Gun Control Debate.  You only have to witness the political posturing to become really really annoyed. And I am. Annoyed. To the Max. I’m a centrist, basically. Common sense dictates we need reform -not blanket all or nothing restriction.  Nor do we need to jump into the Way Back Machine and head for the Wild Wild West.  Because we’re doing it again – throwing the baby out with the bathwater; instead of engaging in thoughtful dialogue and compromise to come up with solutions that work for the majority of responsible hard working Americans. Let me list a few ideas:

Brindle pit bull (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Dogs -

1. If you want to own a pit bull you must register them for obedience classes and give a copy of the certificate to City Hall in addition to the rabies tag number when you get the dog licensed.  You must demonstrate re-certification of obedience training every 3-5 years. You must be a homeowner to own a pit bull, or have sufficient assets to cover a lawsuit if the dog injures someone. This goes for other breeds like Rottweilers, Pinschers, German Shepherds, Chows, Dalmatians, and Akitas too – since all these breeds have aggressiveness bred into them. There may be a few breeds I missed here feel free to add…

2. Dog owners already pay increased  homeowners premiums, (depending on the breed, and they may not even cover you if you have a banned breed)  but all dog owners should be required to submit proof of vaccination and licensing to their policy carriers.

3. All dogs should be required to be on leash or in a fenced in yard  when outdoors- subject to fine and/or seizure of the dog if non-compliant. Not all communities have leash laws, and those that do may only sporadically enforce them – doing so only after there is a problem.

4. Dog owners should be required to notify the public that there is a dog on their premises.

There’s probably more but that’s all I can think of right now. It comes down to common sense , really – Which ain’t quite as common as it should be, sadly enough.

                                             (photo credit: Wikipedia)

Guns -

1. I’ve listed several things in other posts so I’ll just summarize here: Background checks for all sales.  Private sales should be illegal.  No actual possession of said  firearm by the buyer until a training course is completed and certification of the ability to use and store said firearm safely is on file with the gun seller, and the new gun owner’s insurance carrier. Yes I do think you should have to insure your guns. No sale to anyone with a history of mental illness ( improve those background checks) Your right to be bat-guano ga-ga does not supersede my right to keep breathing safely.  No sale to anyone who lives with a family member with mental illness. PERIOD. No sale to anyone under the age of 16.. Proof of age required to purchase. Possession of a firearm by anyone not carrying an FID card and proof of ownership should invite criminal charges for both the possessor and the registered owner. Magazine clip size should be limited. Modification kits – illegal.  If a tragedy does occur and the investigation reveals that the gun owner stored the firearm unsafely or improperly or knowingly allowed  someone other than themselves to use the firearm – then the gun owner should be held civilly and criminally responsible.

I understand this may not curb criminal activity or criminal’s access to firearms, but it will damn sure make it less likely that a toddler can pick up his fathers gun and kill a Tennessee Sherriff’s wife with it. And it will make it extremely difficult – if not impossible – for idiots like Nancy Lanza to provide their mentally ill child with access to firepower.  I am in no way saying people should not have guns if they want them. But they need to assure those of us that don’t  they can own and use them responsibly.  SAFETY SAFETY SAFETY SAFETY. And,  SAFETY.

It is a great privilege to own a firearm, and be a pet owner. Both carry great responsibility with them .  If we enforce the laws we already have on the books, that will help also. But if people start understanding that they are responsible for the safety of themselves and others and will be held ACCOUNTABLE by laws that make sense for the majority of people  – then perhaps that baby I’ve been talking about can go get toweled off, powdered, and re-diapered instead of floundering around in the mud. Rant concluded. Thank you, that is all  (for now)

Afternoon Meanderings

Early Spring Water Meadow along Rte 23  Blandford, MA

View from the Blandford Country Club. North Street Blandford MA  Looking down into Springfield….

Spring Stream. Algerie Road, North Blandford MA

Stone Walls along the Roadway near Long Pond Conservation Area.  Algerie Road North Blandford MA

Canadian Goose in its element, and Remnants of a Beaver Dam, Long Pond Conservation Area.  Algerie Road North Blandford, MA

And last but by no means least, my traveling companion and chauffeur for the afternoon – The Viking – patiently waiting pondside while I trekked in and got pictures. And no, I didn’t fall in, or get muddy!

