Computer Problems

i actually did type up my smiles blog tonight...but the live writer program won't post it right now...so i'll try again tomorrow. :)

The Birk Economic Recovery Plan

I read this online today and I think it's an excellent plan! Check it out!

The Birk Economic Recovery PLan

Hi Pals,

I'm agains t the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG.


Instead, I'm in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a 'We Deserve It Dividend'.


To make the math simple, let's assume there are 200,000,000 bon-a-fide U.S. Citizens 18+.


Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up..

So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billon that equals $425,000.00.


My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a 'We Deserve It Dividend'.


Of course, it would NOT be tax free. So let's assume a tax rate of 30%.


Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes. That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam.


But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket. A husband and wife has $595,000.00.


What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.
00 in your family?
Pay off your mortgage - housing crisis solved.

Repay college loans - what a great boost to new grads
Put away money for college - it'll be there
Save in a bank - create money to loan to entrepreneurs.

Buy a new car - create jobs
Invest in the market - capital drives growth
Pay for your parent's medical insurance - health care improves
Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean - or else

Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.


If we're going to re-distribute wealth let's really do it...instead of trickling out a puny $1000.00 ( 'vote buy' ) economic incentive that is being proposed by one of our candidates for President.


If we're going to do an $85 billion bailout, let's bail out every adult U S Citizen 18+!

As for AIG - liquidate it.

Sell off its parts.

Let American General go back to being American General.

Sell off the real estate.

Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.


Here's my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn't.


Sure it's a crazy idea that can 'never work.
'

But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!

How do you spell Economic Boom?

I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion 'We Deserve It Dividend' more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC

And remember, The Birk plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.


Ahhh...I feel so much better getting that off my chest.


Kindest personal regards,

Birk

T. J.
Birkenmeier, A Creative Guy & Citizen of the Republic

PS: Feel free to pass this along to your pals as it's either good for a laugh or a tear or a very sobering thought on how to best use $85 Billion!!

Please pray...

for a dear dear friend of mine. her dad committed suicide this week. please keep her and her son, her mom, her sister & sister's kids (and all family and friends...) in your prayers as they work through the loss. they are so heavy on my heart this week. thank you.

A Giveaway!!!

Hey, everyone!  my friend amanda is having a giveaway to announce the opening of her new etsy store.  just click on her name for a chance to enter!

also, be sure to check her her new etsy store aGatoraMonkeyandaPug.

10 Smile Tuesday...plus 2

1.  liberty's new phrase.  "i love ____!"  she'll say it about pasta, nuggets, ice cream, coffee, or anything else she likes.  so cute!

2.  liberty's first real haircut.  she surprised me and did really well.  i had visions of trying to hold her down while she fought the haircut, but she actually sat still and just watched what the lady was doing.  she had about 2 inches cut off the back.

3.  leila kisses.  this girl loves to give kisses...especially to her daddy.  they have a special bond :).

4.  dinner at mark & sarah's house.  what could be better than homemade clam chowder, an eagles football game, and great fellowship?!  it was a great time!

5.  cousins reading together.  too cute.  the first pic is liberty, anna and zoe.  second pic is libbs and zoe.

6.  this pic of leila.  she was just too tired to eat at bekah & jeremy's house the other night.

7.  apples to apples.  this is a game i love, but never have anyone to play it with.  seems like every time we get the family together here we've been playing it....so fun!!!  (i may have mentioned this one in last week's smiles...it's just that fun!!)

8.  my little michigan girl.  we watched the michigan game on tv saturday and of course leila had to wear the michigan t-shirt i found her at goodwill a while back.

9.  leila's top teeth.  the first of leila's top two teeth has come through, and the second has finally started to poke through as well.

10.  lots of reading and knitting time lately.  definitely a huge smile! :)

11.  this pic of libbs and uncle josh.  i just thought it was such a sweet moment.

12.  daddy-daughter dates.  yesterday jonathan took libbs out for a daddy-daughter date.  they went to the park and got something to eat off the dollar menu at mcdonald's.  they both had a great time together.  i love that jonathan wants to do this with his girls.  so sweet!

13 Smile...Wednesday

I'm really not sure what happened to tuesday.  the day just seemed to slip away from me.  so here i am, trying to post my smiles before wednesday really gets started.  we've had a great week getting settled in, spending time with family, and just enjoying our days.

1.  liberty and gree making pizzas.  liberty was excited to help gree put our pizzas together, although libbs spent much of the time taste-testing the yummy sauce uncle josh made!

2.  leila's first corn-on-the-cob.  how can you not smile at this picture?!

