Sequester... and Saturday 9!

Let me see if I can piss off another "friend" who'll stop talking to me in real life because they don't like to read my opinion on this blog. :)

These across the board government cuts were completely avoidable, if Congress would have put on their big boy panties and worked a little compromise to come to an agreement on the Federal budget. They've spent the past few months voting on various measures to change the terms of sequestration, rather than voting on a budget. Waste. Of. Time.

That being said, and what's done being done, these fearsome sound bites from government entities are irritating me to death. If a private company has to trim things, it doesn't begin with cutting its most vital parts. This is an opportunity for government to cut its waste... not to furlough necessary employees or reduce program benefits. Sure, they may have to furlough people, but is there any consideration of identifying, at the program level, and eliminating truly unnecessary expenses and employees?

I don't know much about how it all works internally, but someone has determined what exactly is being cut in each organization, and those particular people should answer for why they thought that was the right place to eliminate cost. In each area, certain benefits and employees have been exempted from sequester cuts, while other employees and programs were deemed expendable. Who made all these decisions? I doubt it was Congress. Probably program administrators. We should be asking them why they chose these particular cuts.

There is a lot of blame for the scary headlines to be shared among Congress, the President and program administrators.


Saturday 9: It's a Sunshine Day

1) The best known Brady Bunch song is, of course, the show's theme. Do you know the lyrics?
Let's see... Yes.

2) The Bradys were a blended family. Do you have stepparents, stepchildren or stepsibs?
I never lived with a blended family, because my dad moved away to England and then New York state when my parents split. It was my mom and I from my sophomore year of high school on.

When Dad was married to Hildegard, I had an older stepbrother and stepsister, and an adopted baby stepbrother (these were Hildegard's two kids and her grandson- long, sad story). Later, when Dad married Ursula, I got her kids- one stepsister and three stepbrothers. I also have a half-brother who grew up in Germany with his mom and stepfather. He is my Dad's only other biological child, from a brief marriage before my mom- for a total of 4 weddings, if you're keeping track.

3) Samantha admits that, when she was 12, she taped Greg Brady's photo over her bed. Before you judge her too harshly, come clean yourself. Did you have a major pre-teen crush? Who was it?
Erik Estrada, Gregory Harrison and John Schneider. Cathy and I went really nuts with the whole John Schneider thing. We were card-carrying fan club members and "officially" greeted him at an airport once with a few other fan club chicks. He's incidentally one of only TWO blonde guys I had crushes on... ever.

4) Which TV character do you wish lived next door?
Sheldon Cooper

5) It's a sunshine day! Describe your sunglasses.
dark, with wire rims

6) You're on a 90-minute flight. How will you spend the time? Do you read a book? A magazine? Look out the window? Take a nap?
I read SkyMall and my own magazines. Then I play games on my phone.

7) Do you have a favorite brand of toothpaste?
Crest Mega-Super-Whitening

8) How many keys are on your key ring?
4

9) What do you miss about summertime?
The warm weather!