I say yes, you say no, OR People are Strange
Comments
-
Hey. Completely unrelated news to anything, but DH and I just paid off our mortgage today. We're trying to look for ways for DH to get out of the job he's in now and hates, so it seemed a good idea to get rid of as much debt as possible while we wait for our gifts to come through from Obama. We're aiming for him to get out maybe in February, and we had the cash, so bye-bye mortgage. Just wish it was ecologically sound to burn the papers!
-
Yay Alexandria! My husband and I just refinanced our house into a shorter mortgage so we can be paid off when we retire. 15 more years.
I'm waiting for my Obama gifts-how do they arrive? Do they arrive via UPS or FedEx?Mary
-
I wonder if there is a catalogue we can order from. I am currently self-pay for healthcare, so I am sure I will get a freebie health policy. Maybe Romney can tell us how that works.
-
WOW!! Congratulations!!! We were about 6 years from payoff - but this cancer has kinda wrecked havoc with our plans, so we put our house on the market. Hopefully it will sell sometime within the year, as I'm planning on retiring then, come hell or high water. After that I'm not sure what exactly we're going to do. Right now hubby is so sick of house stuff that he says he doesn't care if we ever own another one. I think I'd like to go to Australia or New Zealand and rent a place for a few months, just to give ourselves a different perspective for awhile.
And yeah - about those gifts - I think mine must be lost in the mail...
-
Hey, I like the idea of a catalogue of gifts.
GG: what a lovely plan. Either country sounds wonderful, although as a LOTR fan, I do lean towards New Zealand. Still hoping to find hobbits there.
-
My brother and his wife plan to sell their house and rent after the youngest finishes college. It's just a PITA with the upkeep, yard, property taxes, etc. I've always rented for many of the same reasons. Easier to pick up and go if you don't have to wait until the house sells, too.
-
Gardengumby - come to OZ - Brisbane is nice - close to beaches
-
I was in both NZ and Australia in the 90's...ofcourse all could have changed...but I loved what I call the innocence of NZ. It so reminded me of California in the early 1960's, and I mean that in the best of ways. Australia could have been California, current day. I didn't feel the same charm, though I'm not saying it isn't worth visiting.
One of our favorite activities in NZ took place on the South Island. We were staying in Dunedin...every night around 5pm, we'd go down to the beaches on the Otago Pennisula and hide in the grass (with the Sea Lions!) and wait for the Yellow-Eyed Penguins to come home from their day of fishing. They lived on the cliffs above the beaches. They are very reclusive and if they see you, will let out warning calls to the other members of their group and then swim back out to the ocean and try to beach elsewhere. The birds are also quite interesting, including the parrots who will are attracted to shiny objects. They seem to come alive at night and if you're camping, one way or another, they will make their presence known to you.
Don't know if they still say it, but I'll never forget this commonly used expression "Good as gold!" Maybe Alyson knows if that is still used?
Ofcourse, if you like warmer weather... Australia might be a better choice!
-
Will you hear an apology, or merely crickets? From Think Progress today:
Rep. Peter King (R-NY) has admitted that the CIA and intelligence community approved U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice’s talking points before she made her much-derided Sept. 16 appearance on several Sunday news shows to discuss the attacks in Benghazi. King, one of the mostoutspoken critics of the Obama administration’s response to the attack, came to his conclusion following testimony from former CIA Director David Petraeus.
After leaving the closed-door hearing, King spoke with reporters for several minutes about Petraeus’ statements. Rice’s television appearances were among the topics discussed, leading King to indicate that while Petraeus did not personally write Rice’s talking points, the CIA did approve them:
Q: Did he say why it was taken out of the talking points that [the attack] was Al Qaeda affiliated?
KING: He didn’t know.
Q: He didn’t know? What do you mean he didn’t know?
KING: They were not involved — it was done, the process was completed and they said, “Ok go with those talking points.” Again it’s interagency — I got the impression that 7, 8, 9 different agencies.
Q: Did he give you the impression that he was upset it was taken out?
KING: No.
Q: You said the CIA said “OK” to the revised report –
KING: No, well, they said in that, after it goes through the process, they OK’d it to go. Yeah, they said “Okay for it to go.
-
I would really prefer to return to the place of my birth (NZ) - I love it. Will be seeing the Sth Island for the first time in February and will see if you can still do that Kam - sounds like fun. Steve might have trouble getting me to leave.