It was really wonderful to meander those back roads today. I grew up there and nostalgia waxed large as I noted how much had changed – and how much had stayed the same.  The afternoon light is becoming more and more spring-like even though there’s still plenty of snow on the ground up in the hills.  The sounds of water cascading over the rocky stream beds, the wind rushing through the pines and dry reed beds, the honking chatter of the geese and ducks – all made for a peaceful backdrop to my self-imposed photo assignment.  Hell, I’ll call it what it was -THERAPY.    I came home with numb fingers and ears, but quite contented. Best of all, I got to spend the afternoon with my guy!

 

A Sorry State of Affairs

I’m back after digging out from the first major snowstorm of 2013. Not happy, our tax refund was held up because we claimed education credits. God forbid we aspire to a college education for our progeny… The IRS wont accept our return until Feb 15. All because they did not do their jobs in Washington. Aggravating, to say the least – especially when we were not notified until AFTER we had filed that the return would not be accepted. And we can really use the money NOW. Not that anyone cares, but we have a leaky roof, and plumbing that needed fixing – in addition to the regular bills. So it would’ve been awesome for the feds to actually give us the money they owe us in a timely fashion. I mean really – if WE owed THEM then you bet your sweet bipp -y that they’d be attaching wages or whatever. but when THEY owe US …. nothin…..

But anyway – Massachusetts is in a bad way. Much waste and abuse. I have discussed this before. Folks who are friends on FaceBook or followers on Twitter have seen my posts. I’ve provided links to relevant information below.

It never ceases to amaze me how the bureaucracy fails to standardize itself. Gotta tell ya: one of the first things I learned when I transferred to the Administration Department where I work is standardizing a filing system. This involves creating an index, so that if I look in any file for a specific piece of information I will find it in the same place in each and every file. For example, in any one of the 300+ case records at our agency I can quickly find social security numbers because the cards are copied and filed first in the legal/administrative section of the record. Filing is standardized and documents are kept in order in the record so that 1. They are easy to find; and 2. Conversely, it is easy to discover when information is missing. We also conduct periodic QA “peer audits” to assure we have what we need in terms of required information.

Apparently all this is optional at the state level, at least in the TAFDC Department. (Lord only knows what the federal requirements are). I have to work frequently with the state -with two different  Area Offices in regard to contracting and service provision. I’m flabbergasted at the differences in what is required for responses to needed information on THEIR standardized forms. One A/O requires the forms to be filled out with “X”. The other A/O – same contract type, same type of service provision, same location; requires the same form to be filled out with “Y”.Not only that, but  how each office goes about doing things can be quite different. What’s good for one AO gets returned to us by another.

I have self-diagnosed OCD. Discrepancies like this drive me flippin NUTS. For example: The paperwork for the same activity code (same type of service) should be required to be completed in a standardized manner. Same answers for the same questions (different numbers/budgets obviously – but the methodology should be the same). Not so. Doesn’t make any sense at all, but certainly goes a long way towards illuminating some reasons why the state financial situation is in such disarray. No set standards.

Which brings me to a sorry conclusion. Much of what is wrong with this country right now is our inability to hold any elected official, any office, any department, any group, or any person to a set standard. There’s always an excuse. Out of the 381 welfare cases reviewed by the MA OIG just under 2% of them were found to be out of compliance/suspect/receiving benefits fraudulently/abusing the system via loopholes. Lack of documentation of school attendance, immunization records and some cases even receiving benefits without a social security number.  Cultural practices of naming children (last names/hyphenation and using the mothers last name) creating confusion because again no standardized requirements on birth certificates, social security card applications etc.  Switch the two last names around and bingo – collecting for two kids instead of one.  Anyway – the whole mess translates to more than $24 MILLION dollars per year wasted on people who were not actually eligible for benefits, or utilized them improperly. Heck, we are sending money to people we can’t even verify a current address for…. (see related article with video below from a local Boston station) Some might say 1.8% is within acceptable statistical limits. I say NO. 24 million dollars wasted per year is by no means acceptable by any standard.

Fortunately, some people in our state government agreed, and the head of the Welfare Department was asked to give his resignation. That doesn’t fix the problem though. Did you know there are currently only 3 Welfare Fraud Investigators in MA? WAY too few if you ask me…. So, MA will “harrumph” around for awhile, make a few ineffective and minor changes, appoint several more high level bureaucrats at six figure salaries to oversee these changes- and go back to wasteful business as usual. Too many bosses and far too few workers. Same old song and dance. I just don’t know what it will take to effect true positive and lasting change in the hulking morass of inefficiency and waste that constitutes Government.  We are constantly expected to do more with less, make do with less. I submit that we would not have to do that on such a constant basis if things were run more effectively and efficiently by those in charge. “But that’s just me….” (Thanks Barney! )

Old State House, Boston, MA, USA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Welfare Chief steps down

Welfare Statistics

Massachusetts OIG TAFDC Report

The OIG report takes awhile to load so be patient, thanks!

