Good Luck Governor Snyder of Michigan.
He presented a proposed budget to Michigan today. I realize that no one is going to agree with every part of his proposal but at least he trying something. He has to try to correct the problems that were ignored by the last three governors. Michigan has grown on the back of the middle class and poor, the crash effected mostly the working class, middle class, and poor, and now it is up to us once again to bail out Michigan. The Gov wants to tax the big business and upper class, but this will just be past down. This is another form of trickle down.
Cutting education at first seemed like a bad move but it really isn't. One reason is that the population has decreased thus there are less students. It's time that our educator and school administrator become accountable. Give us a program that will work and more money can become available. "Count Days" to determine how much money should be an average year count. We need the students to be in class more that 2 days a year. Why not tax professional sports for reimbursement for our student athletes, tax our recording industries for the training that school have provided for their profit. Our education system need to be reimbursed for their training.
Detroit is a perfect example of raising prices for professional venues and the people will still show their support.

Valentines Day, what a joke.

I have been married to the same women for 29 years and I don't need a greeting card holiday to tell her that. I also don't need the guilt trip that others put on me when I don't celebrate this day. I celebrate everyday with the ones I love, not just one or two days per year.

Almost nine years ago I nearly lost my life when my heart stopped. Thru dozens of heart events, TIAs , and stints I have relished life in a way that few can imagine.

My love for my God is the strongest, then my wife, family, friends, animals and so on. I love my house, my car, my lazyboy and my neighborhood. I love music and a good movie. I love my grandchild and will love more grandchildren when they come.

I love my time alone and I love my time with friends and family.

I love the feeling and emotion of love and thank God everyday for it.

LORD, HELP ME TO SHARE MY LOVE WITH EVERYONE, RICH AND POOR ALIKE.

Donna Summer Mac Athur Park

Capitalism, right or wrong.

I love it when people throw around words like capitalism, socialism, and Communism.
If you are on the right you are a capitalist, if you are on the left you are a socialist, and if you are neither, you are a Communist(according to Rush). Our love for capitalism has run it's coarse. The lumber barons who cut down the forest without replanting were capitalist. The large and small companies that polluted our planet are capitalist. The one who profit by taking and not replacing are capitalist. Those who want to give yours and my money away are socialist. What we get down to is the childish ranting of, "it is mine". What we need to do is to get rid of the political parties and their rantings.
What we give to Egypt per year to support our capitalist ventures over there, we could pay for every ones health care in the United States. What we give to support capitalism in other countries, we could use to educate our own. In little over 200 years, capitalism has caused recession or depression at least three times. That means that once in every Americans lifetime, greed has hurt us all, yet we continue down the same path. We are so busy pointing out the problems of the world, looking for weapons of mass destruction, searching for ALkida and BinLadden, and telling everyone how they are running their countries wrong, that we fail to look in the mirror. We are the greed merchants of the world, we are the polluters, we are the uneducated and we can't even see that. We are blinded by greed.
"IT'S MINE AND I'M NOT GOING TO SHARE IT"

LORD PLEASE HELP ME TO SEE THAT ALL I HAVE IS YOUR.

My nephew Kevin's band(Chasing the Sky) was on local TV this morning. Their music was also played on the comercial for Glee during the Super Bowl. Kevin plays bass.
My nephew Christian, his band(The Vincent Hayes Project) is up for a blues award. He plays Keyboards.
I know how hard it is to make your bones in the music world and I am very proud of these two.

How can we fool the public into believing that everything is ok. The American media makes everyone else look bad. I heard on the news that Japan has a worse job situation then we do. My son lives and works in Tokyo and he say that this is a lie. The same thing happens when a country that is run by profit margin and ridiculous claims that are unfounded. (example being health care) Don't believe everything you hear in the news.

The sun shown down on a foot and one half of fresh snow. The front and the back door were drifted shut. Two hours later with the help of neighbors, our walks and driveways are clear. Thank you Lord for a great neighborhood and the kind hearts of good people.

Getting ready for the storm of the century. Is this the big one? Will it paralyse the state for weeks. Supplies are running out in the stores, people are panicking, the end of the world as we know it. People standing on roof tops, waiting to be rescued, The wind will bring the temp 50 degrees below zero, even the ice road truckers won't be able to make it. There will be so much snow, it won't melt until July.........................maybe, maybe not. This is Michigan, it might be sunny and 90 by tomorrow morning. The lake effect might blow all the snow on Detroit or even farther to the east coast where they need more snow. Sit back, throw another log on the fire, and drink your hot chocolate. The sun will rise tomorrow to a brand new day.