The best thing about NZ is NO SNAKES. A woman was bitten by a deadly snake in a suburb of Brisbane a week or so ago - at the train station!!! Luckily she seems to be ok.
Oz is way too hot - it was already 25C this morning at 7:00 - we are in for a hot humid weekend and hopefully a storm or 2.
Gardengumby - you and your hubby could become 'grey nomads' - either here or in NZ - just travel around in a car and caravan or campervan and see everything.
-
suzie - I cannot TELL you how much I want to travel. I am so sick and tired of being tied down that I'm heavily into rebellion right now.
Any kind of nomad sounds good at the moment. It would only take selling our current house..... -
They do call them grey nomads down here - there are hundreds of retired couples travelling around the country all the time. I met one lady from the US who lives in a caravan park near us. She works for 6 months of the year and then they travel for the other 6 months. Personally I would hate living in a caravan - too small and Steve is 6'5"- I don't think he'd fit in one
-
I like the idea of travel, but I when I go anywhere, I miss my reclining chair, my kitchen, and my cat. Maybe I've just gotten boring in my old age.
-
I'm happy cooking on a camp stove set on a table in a park as long as I've got an assortment of good food to use... don't have a recliner or a cat, so I guess I'm good to go.
-
Once someone pays off a mortgage, they need to be sure that the bank has recorded a release of mortgage or reconveyance of a trust deed. One should receive a copy from the title company. Banks are notorious for failing to do paper work. Do not trust them. I know because I used to work for the government agency responsible for closing them down when they failed.
There should be a county recorder's stamp on the release documents. If there isn't then the homeowner should go to the county recorder and get it recorded.
-
Something I found in my inbox and I know talk is already circulating about this:
Hostess Blames Union For Bankruptcy After Tripling CEO’s Pay
By Annie-Rose Strasser on Nov 16, 2012 at 3:50 pm
Today, Hostess Brands inc. — the company famed for its sickly sweet desert snacks like Twinkies and Sno Balls — announced they’d be shuttering after more than eighty years of production.But while headlines have been quick to blame unions for the downfall of the company there’s actually more to the story: While the company was filing for bankruptcy, for the second time, earlier this year, it actually tripled its CEO’s pay, and increased other executives’ compensation by as much as 80 percent.
At the time, creditors warned that the decision signaled an attempt to “sidestep” bankruptcy rules, potentially as a means for trying to keep the executive at a failing company. The Confectionery, Tobacco Workers & Grain Millers International Union pointed this out in their written reaction to the news that the business is closing:
BCTGM members are well aware that as the company was preparing to file for bankruptcy earlier this year, the then CEO of Hostess was awarded a 300 percent raise (from approximately $750,000 to $2,550,000) and at least nine other top executives of the company received massive pay raises. One such executive received a pay increase from $500,000 to $900,000 and another received one taking his salary from $375,000 to $656,256.
Certainly, the company agreed to an out-sized pension debt, but the decision to pay executives more while scorning employee contracts during a bankruptcy reflects a lack of good managerial judgement.
It also follows a trend of rising CEO pay in times of economic difficulty. At the manufacturing company Caterpillar, for example, they froze workers’ pay while boosting their CEO’s pay to $17 million. And at Citigroup, CEO Vikram Pandit received $6.7 million for crashing his company, walking off with $260 million after the business lost 88 percent of its value.
-
Thanks notself. I'll do that. And the bank is Bank of America, which has foreclosed on people who didn't even have a mortgage with them.
-
notself....very good advice on making sure your paid off mortgages get recorded properly. I'd love to retire, but hello cancer....we are paying off our second on this house, due mainly to our medical maladies. Guess I'm just thankful we had a property to call our own to fall back on....and sure will be glad when I can call my house REALLY mine again.
Sure glad the week-end is coming though I will have to work part of the day tomorrow. Sigh !!!! Will keep me out of trouble I guess.
Jackie
-
We paid off our mortgage at the beginning of this year in preparation for my retirement next year (which will indeed happen since President Obama was re-elected, happy dance!). We had our mortgage with Wells Fargo (another bad actor) and I demanded a certified copy of the release of lein filed with the county. I made darn sure it was all in order, and will visit the county next year after I retire to make sure all is in order.
Gardengumby, I read that article in 2008 and never forgot it ... I thought it was appropriate to bring it up again now that McCain continues to publicly display his lack of impulse control and temper control.