Related articles

• Oops: Massachusetts finds itself unable to locate 19,000 welfare recipients (hotair.com)  and just so you know – thats about 35% of the current welfare rolls here in the state.

A Beautiful Dawn in the New Year

My mother called very early yesterday morning. I expected it on January 9th because it was Mayhem’s birthday and Mom always calls first thing in the morning to wish her grandchildren a Happy Birthday.  I was not expecting an early call a few days later; so when I saw the caller ID I admit to panicking a bit.  Last year was not a good year health- wise for either my Mom or my step-Dad… sooo yeah.  Fortunately, she was just calling to alert me to the dawn.  She also calls for “rainbow alerts”, and gorgeous sunsets, and unusual bird sightings – outside of our usual conversations.  I will miss that when she passes, which won’t be for awhile yet if I have anything to say about it (which I don’t, but still…).

I threw on a jacket, grabbed my camera, and headed outside in my slippers to the back yard. Our property abuts the dike along the Westfield River, facing southwest(ish) if you’re looking directly out my kitchen door – so the sun actually rises in the winter just outside of left frame in the first three pictures, and well outside of left frame in the fourth. Behind the dike is a cornfield, then the treeline along the river. The next 4 pictures you see are a sort of  “pan” from left to right.  The sky was just beautiful yesterday morning.  By the time I got to work it had clouded over completely and later there was a freezing rain to drive home in. But the lovely start more than made up for it.  I hope you enjoy the pictures.

“I’ll take ‘Meaningful Conversation’ for 500 Gazillion, Alex…”

Hello. Yeah, its been awhile.  Like the rest of the country, and the world – I  have been mourning the precious, priceless lives lost in Newtown, CT last week.  And having a very, very, very  hard time dealing with it all.  The incessant media coverage most particularly.  While I want to stay up to date with breaking news, I must – and have – shut down the news except for brief periodic check ins for no more than 10 minutes at  a time.  My Christmas tree, so incandescent and sparkly at this time last week – has lost its brightness and luster.  Christmas Carols make me cry.  I’m crying at odd moments regardless. The feelings are overwhelming. We’ll get through it – but we won’t EVER get over it.

So, just how DO we have “meaningful conversation” about this horrible tragedy and move towards prevention of a repeat? The issues are so multi layered and interconnected.  The knee jerkers would institute a broad ban of firearms.  I speak now as a country girl with a long family history of responsible firearms use behind her.  My grandfather was featured in a 1967 issue of American Sportsman magazine (before it was a TV show) – as one of the preiminent hunter/sportsmen in the New England area.  At his knee, we all learned how to responsibly and carefully use guns (in my case a .22 rifle). One of the things I learned was this, :  “Use the gun you need to get the job done, nothing more, nothing less.”  Which brings me to my first thoughts:  Civilians do not need to own or have access to assault weapons. These firearms belong in the hands of well-trained and evaluated military and police personnel, period.  Hunters and outdoors men don’t use HK6′s or a bushmaster to shoot deer or elk.  There wouldn’t be much left to the carcass if they did.  Sure, it gives people a thrill to utilize that kind of firepower -but these types of guns are not necessary for hunting or for self defense for the average citizen.  A 9mm Glock, or a Smith and Wesson.38 or .45 will do the job quite nicely, thank you.  Just because one WANTS the rush of a 100 round a minute shoot-em-up does not mean one NEEDS to have it.  Its time we wake up and realize as Mick and the boys would say ” We can’t always get what we want.”  Or rather, we SHOULDN”T always get what we want.

I am a strong supporter of the right to bear arms. But with that right comes a great and terrible responsibility.    In my mind, this has to mean meaningful CHANGE in the processes by which we allow our citizens to arm themselves.  It should not be easy to obtain or retain ownership of a firearm.  I propose a certification and training system similar to how we license people to drive.

1. Minimum age requirement. I suggest 18 and up. My hometown was sadly the scene of a horrible tragedy in 2008 when an 8 year old was STUPIDLY allowed to fire an Uzi; shot and killed himself in the process because he did not have the motor skills or the hand eye coordination to handle the weapon safely.

