What is even more interesting is the new “disclaimer” that comes along with the commercials.  “May cause dizziness rapid heartbeat, blurred vision and in some cases death”.    These commercials run all day every day, regardless of whether the kids are home from school.  Any normal adult would be thinking …”I’m going to the doctor so that he can kill me with the newest cure”.  How do you explain these disclaimers to a child who is already petrified?  I can just hear the screams in millions of households in America  “MOOMMMMMMMMMMYYYYYYY I don’t care about the lollipop I’m NOT going!”.  I’ll tell you something kids, I’m screaming too.  Knowing that the doctor is going to be pushing the latest and greatest, I don’t want to go either.

With the cost of necessary prescriptions so far out of control that people who really require medicine are doing without it, why is this excessive advertising necessary?  Rather than demand that every United States Citizen carry Health Insurance, would it make more sense to reign in these exhibitionist  pill pushers and reduce the cost of the product?  Of course it would.

Our government is really trying.  What they are trying to do is beyond me at this point in time, but they are trying.

Take, for instance,  HAFA and HAMP.  No one can claim ignorance to these programs for no matter who you are, where you live, or what you do to earn your living everyone of us knows someone who is facing foreclosure.  At the very least, we have seen signs in our neighborhood advertising short sales or offering free big screen televisions with the purchase of the house.

Worse yet, we have all noticed the houses which suddenly sprout overgrown lawns and have window coverings that never budge.

Yes, HAFA and HAMP have been put into place to help the struggling homeowners.  Yet, let us consider where the government bail outs went.  Most banks are ditching FDIC insurance which means your money is gone if they go belly up, yet they continue to pay bonuses from TARP.

Most recently, we have seen whistle blowers.  That rare employee with a guilty  conscience who is simply not comfortable with the lack of ethics displayed by these organizations is shedding light on why more control  over these programs where the banks are concerned is necessary.

On April 5, 2010, the world of mortgages and real estate will take another drastic turn.  All other options will have to be examined prior to foreclosure.    Here is where we say “Houston…we have a problem”.

To date mortgage modification programs are not working for the majority of those that truly need help.  The banks have found a way around it.  Borrowers are required to go through a trial period, ensuring that the modified payments can be made in full and in a timely manner in order to qualify for the Mortgage Relief Act program.  A struggling homeowner goes into the bank requesting modification.  The modification is permitted.  The loan is paid in full and on time through out the duration of the trial period.  Three payments are received by the bank.  Although all conditions have been met, the homeowner then receives notification that they are not qualified for the program and foreclosure begins.  The bank has collected money, squeezing the payments out of the homeowner by giving them false hope then intentionally denies the applicant and forecloses on the property.

The news we have seen lately is discouraging.  Stringent regulations need to be placed to control the banking industry and stop the highway robbery.  We cannot simply blame sub-prime lenders, and trust that the Big Banks are going to step in and cure everything.  They obviously will not. Unfortunately, this is just the tip of the iceberg.  As the days progress, I am certain that we will see all of the disturbing practices of the banking industry come to light.

Short Sales and Loan Modification are viable options when they are executed with knowledge and experience.  Contracting experienced and knowledgeable processors to work with you to successfully execute your transactions is a very wise option.  Checking into ratings, complaints filed and past history of a company are very important when making a decision on who to partner with.

We now have the government telling us what we can and can not do with the money that we have earned.

This is presenting a potential disaster here in the State of Florida.

Here is how getting aid goes. Depart of Family and Services knows you have no healthcare or income other than $800.00 monthly. You can not qualify for Medicaid because you make too much money. You can not qualify for cash assistance because you are not illegal, do not have 8 children with different fathers and all of them are in prison. You don’t qualify for food stamps because you make too much money. Your child gets medicaid…you are out in the cold.

Now comes the clincher. The same government that steps in and forces the state’s hand with illegal immigrants and offering them $11,000 in cash assistance while those who worked in Central Florida for years are homeless, steps in and tell you $400.00 out of that $800.00 now has to be spent on healthcare.

This is what your monthly budget for a family of two now looks like:

Rent $800.00
Electric $180.00 (thanks to Energy Commission Rent Hikes)
Food $400.00
Health Care Premiums $400.00
Luxuries (Land line, television) $140.00
Clothing $300.00

Median salary in Central Florida….$8.00 hourly!

Tell me, out of concern for all of those employees working at the Theme Parks who can only get part time employment because the powers that be do not want to pay benefits, and every company who refuses to hire outright, using the services of a temporary placement agency rather than paying benefits…WILL THESE PEOPLE GET HELP FROM THE GOVERNMENT TO PAY THE PREMIUMS?