They are not going to let up on Susan Rice -- she is their proxy for getting the President whom they cannot touch. And that is correct -- talking points about high-visibility issues like this one are written and coordinated and cleared by a high-level interagench group, usually Assistant Secretaries or above. And everyone speaks from those talking points. They are just trying to hang her to upset the President and score one off of him. They are disgusting.
L -
Thanks, Jackie - I'm sharing this on Facebook. Typical Romney-type behavior - to load up the CEOs salary while bemoaning pension and benefit costs. File for bankruptcy, shed your pension obligations, and re-emerge under another name and do it all over again. Blech - this shit should not be legal!
-
Then they say the rest of us are entitled. It's the CEOs who get all pay for bad work - especially on Wall Street. Just like the Romney campaign heads who obviously did a terrible job.
I remember when we used to have a society based on merit.
Then the right wing extremists came along, anointed incompetent CEOs and spread the rumor that it was 47 percent who were incompetent. It's the corporate welfare kings who are the fat, lazy entitled ones with freebies from their republican friends. Liberals (including many COMPETENT CEOs) believe in work, and in merit.
-
Ok...stupidity of the day: An owner of franchises of Denny's which serves trash and calls it food (when it isn't being sued for racism) now wants to blame its prices on the president:
While some business owners threaten to cut workers' hours to avoid paying for their health care, a West Palm Beach, Fla., restaurant owner is going even further. John Metz said he will add a 5 percent surcharge to customers' bills to offset what he said are the increased costs of Obamacare, along with reducing his employees' hours.
"If I leave the prices the same, but say on the menu that there is a 5 percent surcharge for Obamacare, customers have two choices. They can either pay it and tip 15 or 20 percent, or if they really feel so inclined, they can reduce the amount of tip they give to the server, who is the primary beneficiary of Obamacare," Metz told The Huffington Post. "Although it may sound terrible that I'm doing this, it's the only alternative. I've got to pass the cost on to the consumer."
Metz is the franchisor of Hurricane Grill & Wings, which has 48 locations, five of which are corporate owned, and president and owner of RREMC Restaurants, which runs approximately 40 Denny's and several Dairy Queen locations. He planned to use the 5 percent surcharge tactic in all his restaurants starting in January 2014, when Obamacare is fully implemented.
-
I adore Australia and would love to see NZ someday.
-
oh goody - more crappy restaurants that can be forever off my "might stop in if a craving for crappy food overtakes me" list.
Yorkie - I've never been to either and am relishing the thought of going. I just emailed a friend who is retiring at the end of December. Between now and her last day she is going to Burma for a couple of weeks. How cool is that???
BTW, Yorkie, you and I had our nips done the same day, I think. How are yours holding up? mine have pretty much melted back into the rest of my flesh. I have just a little teeny tiny bump...
-
GG, I just have a little bump also, but it does look like a nipple. Not terribly happy with the tattoo, but oh well. At least I do not look deformed out of my clothes anymore.
DH and I went to Australia maybe 10 years ago. We saw Sydney, the Great Barrier Reef, Alice Springs and Ayers Rock. It was a FANTASTIC trip! We'd like to get back to see Darwin.
Hope your friend has a great time in Burma! Should be fabulous!
-
I'm kind of sorry about Papa John's, but I'll never buy another pizza from them. Appleby's seems to have walked back the comments, so as long as I don't go to the Appleby's that beong to the idiot who made the statement on healthcare, I might eat there. Sometimes.
-
I haven't had the tattoos yet - that's not coming until late January.
I like pizza, but can't eat it anyway - at least not as long as I'm on these anti-hormonals, the aching is just too much. I've only been to Appleby's once and didn't like it, so that no great loss to me, either.
-
GG - just curious - what procedure did you have for the nipples? I had mine done through skin grafted from my abdomen. They do slightly tend to fade into the background, if you will, but I like them.
-
As far as Hostess closing down their operations, filing for bankruptcies, and blaming the unions, I have no doubt the company will rise again, in another form, with lower paid employees with no benefits.
I don't visit the other thread, but I can pretty much guarantee it's full of comments about how people should just be happy they have a job, and unions are the downfall of business. I'm tired of people falling for that line. Yes, I am happy I have a job, but that does not give my employer the right to treat me badly.
Some Walmart employees are planning on walking out on Black Friday, and I'm sure the comments will be flying about how ungrateful they are because they have jobs. Yeah-low paying, no benefit, poverty level jobs.....
Nothing will get better as long as the wealthy pit the lower and middle class against each other, and we fall for it. The mirror thread is a perfect example of this.