2. Certification from a physician that in their medical opinion there is no physical or mental impediment to the person owning and using a firearm.

3. Completion of an intensive multi-hour training and certification course (like drivers ed at least 20 hours of gun range time and also classroom instruction) BEFORE you are allowed to even purchase a weapon. And, mandatory recertification every few years. We can track when dog licenses expire and fine owners.  We should be doing the same type of thing with firearms.  (and generate a new revenue stream in the process….)  Also, making ammunition more expensive.

4. Legislation that would hold gun owners completely liable if they do not store and lock their weapons safely and someone gets hurt as a result of their negligence.

5. If you are living with someone with mental illness you cannot own or possess a firearm. You should be held criminally responsible if you do, and something happens.

Meaningful conversation about this also MUST include a discussion about mental health. I have worked in Human Services for over 30 years and I can tell you we are most definitely NOT doing enough to assist our brothers and sisters who are afflicted with developmental disabilities and mental illness, their families, or  the hardworking staff who support them in their daily lives.  I started out in the field doing per diem shifts at group homes for the mentally ill.  Doing “awake overnights” much of the time. And being scared, a lot.  Staff are provided “applied non-violence” training which consists of about 24 hours of hands on and classroom instruction about how to defuse explosive situations and physically get yourself out of hairpulls, choke holds etc. And how to restrain someone when necessary.  I can tell you from experience this training is only helpful when you have to use it on a regular basis. And, if the individual gets hurt as a result of any intervention a staff does, the staff is required to report themselves to the DPPC (Disabled Persons Protection Commission) as an alleged abuser – even if the person just got a bruise in the course of being restrained.  Direct care staff take off their rights as individuals when they arrive at work just like you take off your jacket when you get home. I have multiple scars from bites and scratches, and arthritis in my shoulder and hip from injuries I received while working with aggressive individuals.   All this staff do for the bargain basement price of about 10 dollars an hour, barely above minimum wage.  That in itself is not right.  Direct support is an incredibly difficult job. Staff must be caretakers, negotiators, mediators, teachers, chauffeurs, and also dispense medication. They are also required to do charting, write progress notes and reports as well.  Most of them are not college educated.

My experience as a direct support staff working with the mentally ill ended thusly:  I worked the awake overnights at an “Intensive Supervised” apartment program in town. Which meant I worked with people with severe mental illness.  I was on my own from 10 pm to 8am with 3-4 individuals. I could ring a buzzer to summon a staff from the third floor if there was a problem but back in the 80′s that buzzer was high up on a wall – I could not press it wirelessly.  One day, we were informed at a staff meeting that we would be getting a new admission. This young man had been arrested in town after breaking into a gun shop and wandering down the street with the loaded rifle – while hearing voices that he should kill people. He was promptly involuntarily admitted to the State Hospital which was still in operation at the time. The clinician who was reporting to us at the meeting said that, while he was still having issues and hearing voices, he was considered stable enough to be discharged.  That night, I had a horrible nightmare that I arrived at work to a bloodbath on the walls and the young man jumped out from behind a wall with a bloody axe – screaming in my face  “You’re next!”   I quit before he was admitted to that residential program, and found meaningful work within the developmentally disabled population, where I have remained ever since.  I brought up this incident a few years later in conversation with The Viking. In a strange coincidence he informed me that he had been asked to come down to the police station for a line up  identification after the gun shop break in – because he lived down the street and had the same physical description as the mentally ill young man (6’1″, blond hair, blue eyes, late teens/early twenties)   Weird, huh? These days I work in an administrative capacity – direct support is most definitely a job for younger folks than me.  But I digress.

Better care of the mentally ill starts with better medical insurance coverage for families who’s members suffer from this terrible disease.  It contunues with better access to facilities for treatment, better access to psychotropic medications at an affordable price, and a more streamlined involuntary commitment process (in balance with and a sensitivity to individual rights of course) And a system that is willing to assist people in making difficult choices.  We must keep in mind that “the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few”.  We must  increase wages for direct care staff and provide them all the support and training they need to help the individuals they work with every day.  In my opinion we must also reopen discussion about institutionalization for those with severe mental illness. Those who present a danger to society because of their disease. This is already happening within our penal system. We are warehousing the mentally ill in places like Rikers Island in New York and have been doing so for quite some time.  Prison is not the place for these people, surely we can do better. These folks have no choice about their behavior.  We have to assure that those folks living in the community stay on their medication, and if they won’t – make sure they are institutionalized safely where they cannot harm anyone.  We must also support family members to monitor their loved ones.   Its not gonna be easy. EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE ON THE TABLE in order for any conversation or solutions to be “meaningful”.  These issues are too important, we need to act thoughtfully, responsibly and quickly.  I’ll end with a prayer:

