This is not bow!



These are not terrorists!



These are non partisan!



Do not believe your eyes. Because Obama says so... it must be true. We must suspend our belief in what we see, in what we feel is obvious, because Obama says so.

"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain"

Happy Happy People...

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Study: We're the happiest state in the nation
BY MICAH MERTES / Lincoln Journal Star
Monday, Apr 06, 2009 - 01:43:12 pm CDT
We cheer the reddest. We corn the hardest. And, apparently, we grin the biggest.

Because Nebraska is the happiest state in the U.S., says a new study.

The survey, conducted by MainStreet.com, ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia from fiscally happiest to saddest based on a few factors of economic well-being. These included foreclosure numbers, unemployment rates and the ratio of average debt to average annual income.

Nebraska was ranked as the state with the second-lowest foreclosure numbers, the second-lowest unemployment rates and the fifth-lowest percentage of debt to income.

Following up Nebraska's top spot, ABC's "Good Morning, America" featured a profile on Hastings on Monday morning.

Behind Nebraska in the rankings were:

2. Iowa

3. Kansas

4. Hawaii

5. Louisiana

6. Oklahoma

7. Wyoming

8. South Dakota

9. West Virginia

10. Wisconsin

And the 10 saddest states:

42. Washington

43. Idaho

44. Michigan

45. Ohio

46. Arizona

47. Rhode Island

48. Nevada

49. California

50. Florida

The saddest state in all the land: Oregon.

Reach Micah Mertes at 473-7395 or mmertes@journalstar.com.

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Copyright © 2002-2009 Lincoln Journal Star. All rights reserved.

Thankfully the "blizzard of 2009" never came to be. We had a little dusting of snow yesterday here in Lincoln, but nothing close to what was predicted.
I want to be a weatherperson! They can be wrong most of the time and still keep on working. TV weather has become so overblown. It takes up much of the news and no one is happy until they have created a state of fear or panic. I do think they are in cahoots with the grocery business. The day before a storm is expected here, the grocery stores are packed. I don't know when the last time people were snowed in for more than a day or two, but people stock up like they are going to be trapped in their homes for weeks.
I just want it all to be over.
I HATE WINTER !!!!
Today the sun is out, but we will not make it out of the 30s. I don't like living for the future and wishing my days away, but enough is enough...I'm looking forward to Spring! Then I will stop and smell the roses.

Thunder storms right now followed by 1-4 inches of snow late tonight and tomorrow. Springtime in Nebraska...

Dignity

Yesterday as I walked out of the office building on my way to a meeting I saw a man walking into the office. I remember him because he was a really large man, probably about 400 lbs or so and he was having trouble walking from the parking lot to the front door. I said hi to him as we passed and went on about my business. I didn't give him much more thought.

Today 2 of my co workers came into my office to chat and they told me a story. They told me about a man who came in yesterday to ask for help with his electric bill. He was a very large man. (I remembered the man from the day before). They told me that he explained he was HIV positive. His illness caused him to retain 60lbs or more of fluid. He was very ill and unable to work.

Because his first language was
Spanish, our emergency services coordinator asked one of our Spanish speaking staff to help translate. As they helped him fill out a form, one of the questions was his date of birth. He told them that it was his birthday today! The 2 staff members started to sing Happy Birthday to him. He began to weep. He had no family. No one who cared enough about him to celebrate his special day. He was so touched that these 2 strangers from Catholic Social Services cared about him as a human being. Catholic Social Services was able to pay for his utility bill, so his lights were not shut off. But I think he left with so much more. He left with the dignity that all people deserve. He left with the knowledge that someone believes he is important, that he is a child of God.
Mother Teresa talked often about the poverty of people who have no one who loves them. Poverty is not always about the lack of money or the things money can buy. It is the poverty of the soul, the lack of faith and love that is the worst kind of poverty.
That is what makes Catholic social Services different from other social service agencies. We love people. Because of our faith, because God asks us to love each other. It's not always easy, we have to work at it every day.
I am so proud to work with these people. People who care and love and make that extra effort to serve people with the dignity everyone deserves. It is truly God's work.

I got my nails done over the lunch hour today. I used to have them done on a regular basis and then sometime last year decided to go au natural. That was before the economy tanked. I just got tired of it. But lately I have been missing the white tips and the 10 perfectly matched nails. I also saw the owner of the nail salon at church every Sunday and wondered how his business has been doing. I was pretty sure that nails are not a huge priority if you have lost jobs or had hours cut. I know the family has 3 young children and employ several other women with families. So today I went to the salon. It was sad really, they welcomed me back like a long lost friend. They told me that things have been very, very slow and that some of the employees have been layed off. I was the only one in there for a while and then another client came in. But just 2 of us in an hour. So I am going back, becoming a regular customer again. I like what they do and they need the business.

We have a company here in Lincoln that sells and services corporate type jets. They are a great company and are huge donors to the community. They have never had to lay off any employees in their 50+ year history. But because of all the media hype regarding bail out companies and CEOs flying around in their private jets, this company has lost tons of business. At first they asked employees to take a wage cut to prevent layoffs. But recently they had to lay off employees anyway. Remember that lots of people who work hard for a living,work for companies like this one. No one stops to think of the little guy, the family bread winner when they complain about the rich and infamous. When the people with money stop spending it, everyone suffers. Trickle down works both ways...