Monday, April 19, 2010

Look what Ragan got to eat at lunch....

Andrew and Madison Easter 2010 stolen from Heather's photos...

you did great Heather!!
Posted by Picasa

Now here is a happy camper!!! Grandpa Roy B. and his dog...

Posted by Picasa

this young lady will steal lots of hearts.... oh my goodness....

Stolen from Heather's photos... taken by Heather Ann... Madison Ann and her daddy... Paul..

Great shot Heather...  

Games, games, games....

Andrew's Baseball Games:
Monday, April 26 at 6:00 p.m. - Strickland #2 - 
Tuesday, April 27 at 7:30 p.m. - Strickland #1 -
Tuesday, May 4 at 7:30 p.m. - Strickland #1 -
Saturday, May 8 at 11:00 a.m. - Strickland #2 -
Tuesday, May 11 at 7:30 p.m. - Strickland #1 -
Saturday, May 15 at 12:30 p.m. - Strickland #1 - 
Monday May 17 at 6:00 p.m. - Strickland #2 -
Tuesday, May 18 at 6:00 p.m. - Strickland #1 -
Tuesday, May 25 at 7:30 p.m. - Strickland #2 - 
Wednesday, May 26 at 6:00 p.m. - Strickland #1 -
Tuesday, June 1 at 7:30 p.m. - Strickland #2 -
Monday, June 7 at 6:00 p.m. - Strickland #1 -
Friday, June 11 at 6:00 p.m. - Strickland #1 -
Monday, June 14 at 7:30 p.m. - Strickland #2 -
Tuesday, June 15 at 7:30 p.m. - Strickland #1 -
Friday, June 18 at 6:00 p.m. - Strickland #2 -

Madison's Tball Games: (Strickland Field)
Tuesday, April 27  
6:00 PM
Wolves
Team Orange
#2
Practice Game
Wednesday, April 28  
6:00 PM
Team Royal Blue
Wolves
#2
Practice Game
Tuesday, May 04  
6:00 PM
Wolves
Jays
#3
Saturday, May 08  
2:30 PM
Storm
Wolves
#3
Monday, May 10  
6:00 PM
Wolves
Orange Crush
#1
Saturday, May 15  
1:30 PM
Stw. Rivercats
Wolves
#4
Wednesday, May 19  
6:00 PM
Wolves
Blue Jays
#3
Friday, May 21  
7:00 PM
Sharks
Wolves
#2
Monday, May 24  
7:00 PM
Wolves
Tigers
#1
Tuesday, May 25  
7:00 PM
Hotrods
Wolves
#3
Friday, June 04  
6:00 PM
Wolves
Green Machine
#1
Tuesday, June 08  
7:00 PM
Jays
Wolves
#2
Friday, June 18  
6:00 PM
Wolves
Storm
#3
Monday, June 21  
6:00 PM
Orange Crush
Wolves
#3

Friday, April 16, 2010

busy time ....

Grandma Moffat took off yesterday afternoon and worked me to death!!!

Let it be said that "she needs to be at work"... giving them grief... not home giving it to me.. haha.......

We set out some pepper plants, cucumbers, tomatoes, and squash....   and got the yard mowed for the second time this year.. last year by spraying, we did not mow till almost June...

Didn't get seed planted, saved that for another day... haha... yeah.. right!!

All I know for now... and it is raining lightly here this am... what a great time to be alive!!

Thursday, April 15, 2010

For Jade Shaklee...



Yes, I understand that every life must end, aw-huh,..
As we sit alone, I know someday we must go, aw-huh,..
Oh I'm a lucky man, to count on both hands
the ones I love,..

Some folks just have one,
yeah, others, they've got none, huh-uh

Stay with me,..
Let's just breathe.

Practiced are my sins,
never gonna let me win, aw-huh,..
Under everything, just another human being, aw-huh,..
Yeh, I don't wanna hurt, there's so much in this world
to make me bleed.

Stay with me,..
You're all I see.

Did I say that I need you?
Did I say that I want you?
Oh, if I didn't I'm a fool you see,..
No one knows this more than me.
As I come clean.

I wonder everyday
as I look upon your face, aw-huh,..
Everything you gave
And nothing you would take, aw huh,..
Nothing you would take
Everything you gave...

Did I say that I need you?
Oh, did I say that I want you?
Oh, if I didn't I'm a fool you see,..
No one knows this more than me.
As I come clean, ah-ah...

Nothing you would take,..
Everything you gave.
Hold me till I die,..
Meet you on the other side.

one man's letter to Pelosi.. the nut who needs to be fired...