The Health Care bill is based on a fictional society. A society that is employed, that is not ridden with foreclosures, that is not looking at faces in grammar school that have spent the night in a tent in the woods because they have no home. There is no middle class anymore, no one that can afford this program.

We have already seen the disaster that is medicaid and medicare, why do we need yet a third program riddled with corruption and problems?

Watching the joy in a child’s eyes seems to be reward enough for these employees.  Let’s face it…looking down the throat of a polar bear is a thankless job.

The controversy this week, over the death of a beloved trainer has given way to a bottomless buffet of fruitcakes who have at worst, accused a whale of premeditated murder.    Thanks once again to the Media…who seeks them out and takes every opportunity to press for yellow journalism over real news.

The earthquake in Chile took a back seat to the six looney-tunes protesting on Central Florida Parkway. Bold signs in hand, they stood getting soaked in the rain.  One sign stuck out…”It will happen again”.  Perhaps you believe that, but we would like proof…care to try it out?  Yes, it did happen before and if the public knew the circumstances surrounding the 1999 accident, I assure you no one would do anything but understand Tilly’s point of view.

The truth though, is that this was a tragic, horrible accident.  The trainers and medical staff that work with these majestic mammals daily, the ones who have done so for the past sixteen to twenty years, are the ones in a position to know what happened.  They have the video.  How can anyone know what a whale is thinking, unless they are a whale?

Earlier this week, a mother left her two-year old in the back yard with her pet “American Bull Dogs”.  The dogs mauled the child to death.  The press did not seek out dog experts to see what they were thinking.  PETA was not asking for the release of the dogs into the wild.  There were no news vans parked on the median of a major thoroughfare for days on end.

Dawn Brancheau was a shining star in an ever-darkening world.  She freely shared her love, passion, joy, knowledge and incredible sense of humor with many, turning strangers to friends with a smile on a daily basis.   Successful, happy and loving her job every single day. How many of us will ever experience that?  That my friends is a life well lived.

Dawn will be sorely missed and we mourn the loss of her life.  Strangers across oceans, Dawn’s family, her Sea World family, those who saw her shows daily or weekly and the little girl she made smile six years ago when there was no reason to smile stand heart to heart and mourn.

That is the point.  This is not an opening for those who feel they need to find ten seconds of fame, nor to voice political opinions.  This is not a time to use violence and threatening phrases to harm something Dawn stood for and loved.

Do you remember the days where you carried a dime in your pocket so that you could call home while you were out with friends?  A time where plastic cards with endless funding did not exist?  I’ve been reminiscing and it is a time we need to bring back so that we send a message out to big business that rewarding those who squandered our money is not acceptable.

Each time you use your debit card as a credit card the bank makes a profit of at least $7.00 a transaction.  Regulations have been placed to “stop abusive practice”.  We’ll fix this right?  WRONG.  The fees to your merchants will be raised by $1.00 per transaction.  To absorb the increase, grocery, gasoline, fast food, and any other establishments will raise prices by $1.10 per transaction.  Who is paying the piper?  You are.

Getting the message out will not be easy.  Action and sacrifice will be necessary.    We will have to return to a time where values and restraint were commonplace and common sense was considered part of an education.  We will save money, we will save our merchants money.  We will stand up and make a statement, united rather than divided.

Can you imagine if, for one week, everyone paid for everything in cash?  If we could spend 7 days living within our means, not using debit or credit cards, the message would be loud and clear.  We will not reward bad behavior.

So…for the week of February 7th through February 14th, 2010 let us stop complaining and take action.  Go the bank, cash a check for the amount you will spend in that week.  Go home and take all your credit and debit cards out of your wallet.  Stick to your budget.  The impact will undoubtedly send the right message.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!  Just how long are American Citizens going to continue to give Al Qaeda the power to drive us to the brink of bankruptcy? While we are on a roll we need to stop importing everything and anything from China. 

With the economy in shambles, terror suspects being arrested in droves in our country, and oil at $120.00 a barrel it is no longer enough to say “The buck stops here”.  We now must take action that will lend finite meaning to those words.  Every citizen needs to set aside the almighty dollar for one day.  We, as a nation, need to stage a protest that will hit where it hurts. Okay…I didn’t mean there!  I mean we need to have a serious effect on the pocketbooks of the greedy OPEC members who are catering to the Arab countries who are dead set on destroying our ideals in the name of religious perfection.