3.  time with cousins.  both girls are really enjoying all the time they get with their cousins here on jonathan's side.  when they are all together they total 8 crazy kids! :)

4.  poppy's boots.  liberty has been having fun trying to wear poppy's work boots.  she gets them on, but then falls over whenever she tries to take a step, haha!

5.  brothers.  i know jonathan has been looking forward to some time spent with his brother josh.  they've been having a good time.  :)  and liberty is enjoying uncle josh as well!

6.  spending a little time at the beach/ocean.  liberty was sooo excited to see the ocean.  before we got here i thought we'd have to keep a close eye on her to keep her from running right into the water.  however, ever since she fell in the river she's been keeping a safe distance from the water...especially the intimidating ocean.

7.  11 months.  that's right, leila is 11 months old already!  i can't believe it's now less than a month from her first birthday!!!  where does that time go?!  she's got a new tooth on top, she's doing a great job standing on her own, and she's even taking 2-3 steps at a time now. 

8.  speaking of standing and step-taking, here are some pics of her proudly doing just that.  if i can figure out how to post a video on here, i have a cute one of her taking a step or two (and a cute one of libbs singing!).

9.  liberty hugs.  need i say more?

10.  liberty finally warming up to uncle jeremy.

11.  poppy and liberty.  so cute!

12.  getting the ball rolling for some pregnancy insurance and having an appointment set up.  it's actually some time down the road, so they are going to call me back with an earlier appointment being that i'm so far along in the pregnancy.

13.  and just for fun...and belly photo from the beach.  19 weeks along!!

One Step

leila took her first step today. i can hardly believe it!! she was standing at the patio door and i was sitting next to her. she was watching the dog play outside. she had one hand on the window and her body was facing me. then she let go of the window and grinned at me and took just one step! my little girl is growing up! i was sooo excited and surprised...and a little sad of course (even though i know it could still be a while before she actually walks)! i just had to share it with you all!

10 Smile Tuesday

for those of you wondering, jonathan did make it safely to cali around 2am last night.  needless to say he was exhausted, but very happy to have finally made it!  thanks for your thoughts and prayers in this move.  now we are enjoying some time with the family, getting settled in, and job hunting. 

1.  making it safely to california.  check out the girls on the airplanes...the pics are kind of blurry, though.  the girls did really well considering we rode in FOUR airplanes!!

2.  seeing the family!!

3.  spending an afternoon at the river.  i have definitely missed this perk of living here in northern cali.  the smith river is the 2nd cleanest river in the united states.  liberty wouldn't wait for me to blow up her arm bands and ended up falling in the water before i could get to her.  that was pretty scary!!!  i had to dive in after her.  that scared her pretty bad and she would not get in the water after that.  hopefully next time we can get her in so she won't stay afraid of the water.  (leila is not pictured at the river b/c she slept through the whole thing!!)

4.  cousins.  liberty and leila are really enjoying their time with the cousins.  liberty especially is doing fantastic!  just being around family/people we know has helped her a ton.  like i said in the previous post, she's going to bed much better and minding better, too.  it's great!  she's so happy to have so many people around.  she's such a social butterfly and hasn't been shy at all.

5.  a whoopee cushion.  we were at bekah & jeremy's  (jonathan's sister and her hubby) for a labor day cookout and the kids were loving the whoopee cushion.  they all took turns pushing the air out to make the farting noises.  there was a lot of laughter going on there! 

 

6.  a labor day cookout.  speaking of going to bekah & jeremy's for labor day....it was a really great time.  there are 8 kids all together, so it was quite noisy and busy and wonderful! 

7.  a game of "apples to apples."  i actually own this game, but since we haven't lived near people we know in a while we haven't played.  i love this game and was so excited when jonathan's family played it on monday night.  it was fun!

8.  a sleeping liberty.  today as i was organizing our stuff i wondered where liberty was.  jonathan said he wasn't sure, but that she was being quiet.  i thought maybe she was tearing clothes out of the dresser drawers or something in our bedroom, but she was in the pack-n-play sound asleep.  i guess she was tired!

9.  dinosaur sounds.  jonathan's parents (poppy & gree to the girls) have a couple of dinosaur books that liberty is enjoying looking at and reading.  today when i was reading one of them to her she asked, "what sound does a dinosaur make?"  i said i didn't know and asked her.  she said, "mmm.  mmm.  mmm."  LOL!!  i have no idea where she got that from, but it's hilarious nonetheless! 

10.  this one i'll add again b/c it's so great.  seeing jonathan's family again.  it's so great to catch up with everyone...to see the kids and how much they have grown and changed since we last saw them...to see all the cousins playing together.  it does, however, make me miss my family...i can't wait until we can go visit them again!!  i love you guys!!