Dear Lord:

Please guide our steps and heal our hearts as we move forward through our grief to finding sensible solutions to the problems we face. Help us protect our most vulnerable citizens; and give our leaders the moral strength to make the decisions that do the most good for the greatest amount of people. Please place your loving protection around the families who have lost so much – and help the rest of us to support them as we too grieve their loss.  Amen.

Ridin’ the Storm Out

As my friend Kelly would say:  Here’s the song reference:

REO Speedwagon – Ridin’ The Storm Out – Live
I decided to keep a weather blog of sorts and keep a record of my musings during this historic event.  In Western MA we aren’t supposed to get hit with the worst of it, but we are expecting power outages due to high winds, and I’m thinking some flooding in this area as the Westfield River serves as drainage for the southern east face of the Berkshires. And of course Westfield holds the United States record for the most rainfall in a 24 hour period, 13 inches,  & most rainfall in a storm Hurricane Diane 19.75 inches  – and please,  note below that Westfield is on this list no less than 3 times…..  GAH!

Wettest tropical cyclones and their remnants in Massachusetts Highest known recorded totals
Precipitation			Storm	Location	Ref
Rank	mm	Inches
1	501.7	19.75	Diane 1955	Westfield	[4]
2	324.4	12.77	New England Hurricane of 1938	Gardner	[2]
3	317.5	12.50	Carrie 1972	Tashmoo	[19]
4	312.4	12.3	1933 Outer Banks hurricane	Provincetown	[4]
5	251.0	9.88	Eloise 1975	Westfield	[19]
6	236.7	9.32	Connie 1955	Plainfield	[19]
7	231.1	9.10	Irene 2011	Savoy	[20]
8	213.36	8.40	Lee 2011	Worthington	[55]
9	179.3	7.06	Bob 1991	Westfield	[19]
10	175.5	6.91	Donna 1960	Great Barrington	[19]

Anyway, woke up this morning to misty drizzle and a brisk northeast breeze, gusting up to maybe 20 mph.  Work for me and classes for both the girls were cancelled last night, so I had planned on a bit of a sleep in. The Viking had other plans for me though  – calling about 9am to see if I could run up to  Blandford and pick up Sophie’s seizure medication. She won’t run out till the weekend -but who knows if we will be able to get up there by then. So Jill and I were off on a quick adventure, stopping at Dunkin for “coffee and” and also topping off the gas tank on the Saturn before the prices skyrocket again. Great to see that the utility companies and the Emergency Response personnel were (and are) already out in force.

As I left the house, I noticed that UPS had made a delivery.  It was from my dear friend Barney http://mountainperspective.wordpress.com in California- who sent me one of his handcrafted cutting  boards made of black walnut maple and cherry wood. It literally made my day – and I called him to thank him and chat after Jill and I got back from our errands. An expatriated New Englander, Barney is extremely concerned about how things are going, so I told him I would keep him posted.  Then, I thought I would do this weather blog  thing too.  This will help me I’m sure when my future grandchildren ask me what I was doing during Frankenstorm -the “Nor’easter-cane” of 2012.

The Viking came home for lunch at noontime, the wind is really picking up and my Dad’s windchimes are making music in very accelerated time. Jill and I decided to put together clothes and necessary equipment and get the animals stuff ready in case we do eventually need to leave.  I’m not overly concerned with that part of it right now per se; but better to be prepared to get gone than not.  Last year’s fiasco served as a lesson to everyone.

Mother Nature certainly seems to have it in for the Northeast lately. The tornado last year (which began in Westfield btw…) Hurricane Irene, the October “Snowpocalypse” at this exact time last year (that’s the weirdest thing, isn’t it?),  the minor earthquakes of last summer and again just last week up in Maine. I think she needs to get back on her HRT – and soon. Anyway, at the moment the wind is steady and the trees are swirling moderately; no real rain to speak of -just scattered here and there.   Going to sign off for now.  Will update with part 2 later (by phone if the power goes out) . Batten Down the Hatches! Full Speed Ahead, and Get the Whiners Below Deck!