What won't they put on TV? HDTV tried "watching the grass grow" but it was cut short. Just a little joke
Making cakes. How boring can this get? Try have a contest between people making cakes judged by some guy who make cakes. Then this person turn around and has a cooking show, without cakes.
Toddlers and tieras has to be wrong in so many ways. Tiny preschool girls dressed up to look like hookers and dance on stage.
How about some woman named Kate, who with her husband raises 8 kids? The husband runs off because his wife is a bitch, and now she is raising the kids alone, with the help of a film crew etc.........
How about the Sunday Morning ministers who hawk their wares in the name of the Lord?
How many reruns of home improvement shows can you watch and be told how stupid you are because you don't have the gift of carpentry?
How about driving a truck in Alaska or Canada, or catching fish in the Baltic? The only thing worse is Sarah Palin showing you how to do it.
This is what you get when you pay for all these cable stations. Remember those good ole days when there were just three stations?
Well I've got to shovel some snow, anyone want to come film it?

I'm not sure what to make of the last response to my post. What gods is he/her talking about? The great thing about America is everyone can express their opinions. Now, moving on.
Last night we had Washington's version of the horse and pony show. I thought the President did a great job by really saying nothing. The house was full, everyone sitting next to someone of the other party. The only thing they didn;'t do was to kiss and sing kumbaya. It was truly a Ronald Reagan type atmosphere. When the speech was over, they shook hands, and hugged and smiled for the camera's. It was so touching it brought a tear to my eye and a lump in my throat. This will go down as one of the greatest wasted speeches of our time. We are going to have a new government, a new way of doing business, and finally peace and harmony..............
Now that the speech is over, the Republican rebuttal started the old business again. A smiling conservative from Wisconsin took the first shot, then the commentator all gave their interpretation of the speech, then the liberal defended the attack because the weren't ready for it. The night, or hour of harmony was over.
The computer, or technology age has made the rich richer, and the poor poorer. It has made the thieves more advanced and has separated the classes. We thru technology have made everything more complicated. We need to simplify, not complicate. Gene Roddenberry's futuristic Star Trek had the technological age so advanced that money was not needed, machine did all the work assisted by computers. Man could use his time improving himself and those around him. Sorry Gene, Computers and technology are a means to an end, and that end is profit and greed. If we truely wanted to educate everyone, all schooling thru college would be offered for free. The first allocations would go to education and health, but there is no profit in that.
The only thing of value the President said last night, was that he would veto and bill that had ear marks. Why not just give the President a line item veto and not waste time sending bill to the President that are laden down with pork? Want to cut the deficit, cut the pork. It is that easy.

WHO'S TO BLAME.

Every time a tragedy happens the talking heads all want to blame someone other then the person who comitted the crime. Then they continue to stir the fire. Why not talk about the people that send out kids off to war only to return in pine boxes. Where is the uproar there. Where is the uproar when these soldier return wounded and are put in under staffed VA hospitals. How about the 3000 babies that are aborted daily as form of birth control, where is the uproar. How about those on SSI that the right wing wants to take away their money. There is lot more to be concerned about then one terrible tragedy, they happen every day.

Buy American

What ever happened to the pride of knowing if you bought American made products you would get quality for the price. Buying American usually means getting screwed American. Our quality is so bad that the Chinese won't allow our products to be sold in their country. Our Automobiles are being replaced by foreign competition because the quality is better. I have tried to buy American when I can, but the quality is just becoming so bad, I have to rethink my decisions. I have been having a problem with Westinghouse and their 32" TV. The first one I bought lasted a little over a year before it caught fire. Fortunately we were home and no damage was done to the house. We called Westinghouse and a soon as I mentioned that it had caught fire, they fell over themselves to replace the set. They paid to have the defective set sent back, and then sent us a "refurbished" set. This set lasted a little over one year and now will not hold a picture. I have talked with them and emailed them but have just received the runaround. Below is a series of emails between myself and Westinghouse

A few years back I bought my first flat screen TV. I Chose Westinghouse for many reason which include price and that it is an American company. A little more then 1 year after I bought it, it caught fire. Westinghouse jumped up to the plate and replaced it with a refurbished one. A little over a year later, this rebuilt one won't hold a picture. My conversations with Westinghouse resulted in my being told that there is nothing they can do because it is out of warranty. I assume from the conversations that 32" Westinghouse flat screens only last a little over 1 year. The refurbished model is SK-32H240s-A with a serial number 5062w74706004A Qc 5013935. The ship date on the replacement model October 9, 2009. The account number was4505 1834 4 .

