how has the shutdown affected you personally?

for me - my roommate cant go to Drill (NG reserve) - so he loses some income...which means i lose a couple hundred in rent money...

but i noticed a few things online too....I went to see what the WH petition site was looking like and its down...we went to browse NASA and its down......

People Are Calling This Obamacare Insurance Exchange in Tears

When the exchange opened—17 minutes later than the 8 a.m. scheduled start time—the website and call centers were flooded with inquiries. Walsh said that in the first few hours“it was just raw emotion calling in.” People eager for insurance, at times in tears, wanted to get coverage that they didn’t have before. “They were calling up saying, ‘Can I get my coverage today so I can see my doctor this afternoon?’” he says. “That is in one sense moving but also frustrating because, sure, you can sign up—but the coverage can’t be effective until Jan. 1.”

my work is being deceptive...

I work in HR - I have attended several meetings where we discuss our Experience Rating (which measures Premiums paid vs Claims Paid)
We have an aging population at my work - alot of older people who are starting to use their medical coverage more often...we have three people recieving cancer treatment and sadly, another who passed away earlier this year.....
this makes our experience rating go thru the roof - claims are double of what we are paying in premiums - they are losing money on us....thats why our premiums are going up in 2014 - plain and simple -

yet - the management here, when putting out a benefits survey, at the top wrote "premiums will be going up due to Obamacare'

obviously, they cant say people are recieving cancer treatment but do we really need to lie to everyone? do we need to perpetuate erroneous propaganda? grrr....

our company has a benefits package that far surpasses the requirements for obamacare - we dont have any part timers...we have very little that we have to do because of obama care....so it makes me mad that they would do this....

How Wal-Mart's Waltons Maintain Their Billionaire Fortune: Taxes

How Wal-Mart's Waltons Maintain Their Billionaire Fortune: Taxes

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/wal-marts-waltons-maintain-billionaire-040100941.html

America's richest family, worth more than $100 billion, has exploited a variety of legal loopholes to avoid the estate tax, according to court records and Internal Revenue Service filings obtained through public-records requests. The Waltons' example highlights how billionaires deftly bypass a tax intended to make sure that the nation's wealthiest contribute their share to government rather than perpetuate dynastic wealth, a notion of fairness voiced by supporters of the estate tax like Warren Buffett and William Gates Sr.

Estate and gift taxes raised only about $14 billion last year. That's about 1 percent of the $1.2 trillion passed down in America each year, mostly by the very rich, former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers estimated in a December blog post on Reuters.com. The contrast suggests "our estate tax system is broken," he wrote.

House Republicans to tie debt limit increase to Obamacare, Cantor reportedly says

House Republicans are preparing to target President Barack Obama’s health-care law as the GOP and the White House head toward a showdown over raising the $16.7 trillion U.S. debt limit sometime this fall.

National Review reported early Tuesday afternoon that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor told Republicans that the House GOP will demand a one-year delay to the president’s signature health-care law in exchange for raising the debt ceiling.

Atheism a Religion? Government Says Yes for Tax Purposes

The leader of an atheist group sued because she didn't believe she qualified for tax exemptions afforded to clergy. When the government says she does qualify - as a minister - she got even angrier.

So I went to Hempfest yesterday :)

I havent been to it in a few years, but I had to go to THIS one....the first one where Marijuana is legal!

there was talks of the police handing out Doritos with the marijuana laws on it lol I really wanted to see that but I think they must have run out on friday....I heard one girl behind me say "where the cops at? I got the munchies!" lol

thousand and thousands of people! no parking, we probably walked 5 miles just to get to the line to get in....which wound up and down two streets - about a mile long! there was a group of protesters yelling at us thru a megaphone that we were sinners. jesus was gonna get us etc....then someone hollered "go back to Westboro ya freaks! this is Seattle! The marijuana capital of the world! wooo!" lol

I saw girls butts and painted up boobies, I saw a giant bag of weed and a giant Joint walking around passing out flyers for a medicinal delivery place....I saw the most amazing glass artwork! I saw happy people, high people, singing people....some guy had MASSIVE joint he was passing around - he got told it was huge enough to be considered distributing so they made him put it away....

I heard the attorney who wrote the initiative to make it legal speak, she had her 6 yo son there, she said hes been to every one since he was born Another speaker spoke of the next fight....the building of the industry...making sure those employees have heathcare and other benefits....another spoke of getting marijuana off the fed Sched 1 list.......most dangerous substance in the world? please....

it was a great time - a worthy victory party but still keeping focus on what still needs to be done...

and I didnt see anyone from work! Whew!

So this lady comes to my door yesterday....

and shes talking about the community(kent, wa) coming together to fight these coal trains from coming thru our town....she gave us a website but its at home and im at work....but I did find this article from January....

http://www.kentreporter.com/news/187338941.html

im wondering just how far the human race will go for money....

I love this idea...

the dream for hubby and I is to relocate in 5-10 years - buy a sailboat and sail to New Zealand and make our home there....in the process of research, we found this- http://www.atamaivillage.com/
its a village, a community of like minded people working towards being completely sustainable, eco friendly, organic etc....a REAL community....a family of sorts....it sounds awesome to me....the recognize whats going on with the bankers, the greed, corruption etc....this is a new way.....feels a bit like that guy in the third Zeitgeist movie....
theres several villages based on the same concept, this link is just one of them....I dont know if theres others in opther counrties...but I REALLY like this idea....might have to work towards it!

Two different Army events - prayer at both

I'm new to the military culture, and I admit I dont know much...Imma noob....but now I have been to two Army events...a holiday party and yesterday an officer school graduation ceremony.....both times, there was someone leading everyone in prayer...and it just struck me as odd...beyond the whole taxpayer money issue - it was odd....maybe partially because I havent seen anyone pray in a long time lol so theres almost a feeling of...I dunno weirdness at seeing that...like that feeling you get when someone plays a ouija board in front of you ... spooky kinda.........but then I think about those two groups of soldiers out on the field yesterday....hundreds of them....and I wondered how many dont pray to that god....what about those who dont pray at all? I kept wondering if any of them felt as odd as I did at being asked to bow our heads and beg an invisible friend to help with whatever....

I dunno....seems like they shouldnt be doing that....