Plan on retiring...

I plan on retiring someday. I have been planning for my retirement for many years, as has my wife. We hope to live a fairly decent life when we retire. IRAs, 401Ks, pensions, some stocks and Social Security should cover things. I hope we have Social Security when I retire but I fear there will be such a drain on Social Security that "means testing" will be done.
I think that "means testing" will be done because so many people have not planned as we have. Most companies dont offer pensions anymore and have switched to offering a 401K to their employees. I know people in their 40s now that have not contributed a dime to either a 401K or IRA. They work for companies that dont have a pension plan. Many are up to their eyeballs in credit card debt as well. What are they going to do for retirement? If they started contributing now they will not have anywhere near enough to live on when they want to retire. Social Security will be their only "income". I think the demand on the system will crush it. If it is to survive "means testing" will be forced on people. Those of us who have paid into the system will get nothing from it...

His Base...

Is Kerry doing himself more harm than good by trying to take GWB on head to head on the issue of protecting the American citizens? His base of anti-war liberals have to be wishing that Dean had been the choice about now. The base of the Dems are the anti-war, tree hugging, tax the rich, fans of handouts, union members, misled African Americans, and lovers of big government. Seems to me that Kerry is trying to win over Republicans with his rhetoric, instead of trying to inspire his base to get out and vote. Does the Dem base see much difference between Kerry and Bush at this point? Kerry has been so mismanaged that he has ignored his base...

Under the Bush Watch...

GWB is getting blamed for anything and everything by the Kerry camp. They blame him for lost jobs, the "lost" tons of explosives, shortage of flu vacines... The list goes on. Why doesnt GWB "stick it" to Kerry and claim that the Red Sox ended the curse under his watch?

Reversed...

WOW!! What a World Series!!! The curse is now history. Congratulations to the Boston Red Sox. How fantastic was their 8 straight post season game win streak? Never been done ever!! My lucky Red Sox hat did the job. I am afraid to take it off the banister. Could it start a new curse?
Nahhh! The Red Sox have been redeemed. Time for the Cleveland Indians to win one...

The Curse...

I have had my lucky Boston Red Sox cap on the banister post since the 4 game winning streak with the Yankees began. It is covered with cat fur. Maybe that's the charm needed to break to curse. I am afraid to move it because the Red Sox have not lost since I placed it there. I yell at the cats if they start looking at it like a toy. The only thing stopping the Red Sox from ending the curse is for the Cards to become only the 2nd team in baseball history to come from 3 down. Very unlikely, but we are talking about the Red Sox...

Edwards Missing...

Where has John Edwards gone? Seems to me he is being kept out of the "main stream" because he is a liability. He has brought nothing to the Democratic ticket. He couldn't deliver North Carolina for the Dems. He had his clock cleaned in the V.P. debate. He is working the backwater areas these days. But wait... maybe that is his forte... He has proven that he can get a jury of Oprah Winfrey and Jerry Springer watchers to buy into a load of B.S. Perhaps Kerry figured he needed to get out the "couch potato" vote if he were to stand any chance at all...

A Draft...

What is Kerry trying to accomplish by talking about Bush reinstating a draft? Since only congress can establish a military draft, it has to be a fear among uninformed college age people. It this a group that we hope actually vote? Are they so naive that they believe all the stuff the Kerry camp is saying? I think the Democrats know that its over for them and they are throwing anything they can at the wall and seeing what sticks. Is there really an "undecided" voter left out there?

Voter Registration...

Cmon... How hard has it been to register to vote in the past? You get a form at the Post Office or some other government office and fill it out. If a person had not cared enough to register in the past someone worth registering now? Will they even vote? Are they eligible to vote? Are they even a citizen?

Why is it that we now have 3rd parties paying people to go out and get registrations? What is the reason some person or group would pay a person to go signup voters? There has always been corruption when it come to voter registration. This just takes it to a whole new level.
Paying someone with crack cocaine to register voter?? What does that say about how low it can get?

World Series Now Set...

There could not have been 2 more exciting series to determine the American and National league champions. These 2 great baseball franchises deserve to meet in the Fall Classic. They also play in 2 of the oldest stadiums (if you consider that only Wrigley Field and Dodger Stadium are older than Busch Stadium in the National league) and have some of the best fans in baseball. Both of these teams can score runs in bunches so I expect to see some 4-5 hour long games. Cant wait....

Baseball Rants...

Well...

It seems the Red Sox are done. Yet another year the curse lives. The Yankees seem to be hitting their stride and at just right time. Joe Torre always manages to get them up at this time of the year. It would be nice to see Roger Clemens go back to Yankee stadium. Houston is just sluggish after a real torrid run at the end of the season. Just have to see how it all works out...

What if ...

What if GWB had said he admired Kerry's Jewish Great Grand Father Benedikt Kohn when answering a question on immigration. Would the media be defending his reference the same way they are with Kerry's reference to Mary Cheney?

The Kerry Book

Here is a link to the "unavailable" book by John Kerry. It is very obvious after just a few pages why the DNC does not want this book readily available. Just remember this is the man who "Reported for Duty" at the convention. Its a scary read...

After 4 Debates...

Well, all the debates are over and I am sick of all the spinmeisters and polls. Both sides are feeding the voters what they want to hear. There was no discussion about Social Security. I can hardly wait until I can retire to a broken retirement system. Lots of people working now have no pension and dont contribute to an IRA or 401K. When they get ready to retire they have nothing but a huge personal debt. High mortgage, huge car payments, loads of unsecured credit card debt. We will have a huge problem in the next 10-20 years.

The Debates...

Is it just me or does anyone else get tired of hearing all the "talking points"? Is Iraq the only issue of concern? We got to hear these 2 guys rant about stem cells but not a word about social security. Why don't these guys remember the "Its the Economy Stupid" message that got us 8 years of Bubba Clinton? When all is said and done its your wallet that determines your ballot. Outsourced jobs are never mentioned. Could that be because Kerry voted for NAFTA, GAT and WTO? How can the Unions back a candidate that voted to allow jobs to move overseas? Why do people believe a man that has a 20 year record of being weak on defense and the most liberal member of the Senate to now be fiscally responsible, tough on the badguys and someone who can be the Leader?