What is the difference between Bin Laden, Hussein and Hitler?  When Adolf Hitler killed to achieve the “Perfect Race” it was an outrage, and remains so to this day. We honor those who stopped him, and those who suffered the worst indignities.  Why is it we are wrong when a man with the same ideals under a different name kills children and teaches them hatred and disdain for anyone not of their faith?  Why are we wrong from fighting for the same principles we fought for in World War II?  It seems to me that Barbara Streisand, and others like her, need to think before they open their mouths and cause a war over a war.  Would she protest so profusely if the President sent troops in to stop an Arian uprising? 

The time to be politically correct is long past. If you don’t belong here, get out.  It is that simple.  Sniff every illegal out of hiding.  Shoot them if they attempt to flee.  That is the way our citizens would be treated if they entered another country illegally. 

Begin drilling operations in the Gulf, and anywhere we may find oil.  Put jobs back in the hands of the Americans who are suffering as the result of lay-offs due to the housing crisis. 

While we are at it…let’s stop worrying about how many children in other countries don’t have vaccines….ahem Proctor and Gamble…and worry about the children here who do not have health care because their parents are too destitute to provide it.  Let’s stop worrying about girls in other countries who cannot go to school because they don’t have any feminine products and concentrate on the millions of families here on welfare.  Food stamps cannot be used to purchase these items, toothpaste, toilet paper or soap.  Let’s take the power out of the hands of huge management companies who run up to 30 apartment complexes and raise rents with no limits.  That could put a damper on homelessness right here in the good old U.S. of A.

Let’s realize that charity begins at home.  Then let us worry about those in other nations.  

So far, I have been fortunate through these trying times.  As a single mom, each time I go to the grocery store I notice the price increases of one dollar per item.  There are necessities being cut out of my budget a bit at a time.  Gasoline for my car is one of them.  Fortunately, I work at home.  Had my company not been a casualty of the sub-prime implosion, I would not be able to travel to work.  I seriously mean that.  I drive a four cylinder car.    My fifteen-gallon tank now costs $45.00 to fill. 

So…what do we think?  Are we going to sprout feathers and become compliant and complacent or will be choose to remain residents of a country based on freedom?  Being free means cutting your dependency on others.  It will be interesting to see how many can truly walk the walk.

There is a more widely spread belief that if your child is on-line and has been told of all the dangers lurking in the shadows of cyber space he or she will be safe.

For all of you that believe that…I’ve put on a HUGE pot of very strong coffee.  Heaven knows I got my cup this week.

My daughter has spent time in my office as I moved from account registrations to the National Sex Offender’s data base.  She has listened to report after report in Florida about young girls who have sealed their destinies by running out to meet the adorable teenagers on-line who turn out to be the worst kind of monsters.

On Sunday night at 11:30 p.m. as I was performing a last check of the site I work for before going to bed, I noticed that the modem was indicating someone was on the phone.  I found my daughter in her closet, engaged in a phone chat with someone she met in an AOL Teen Chat Room.  First she swore she didn’t have the phone.  I paged it and traced it to the closet floor hidden under clothing.  Then she swore the “boy” she was talking to was someone from school.  I may have been born at night…but it wasn’t last night…and fortunately I have learned to trust my instincts.

I’ve turned into a prison guard.  No out, no friends over, no television, no internet, no phone, no I-pod, no stereo.  I drive her to school and meet her at the bus stop in the afternoon.  She will realize eventually that the privileges she had were not used responsibly.  She will realize that these little “hardships” she is suffering are a thousand times easier that what could occur as a result of her actions.

Now that I am in possession of her passwords, I’ve found a picture that appears to be a man between the ages of 25 and 27.  She tried to convince me that he is a senior at her school. 

Currently, and unknown to the person she spoke to on the phone on Sunday, I am now communicating with him under her name.  At 1:00 in the afternoon….two e-mails have been received in her account, with one stating that they can “run away” together.  I can’t wait to see how this all turns out.

Toss your misconceptions out the window, invade their privacy and be all over your child’s internet activity.  Read the e-mails, watch the instant messaging,   be that nosy nasty parent…but keep your child alive.

I’ll be the first to admit that I am the meanest mom in the world right now…but my daughter will not be a statistic.

 Wake up people….this is real life, not Wisteria Lane.  Although you may be desperate, you are certainly not Eva Longoria having an affair with a young gardener.

What in heaven’s name are these women thinking?  First off, in your forties, why would you endeavor to take on “raising” another child in a sexual relationship?  Secondly, why is the principal not speaking with anyone and not accountable for what happens in his school?  Apparently, he has no problem with reporters hawking students that attend the school as they gather like vultures on the property.