For those of you not directly affected by this storm, but are interested in following whats going on here,  I recommend checking out  WWLP.com  They’re our local station and fairly accurate when it comes to weather stuff.

Autumn Kalaidescope

This gallery contains 12 photos.

Here are some more pictures I took on our trip to New Hampshire with my Canon EOS Rebel, in the order they were shot. We made quite a few stops on the way up to get many of  these shots. … Continue reading →

Well, I Don’t See THIS Every Day…

To set the stage: My mother called me this morning, but I was too comatose to even hear the phone at 8am.  I’ve been REALLY sick with bronchitis and a sinus infection and have barely been able to wander to the fridge to get at drink without having to sleep for an hour afterwards.  The Viking had to work this morning – his 13th consecutive day.  He woke me up about 10am when he got home and we had coffee and began the “second workday” here at home.  He went out to the garage for a minute and came back in – very excited.  “Grab your camera! – there’s a really big bird of prey out on top of Frank (our neighbor’s) tool shed.”  Alas, by the time I got the telephoto lens on and out the door (I’m still stuck in slo-mo and get short of breath) the bird had disappeared.  Mom called back just then. “Hey” she says,  “there was a big hawk or a juvenile eagle  hanging out on top of your swing-set this morning, I called but you didn’t pick up.”  “B. saw him”, I said “but we didn’t get back out in time to get any pictures”.  There’s a lot of rabbits and small birds in the area so  I think it might stick around she said. She’s the resident bird expert; so I defer to her.   Shortly before 5 pm my Viking was out in the driveway when I heard him say intensely and quietly through the porch window.  “Get your camera and get out here NOW – its across the street.”  Fortunately I’d left the camera on the kitchen table.and had set the f stop and shutter speed when I’d gone out in the morning.  And Voila!  There he (or she – I have no idea) was in all its gor-geous-ity.

Hello Beautiful!

Apparently we weren’t quiet enough because it swooped off low and slow, back down into Franks yard and then strangely, headed low and straight towards us.  Those pics are blurry, because I still have no idea what I’m doing shooting wildlife on the move, but we were also more interested in  ducking at that moment.  It has a wingspan of at least 4 feet, and some seriously sharp hardware at the end of its legs.

It flew down around the pine trees in the yard next door and then came right at us, the second picture is blurry but you can see how low it was (a wingtip)  I was behind the car (the blue blur), ducking. In the third picture the guy driving the car was completely flabbergasted.

It looped around and flew off, up into a group of trees just down the street. I crept down and got a few more shots before it decided it was outta here.  What a thrill!  I took all shots with a shutter speed of 1/500 and an F-Stop of 7.1.

Mr (or Ms) Pinstripe Suit, Lord or Mistress of All Surveyed.

Hangin Around

Peace, out!

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Matt Bissonnette ‘No Easy Day’ 60 Minutes interview: Navy SEAL author talks bin Laden mission

Matt Bissonnette ‘No Easy Day’ 60 Minutes interview: Navy SEAL author talks bin Laden mission.

I pulled an allnighter and read this book on my Kindle in one sitting. Amazing. Go Navy!

A Hand Up – Not Out: Resurrecting the Welfare System

I promised Barney I’d write more about my ideas for welfare reform. So here goes:  with apologies to Page and Plant: “…we all call the tune. Now the piper will lead us to reason”…. Or so I hope.

Let me start by sharing my own experience with the blue welfare state of MA. When I was pregnant with my oldest daughter I developed pre-eclampsia and was put on strict bed rest for the last month of my pregnancy. I had approximately 15 hours per week of accrued paid time off – which while planned for, seriously put a dent in the finances. We were scraping by – barely. I decided to apply for food stamps in hopes that this would help stretch the budget at least for the food. This was the ONLY assistance I applied for. After filling out the application over the phone with social services I was informed that we made four dollars a week too much to qualify for food stamps. I explained my situation again – reiterating and emphasizing my gravid and ill state. No dice, no exceptions.

However, the woman then informed me that I would be eligible for WIC assistance, but only after I had the baby. But, and here’s the kicker – we would immediately be available for assistance if our landlord evicted us for non payment of the rent. I told her we were in no danger of eviction and were current with our bills. She then told me if we wanted to be eligible we could just get the landlord to write an eviction notice. Appalled, I declined – and terminated the conversation. 1. We needed groceries, not a place to stay 2. I was not going to lie – or ask anyone else to prevaricate – just so I could get something , whether I needed it or not. This episode told me several things – all of which left a very bad taste in my mouth. The system fosters abuse and encourages deceit. We were fortunate enough to have family members that helped out with groceries and housework, and I couldn’t tell you where we might have ended up had it not been for them. Lots of folks are not as lucky as we were.