Born St. Louis , Missouri , August 21, 19 44
Bar Admissions:
North Carolina , 1969
U.S. District Court, Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of North Carolina , 1969
U.S. Ta x Court
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
Education: Woodford College , 1966 A.B.
Mercer University , 1969 J.D.
Phi Alpha Delta
Vice-Justice, District XIV, 1968 - 1969
Professional Associations and Memberships:
North Carolina and American Bar Associations (Member, Sections on: Administrative Law; General Practice; Litigation)
26th Judicial District and North Carolina State Bar
Mecklenburg County Bar Association
American Association of Justice
North Carolina Trial Lawyers Association
Captain, U..S. Army, 1969-1971, Vietnam
National Defense Medal, 1969
Republic of Viet Nam Service Medal, 1970
Bronze Star Medals (2), 1971
Assistant District Attorney, Mecklenburg County , 1971 - 1974
Charlotte Chamber of Commerce
Chairman, Board of Trustees Providence United Methodist Church
Board of Directors, Alexander Children's Home
Board of Directors, Charlotte Culinary Institute
Wofford Alumni Executive Council
Scoutmaster, Boy Scouts of America
Board of Directors, Boy Scouts of America of Mecklenburg County
Board of Directors, Girl Scout Council
Life Member, National Eagle Scout Association
Life Member, Girl Scouts of America


 

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

From Missy....


Depressed? 

Over five thousand years ago Moses said to the children of Israel "pick up your shovels, mount your asses and camels, and I will lead you to the Promised Land" 

Nearly 75 years ago, Roosevelt said "lay down your shovels, sit on your asses and light up your camels, this is the Promised Land" 

Now Obama has stolen your shovels, taxed your asses, raised the price of camels  and mortgaged the Promise Land. 
 I was so depressed last night thinking about Health Care Plans, the economy, lost jobs, lost savings, Social Security, and retirement funds, etc. . . .

I called the Suicide Hotline and got a freakin' call center in Pakistan . I told them I was suicidal and  they got all excited and asked if I could drive a truck? 

lower and simplify taxes... please?

Lower & Simplify Taxes!
by  John Stossel 
04/14/2010


It's that joyous time of year: income tax time. So I spend time with my accountant. I don't want to see him, but I must. I could not do what he's doing. The tax code has grown so complex that today most Americans hire someone to do their taxes.

For the money I pay my accountant, I could get a hundred massages. I could buy a fancy motorcycle. I could take a cruise ship to Venice and back.

Better yet, I could do some good in the world. I could pay for two Habitat for Humanity homes or help three kids escape government schools by paying their tuition at a good Catholic school.


What a shame that I pay my accountant instead.

How'd we get to this point? U.S taxes were once simple! The government funded itself on tariffs and excise taxes. It didn't violate our privacy by asking us how much we made or how many dependents we have.

But in 1913, the politicians decided they needed an income tax.

At first, they took little money: just 1 percent on incomes between $20,000 and $50,000. Those were big incomes -- adjusted for inflation, $50,000 is $1.1 million today. The top bracket paid 6 percent, but that only applied to people who earned at least $11 million. Anyone who made less than $400,000 paid no income tax.

But leave the amounts aside. The increase in complexity is just as evil.

In 1913, the first tax form and instructions totaled four simple pages. 
Today's 1040, with instructions, totals 176 pages. How did this happen? Because politicians win votes by giving gifts to favored groups. Pandering legislators applaud themselves for offering tax credits to special interests. The favored groups cheer their tax breaks, but the result is that everyone else pays more, and everyone must spend more time deciphering the rules.

And with every credit, the tax code gets more complicated. The code is now 3,784,745 words long, not counting the 2009 and 2010 changes. 

It will get worse in the future.

Americans spend more than 7 billion hours trying to comply, according to a forthcoming study from the National Taxpayer Union (NTU).

"That is the equivalent of 3.7 million employees working 40-hour weeks year-round without any vacation. That's more workers than are employed at the five biggest employers among Fortune 500 companies," writes David Keating in the NTU study.

"Counting time and money for individual taxpayers, the compliance burden would total an incredible $103 billion for individual taxpayers alone."

That doesn't include the time spent doing state and local forms, or more important: the burden of "tax minimization strategies" on the economy. And we haven't even mentioned the corporate income tax. But don't worry. The IRS stands ready to assist the bewildered. "If a taxpayer needs help beyond the basic form," Keating writes, "the IRS now lists 1,909 publications, forms, and instructions for download (some are duplicates in different languages) from its Web site -- up from the 1,770 NTU logged last year." Thanks a lot, IRS.

This is insane. How dare a government that supposedly serves the people impose on us this way? Politicians who pass these tax laws aren't our representatives. They're our rulers! They increase the tax burden and its complexity, and then demand we pay them homage to get exemptions for little pieces of our lives.

What are we to do? Some people say scrap the income tax for the Fair Tax, a national sales tax. Others want a flat income tax of, maybe, 17 percent. One form; no deductions.

There's always danger in proposing a replacement for the income tax: 

We could end up with two taxes. I wouldn't put it past our greedy Congress to promise that a national sales tax -- or worse, a value-added tax -- would replace the income tax then, once the new taxes are in place, to say that the need for revenue is so great that they must retain the income tax, too.

Let's not take our eye off the ball: lower and much simpler taxes.