Most importantly, however, is the mentality of the fine upstanding citizens of the Tampa area.  “Good job son” stands among the comments posted on our local news boards.  My young daughter noted the fact that this woman dresses like a twelve year old “Prostitot”, and has young boys gathered around her constantly.  If the students of the school notice this, why did the administration not notice the behavior?

Had the victim had been a seventeen year-old female; the attitude would certainly be different.  There is no difference in the crime due to the gender of the victim.  An adult charged with the care of a minor child violated that trust in the worst way possible.  The courts need to stop the “slap on the wrist” punishment issued to these sexual offenders and toss their delicate little behinds in jail. 

Here, in the year 2008, we are still using a double standard and that is appalling.  A female teacher who has a physical relationship with a minor is just as guilty as a male teacher who does the same.  The crime should not be glorified, nor should any special consideration be given.

Unfortunately, the list of victims affected by the decision this woman made is not limited to the boy.  The woman in custody has a teen-aged daughter that attends the school where she taught.  Acting so irresponsibly as a teacher is a crime, acting that selfishly as a parent is incomprehensible. 

Infancy is easy.  Pat here to burp, rock in a consistent swaying motion to quiet crying.  Feed here.  Have plenty of Tide Pens ready for spit up stains.   It all seems simple enough.  Around the age when you expose your child to other children it gets a bit more complicated.  Issues like parents who send children to day care while they are carrying what all parents know as “the crud.  Solution – visit pediatrician…get icky thick pink stuff.  School brings more questions.   “Hey Mom….why does my classmate have two Moms instead of a Mom and Dad?” Accccck!  Deal with child in a matter of fact voice, and explain according to family values and religious beliefs.

Before you know it you are smack in the middle of the dreaded teenaged years.  Suddenly, the little girl that once kissed a worm in your friend’s back yard notices …. (Gasp….) boys!

Rule # 1 –Teenaged boys are walking hormones, therefore, boys lie.  Boys Lie.  Boys will say anything to get into your pants and do anything to get you into their pants.  BOYS LIE is required memorization for every teen girl.

Once they ignore that with a burning determination you wish they would apply to cleaning their rooms, the inevitable happens.  The dreaded first broken heart appears and suddenly you wish someone told you before you had this child that you would feel everything that they feel.  The problem is you feel is from a parent’s point of view…and that is magnified a million times.

Broken hearts are bad enough; however, they are worse when they are suffered as the result of betrayal by your “best friend”.   Even worse – your best friend begins accusing you of things that you aren’t doing to deal with her guilt.

Rule # 2 – No friend that values a boyfriend more than they value a loyal friend is worth calling a friend.

These are two lessons that are the first of many that will count.  Most importantly, they are two situations where adult reason makes sense, but your heart is still shattered in a million tiny pieces.  That my dear is called commonly called irony.

This is the time Moms and Dads everywhere will do everything within their power to take the pain away, all the while knowing that no matter what they say or do,the child must still swallow this bitter pill.

So – I’ll go get the crazy glue and a quart of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey and get ready to have a shoulder full of tears and such ….heaven knows my little girl is growing up and I’m going to need those Tide pens again…but this time they will be removing mascara.

Most prevalent in the headlines is the sub-prime mortgage industry.  Firm after firm has imploded, and the Wall Street Firms that invested heavily in those mortgages are about to topple.   People who trusted these investment firms to manage retirement accounts have collectively lost billions of dollars, which presents a crisis for those ready to retire.  These Baby-Boomers are now faced with working well into their seventies to compensate for the losses. 

America’s homeless population rises by the day, as banks file foreclosure actions in rising numbers.  People are aware for the first time in a long time that the loaf of bread which was $1.29 last week now costs $1.40.  Comparison shopping is back in style.I can visualize the nightmare.  The same children that were spoiled rotten with designer clothing at top prices are going to be holding their breath until they turn blue.  Gone are the days where a credit card can be handed over with a “Now dear, use good judgment”.    The reign of terror created by American eagle, Aeropostle and others is just about over. 

Over a year ago, I voiced an opinion that the predicted “nine month cycle” of a real estate crisis would not turn out as the “experts” were forecasting.  We can no longer use plastic to put ourselves into debt for expensive video game systems, designer clothing and other frivolous commodities. 

Now that we have people making mortgage payments and tax payments courtesy of Visa and American Express, what happens when they default on those payments?  The cycle has to stop. 

Cut the cards, shred them, burn them …throw away the remains.  If you cannot pay for it in cash, don’t buy it.  If you cannot qualify for an A mortgage do not buy a home.  Let personal responsibility reign and for heaven’s sake, when you say “I’m going green “apply the philosophy to your budget as well.