And I have to make another point here -  Yes, there are those who fit that stereotype in the system.  Yes, I do advocate social responsibility in regard to limiting the number of children you have when you are not in a position to support them adequately. However, there are many more who are not stereotypical – and who are using these benefits as intended. They are being painted with the same tarbrush as the “slackers” and its not fair. So I would ask that people do their research before they label someone.  Broad sweeping derogatory statements  are in no ones best interest.  Just because you see someone at the welfare office with a Coach purse does not mean that they are committing welfare fraud.  1. it might be a knockoff  2. it might have been a gift.  3. they might have gotten it at a tag sale or at an outlet at a substantially reduced price (like I did, and no  – I’m not getting assistance ).  I think I also mentioned in another post about welfare recipients and cell phones. Weirdly, it actually costs less for the state to provide cells with a limited number of available minutes to folks than it does for the state to pay in terms of missed appointments and rescheduling.  Apparently many folks on assistance do not have landlines. And, its cheaper to provide family counseling,  health education, &  hand out birth control  etc. than it is to cover child rearing expenses. The welfare structure IS NOT INFINITELY SUSTAINABLE.

That said- if a person is figuratively standing with their hand out asking for help, a certain level of accountability comes with that when help is given.  So, no. One does not get to spend their EBT (food stamp) money on frivolities and luxury items such as sweets, cigarettes or booze. Theres a cute little work around  we’ve personally seen a few times in action here in MA if you are inclined to use your ebt card to purchase liquor/cigarettes etc.  The regs clearly state you cannot use the card to buy booze or tobacco.  OK – wait for it -  there are ATM’s  in most packies or just around the corner.  EBT cards can be used to get cash at them…..  I’m sure you see where this is going….Another  good example of this is back in 2005 after Katrina.  2500 people were relocated up to MA to stay at Otis AFB – Camp Edwards -  they were given $2000 each by the state to help get them set up with basic stuff.  Some of these people decided to spend that money at local strip clubs and bars instead. That’s pretty luxurious “stress relief” on someone else’s dime, if you ask me… and we wonder why the system is in trouble. No, it certainly wasn’t every one of those 2500 people that did this – maybe 50 or so of them – or about 2% – if I had to make an educated guess from what I remember reading back then ( its 7 year old news and hard to research online as many of the links are now unavailable)  Statistically negligible – probably. But, that was still more or less $10,000.00 of taxpayer money into a g-string and down the toilet..
Massachusetts forgot, in our haste to be helpful and compassionate,  that once the money left our hands we had no control over how it was spent.

You’ve asked the state (us) to help you because  you need it to meet your basic needs.  Basic needs include healthy, nutritional food – not twinkies and a bottle of Jack.  And CERTAINLY basic needs do not include lap dances.  Anyway, the point I am finally emphasizing is that when it’s your own money do as you please with it. Rightly or wrongly. Yeah go ahead and get the tattoo. Just know you are going to have to go without something else to pay for it – or you’re going to get behind in your bills. Or maybe you simply have the disposable income. Regardless,  you have to account for that to no one but yourself.  But when you are using someone else’s money – they have a right to expect the money is being used as intended; and for the person to account for that money. In my feeble mind, that includes everyone who uses assistance – even the 2% others might be willing to write off.  If all are not held accountable then really no one is accountable. Think of the system as a creditor who is not expecting to be paid back – but is expecting that the funds be accounted for.  Like it or not, the taxpayers DO get to question how your aid is utilized, and should. They don’t get to judge though, at least until all the facts are in – every case is different. The state needs to do a better job of tracking and holding people accountable. It may cost more to do so when starting, but over the long run will save money.

Here’s whats right with the current state of affairs:
We cap the stipend for dependent children (its different state by state) You can only claim a specified number of dependents and receive money for them. Once you hit the number limit, the money caps. This helps address and negate that “poppin out kids and on welfare” stereotype – which unfairly is still a prevalent way of thinking. .There are a wide variety of low cost/no cost educational and vocational training opportunities available to those getting a helping hand. Voucher-ed child care is 100% paid for at a certain income level or below, and reduced fees are available for the newly employed. State sponsored health benefits (medicaid) are available for a specific amount of time after the person becomes employed – which allows their employee health coverage to kick in and no gaps in service. So far so good. (relatively speaking – medical insurance issues/woes are going to be a whole other post)  Please also note that a very sizable chunk of the money available in the assistance coffers goes to seniors, and the disabled via medicaid. And, transitional assistance is also available to the newly immigrated. TANF has been working to decrease welfare dependence since its implementation in 1996. The requirement to work, is working, but its not enough.