Mary
-
Just was watching MSNBC. There was a discussion of how in the 1980ies, the average CEO's salary was 40 times that of the average worker, now it's 400 times.
The only reason there was a middle class for those golden 50ies that the Republican right longs for was the existence of unions.
Categories
- All Categories
- 679 Advocacy and Fund-Raising
- 289 Advocacy
- 68 I've Donated to Breastcancer.org in honor of....
- Test
- 322 Walks, Runs and Fundraising Events for Breastcancer.org
- 5.6K Community Connections
- 282 Middle Age 40-60(ish) Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 53 Australians and New Zealanders Affected by Breast Cancer
- 208 Black Women or Men With Breast Cancer
- 684 Canadians Affected by Breast Cancer
- 1.5K Caring for Someone with Breast cancer
- 455 Caring for Someone with Stage IV or Mets
- 260 High Risk of Recurrence or Second Breast Cancer
- 22 International, Non-English Speakers With Breast Cancer
- 16 Latinas/Hispanics With Breast Cancer
- 189 LGBTQA+ With Breast Cancer
- 152 May Their Memory Live On
- 85 Member Matchup & Virtual Support Meetups
- 375 Members by Location
- 291 Older Than 60 Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 177 Singles With Breast Cancer
- 869 Young With Breast Cancer
- 50.4K Connecting With Others Who Have a Similar Diagnosis
- 204 Breast Cancer with Another Diagnosis or Comorbidity
- 4K DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ)
- 79 DCIS plus HER2-positive Microinvasion
- 529 Genetic Testing
- 2.2K HER2+ (Positive) Breast Cancer
- 1.5K IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer)
- 3.4K IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma)
- 1.5K ILC (Invasive Lobular Carcinoma)
- 999 Just Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastasis
- 652 LCIS (Lobular Carcinoma In Situ)
- 193 Less Common Types of Breast Cancer
- 252 Male Breast Cancer
- 86 Mixed Type Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned
- 189 Palliative Therapy/Hospice Care
- 488 Second or Third Breast Cancer
- 1.2K Stage I Breast Cancer
- 313 Stage II Breast Cancer
- 3.8K Stage III Breast Cancer
- 2.5K Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
- 13.1K Day-to-Day Matters
- 132 All things COVID-19 or coronavirus
- 87 BCO Free-Cycle: Give or Trade Items Related to Breast Cancer
- 5.9K Clinical Trials, Research News, Podcasts, and Study Results
- 86 Coping with Holidays, Special Days and Anniversaries
- 828 Employment, Insurance, and Other Financial Issues
- 101 Family and Family Planning Matters
- Family Issues for Those Who Have Breast Cancer
- 26 Furry friends
- 1.8K Humor and Games
- 1.6K Mental Health: Because Cancer Doesn't Just Affect Your Breasts
- 706 Recipe Swap for Healthy Living
- 704 Recommend Your Resources
- 171 Sex & Relationship Matters
- 9 The Political Corner
- 874 Working on Your Fitness
- 4.5K Moving On & Finding Inspiration After Breast Cancer
- 394 Bonded by Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Life After Breast Cancer
- 806 Prayers and Spiritual Support
- 285 Who or What Inspires You?
- 28.7K Not Diagnosed But Concerned
- 1K Benign Breast Conditions
- 2.3K High Risk for Breast Cancer
- 18K Not Diagnosed But Worried
- 7.4K Waiting for Test Results
- 603 Site News and Announcements
- 560 Comments, Suggestions, Feature Requests
- 39 Mod Announcements, Breastcancer.org News, Blog Entries, Podcasts
- 4 Survey, Interview and Participant Requests: Need your Help!
- 61.9K Tests, Treatments & Side Effects
- 586 Alternative Medicine
- 255 Bone Health and Bone Loss
- 11.4K Breast Reconstruction
- 7.9K Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 2.7K Complementary and Holistic Medicine and Treatment
- 775 Diagnosed and Waiting for Test Results
- 7.8K Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 50 Immunotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 7.4K Just Diagnosed
- 1.4K Living Without Reconstruction After a Mastectomy
- 5.2K Lymphedema
- 3.6K Managing Side Effects of Breast Cancer and Its Treatment
- 591 Pain
- 3.9K Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 8.4K Surgery - Before, During, and After
- 109 Welcome to Breastcancer.org
- 98 Acknowledging and honoring our Community
- 11 Info & Resources for New Patients & Members From the Team