My bedroom TV is a 20 year old Westinghouse that is still working, I guess my wife and I can squint to watch our small TV because we can't afford to buy a new one since we are both on disability.

I would assume this is not the publicity that Westinghouse would want, but I realize we are only one small poor customer that had to buy their TV from WalMart. Maybe in a few years we can save up enough money to buy a 40" Tv, but right now it's medical bills that come first. Having two heart surgeries last year has made TV watching a bigger part of my life. My wife had back surgery last year and her mobility is limited, and the amount of medical bills we have to pay is enormous. If you can help out, this would be appreciated.



Don VanAntwerpen

Liz VanAntwerpen

Westinghouse offers an upgrade option to all of our Out of Warranty customers. The units we have to offer as an upgrade are:

SK-26H640G for $200.00 plus tax
VR-3250DF for $250.00 plus tax


If you agree to the upgrade, you will be responsible to package and ship your defective Westinghouse unit to us. Westinghouse does not hold any responsibility for damages incurred during shipping and will decline to upgrade if such an instance occurs. Once your unit has been received and inspected for non-warranty damages, about 3-5 business days, then the upgraded unit will be ordered. We will email the tracking information as soon as it becomes available.



Please contact us at:



Westinghouse Customer Support Center at:

1-800-701-0680



Our service and support team is available:



Monday - Friday

7:00am - 7:00pm CST (North America)




Sincerely,





Westinghouse Digital LLC Customer Support




Let me understand this, I can get my defective 32" Westinghouse replaced for $250.00 plus shipping. The TV set originally cost around $275, now to replace it in the store would be around $320.00. I believe that shipping cost would be around $50.00 and there is no guarantee that something might get broke during shipping which would make this a 32" paperweight that I paid 275.00, plus 250.00, plus 50 shipping. If it doesn't get damaged during shipping I would get a refurbished 32" for$575.00, which would be over $200.00 above the retail cost of an average 32" flat screen.
The first set could have burned down our house, and the refurbished one just set there and reminds me that I wasted time, aggravation, and money on a 32" paperweight.
----- Original Message -----
From: WDE_Service
To: VANSMAIL@COMCAST.NET
Sent: Wednesday, January 19, 2011 5:57 PM
Subject: zw1094213


Don VanAntwerpen,

Buy American? Think twice.

Hey Russ, your battle with cancer is over and I still find it hard to see the winning. I know that you are in heaven, I know that you are pain and cancer free, and that all your worries on earth are done. You are not here for your family and I as one of your friends, will miss your warm words. Our loss is heavens gain and I understand that, but you are gone. The Bible says we are suppose to rejoice in your going to heaven but for those left behind it is still hard to rejoice. We will miss you, but life will move on, a better life because you have blessed it, because you shared it, and didn't lose it, because you will always be remembered for living it. You have to lose something in order to find it, and examples from your life will always be here, never lost. May we continue the work that you have done on earth, may we share our faith in a way that you did, living life with love for everyone. Goodbye for now.

2010 ups and downs in no particular order
1- Donald would return for a visit.
2- My grandson Vinny was born
3- My Kids are all employed by the end of the year.
4- Cat and Sean moved out on their own.
5- Liz had back surgery and is recovering.
6- I had 7 heart events and two angioplasties,another stint, two hospital stays and am still alive.
7- Went back to New York after 25 years and reconnected with Liz's family.

These were all event full, but the fact that Liz would still be with me and love me after all these years is the greatest. This will be our first full year of being empty nesters and I would like to be more organized. With God's help we will be able to get out from under our huge medical debt and find a way to raise money to visit Donald And Akiko in Japan.

The Number one wish for 2011 is to make others peoples life a lot better. God bless.

Two weeks til Christmas. What a difference a year has made. God has blessed us in so many ways. 2010 was difficult in many ways but very rewarding. Our Kids have grown so much and my grandson is getting so big. I made it thru two hospital stays for the heart, Liz's surgery for her back, and an empty nest at home. We had a chance to go back to New York and see friends and family. Liz and I have grown so much together this year and we are looking forward to 2011 for more healing. God is great.