4.1% of Americans are getting welfare assistance right now  http://www.statisticbrain.com/welfare-statistics/  not including unemployment benefits. Note this number also does not include the newly immigrated.  Is supporting welfare causing a burden on working and middle class Americans?  No, it’s not causing the burden – but  I argue it IS exacerbating it.  On the other end of the spectrum we have a rising percentage of wealth gravitating to, and staying with, the top 1% of the population. Which also exacerbates the burden on the Average Joe.  We now have corporate welfare issues with companies rather than just people accepting assistance. Then these same companies provide their executives with multi-million dollar bonuses afterwards. (the same pool of “businessmen” whose poor stewardship led to having to accept the assistance in the first place? One wonders…) If the company could become that flush with cash that quickly, then why was it not reinvested in the company itself to improve the work environment, increase salaries of the workers, hire additional workers, and improve the company in general ??? (like the GOP would like us to believe will happen – but time after time has NOT happened)  OOPS  I’m a bit off topic…..   If the corporation is figuratively standing there with its hand out, then it is certainly accountable to us for how it operates.

Here’s my proposal for a resurrection of the welfare system. (at least, the non-health related part of it).  We need to get more people working. I believe things are valued and taken care of more when one has to work for them.  I believe that people feel better about themselves when they are working and contributing.  FDR understood that.  During the Great Depression ( and if we’re not careful we’re heading straight for an even worse one) he created the CCC, found meaningful work for people, and gave them a wage for their time. Why is it that the state can require cities accept a certain number of homeless individuals in order to receive state aid?  What we should be doing is saying to each city and town:   Here’s earmarked aid for welfare.  Use it to provide and pay for jobs within your communities.  To welfare recipients and the unemployed, go to the city hall and sign up for work – then go do that work in order to get your assistance check.  MA is third in hourly wage equivalent welfare payments ($14.66 an hour) – only Alaska and Hawaii are higher.  source:  http://www.statisticbrain.com/welfare-statistics/   Not too shabby a wage, if you ask me. And, pass a drug test.

To churches sponsoring refugee immigrants: take a greater role in supporting your newly arrived members.  If these people do not have a place to stay when they get here, provide them one while they wait their turn for section 8 housing. (no bumping someone else down the list because you are a religious refugee)  And the state absolutely should not be providing annual  round trip tickets back to the country of origin so they can “maintain their cultural identity.”They left for whatever reason, and if they want to go back and visit they should save up like everyone else. My source for this is ancedotal – based on what I was told by my Ukrainian neighbor when she was discussing the benefits she was receiving from MA.   She (a lovely lady and great neighbor by the way) was astounded and pleased that MA would be so generous.   That generosity translated to  $1,800.00 per person for a family of 4 to go back to the Ukraine once a year.  You do the math.  Ouch!

To corporations asking for a bailout:  Sign a guarantee that profits coming in during a specified time after the aid is repaid are channelled in to improving the company infrastructure, hiring new workers,  providing additional training to current workers, and increasing wages for all employees.  Bonuses should not be even considered for executive level employees for at least 3 to 5 years after the government assistance has been paid back.  Because, whether an individual or corporate level bailout, it does come down to appearances (fairly or unfairly) , and us taxpayers are fed up.

So yeah, no easy answers, no glib solutions.  I think we are proverbially circling the drain right now -  so we need to take a careful, close look at how we are spending our money, and use both compassion and common sense to allocate our dwindling resources appropriately. By holding people and businesses accountable, we are helping to assure our dollars are spent as we intend them to be.

Related articles

• Baker Refuses to Take Food Stamps for Whoopie Treats: “I Would Prefer Not to Take Taxpayer Money” (thedailysheeple.com)
• Welfare quarantining in America (clubtroppo.com.au)
• Your EBT Card Has Been Denied… At The Spearmint Rhino (zerohedge.com)
• U.S. Welfare System Fails to Support Work (heritage.org)
• Brooklyn Deli Clerk’s Face Slashed Open For Refusing To Sell Beer For Food Stamps (zerohedge.com)
• The Welfare Double Standard (mbcalyn.com)