There is so much in this world that is a mystery to most of us. Some people strut around thinking they know everything and some are like myself. Some days I feel like Sargent Shultz on Hogan's Heroes who's famous line is, "I know nothing." I read in the paper about an older women who got scamed out of 10 grand by the old" I found some money scam". I have listened to preachers on TV telling people how they can get this new bible if they donate their life savings. I just don't know why these people fall for these scams, until I read my Alltel bill. They were charging me for a ringtone subscription, a deal or no deal subscription, and some others that my wife and I never ordered. On the bill under the bold letters "Alltel premium Services" were the charges. When I question Alltel, they said they can't do anything about it because it's a 3rd party charge (I guess there are 3 Alltels out there) When I explained to them that I did not order these they gave some excuse on how I must have answered an email, put in a secret code, or gave my number out over the internet for them to bill me. I called the number for the subscriptions and that where the fun started. I went thry four different companies that said the same thing, "It's not our fault and we can't do anything about it." If I don't pay the charges, they will shut my phone off, if I cancel their service, I will be charged for canceling it. Now to top it off, Alltel was sold to AT&T so they don't care if I'm satisfied or not. I have now put all kinds of blocks on my phone, canceled all subscriptions, and guess what? The charges are still there. This seems to start from a company called Mind Quiz, goes thru other companies which include Alltel moble messenger, and put on my bill. If other people are getting scammed by Alltel this way, they( one of the Alltels) will have a very good year. Oh , and by the way, all these companies say that they don't give credits. I have a feeling that by calling these companies to stop these services, I just reactivated them by calling them. If you call to cancel, you are automatically reactivated.

I'm awake, every inch of my body hurts, I was running to the bathroom every half hour (I was on an IV the whole time I was there. My head still hurts from the IV of Nitro. My groin hurts, that where they go in with the probe to get to my heart, I'm black and blue from all the blood they drew out and those stupid shots they stick in your stomach. You get no sleep in a hospital. I know today is going to be a lot better (I think) . I still don't understand why I have two arteries that are over 70% clogged and they don't think that this is a problem, plus it is to difficult to get to.

God help us all...... the people have spoken................no more campaign ads and lies.
Congrats to the winners and you will be in my prayers. At first glimpse I could wine and bitch that in most cases the wrong person won, and won for the wrong reason, but I am happy and content with the results. In Michigan we needed and new a better governor and the man I voted for won there. After that, it doesn't really matter because in another 2 years we will change again because people won't be happy. But just a few remarks on the election results
1- The Republican are back in control....good...maybe they can fix the problems that they got us into.
2- If all the political ads are true, we will see government lose control over fresh water and corporation allowed to do what ever they want with the water. They can bottle it and sell it back to us at a profit, they can pollute it again because the pollution will kill the Asian carp.
3- If the political ads are true, there will be no social security, no welfare, no disability. If you can't afford medical coverage, tough shit, you gonna die.
4- We will be looking for a new country to look for WMD. War is profit and looking for BinLadden is harder then finding Waldo. We won't stop until we search every country by force.
5-Get government out of our way. Ponzi schemes are just creative ways of doing business. Let turn off the Government flow of money and go back to the trickle down theory where we beg at the table of Big Business. Let big business send more business overseas.
6- Pure Michigan where bureaucrats couldn't find their ass with a flashlight. Bring back the Big gas guzzling SUV's. How many years did it take them to figure out the auto industry needed to change.
7- Today is my 56th birthday which also means I've been married 1/2 my life to the same woman. I have seen politicians come and go and have realized that I have little control over it. I have been lied to by politician all my life, they are just bolder about their lies today. I have learned from history and not tried to rewrite it.

If this class of elected official fail to do their jobs, the same thing will happen again and again every two years from now until forever.

Time to vote. A person who twist the truth in their ads, will twist the truth if elected. Nancy Palosi and Rush Limbaugh have nothing to do with voting for a drain commissioner. Vote for what is best for Michigan, not just Democrat and Republican. No matter how much the media tries to promote the tea party, it is still just people drinking tea and bitching about the problems that they brought on themselves. Ok, they all might not drink tea. Remember that when people talk about the "Government", they are talking about you, when they talk big business, privatise, they are not talking about you, just someone elses profit.

What is a lie? Soon our TV stations broadcasting will be clean up. No, unfortunately there will be swearing, nudity, sexual situations, etc....... The constant lying of politicians will not be shown on their advertising. Politicians have told us that if you twist the truth, mis entrerpret the facts, or just bash your opponent it is ok. In court they "swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth". Even in court a carefully worded lie can become a truth. If a politician will lie on their ads, they will lie and cheat if elected because the voters have said it is ok to lie and cheat.
Both parties lie, because they can. When voting, here are a few other things to remember
- Who was President when the economy went south?
- Who was President when were an attempt a correction was made?
_ Who profits by war? (hint..Big business with government contracts)
- Why are millionaires running for public office?
_ Why didn't we learn from the great depression.
- What would happen if we got rid of the party system?