So, as you already know, I've been taking some happy pills and talking to a shrink lately. Its been helping. Obviously not as much as I would have liked since the only thing they could've done that would have satisfied me was give me a magic shot and it was all over and better. I mean the mom helped out with her magic bullet, but its not a permanent fix.
I told the shrink about the war going on in my head and he asked me who was winning. I told him, "The wrong side" He couldn't help but chuckle. You know when you get in those shrink's offices its a very uncomfortable place. I mean we're talking about government shrinks not those high priced private ones.
In any event this guy is pretty much an authority on PTSD. I'd put him as an expert for no other reason than he's a shrink at the VA. I think he sees a few more PTSD cases than your average shrink. After all the review of what I had told all the different doctors up to this point and we went over mine and his biography, we got down to the nitty gritty and started talking about the war.
Where were you? How many times did you take fire? How many IED's were you involved in? How often did you take indirect fire? How many in your company were killed or wounded? You know the usual.
During the course of the conversation we got to two things that really jumped out and grabbed me by the throat as what's been happening to me.
(Shrink's words, not mine) Emotional Numbness, and Disconnection. Followed by a general malaise characterized by not being able to find meaning in your civilian life.
Well. Talk about hitting the nail on the head. Blam!!! He nailed it. I suppose there are other symptoms and shit, but for the most part that is exactly what's been bugging me.
Being disconnected is pretty much why my writing fell off to nothing shortly after I came home. Even writing this is kinda me forcing it. I mean how can you really connect back with all these people and all the things here after you did that shit for a year?
Roads are paved...but something inside of me is still bouncing down a dirt road in AssCrackIstan.
Wal-Mart is open...but I still think about guys in the shithouse PX in Waza Khwa.
Beer is cold...but there is no booze in Afghanistan.
I turn on the AC...and remember how hot it is in the summertime.
I feel the comfort and warmth of my bed...and remember sleeping on the ground, or the hood of a truck, or cramped in the truck, or...you get the idea.
Its kinda hard to connect...er, reconnect when something inside is pulling you away all the time. Its a constant wrestling match to keep my brain here, where it needs to be. When, frequently, and normally at the most inopportune moments my brain has flown away to southeastern Afghanistan for an afternoon trip.
Well, we haven't quite made it to sorting that out just yet. It'll come. Right now I'm happy to say that the happy pills are taking the edge off. They haven't quite done what I hoped they would do. Which is magically cure this, overnight. But they are having a noticeable effect. Talking about it helps to a point. I just wished that I had someone around who knew what the fuck I was talking about. But I'll take what I can get.
Then he laid a few other fun things on me. He wants me to go in for a sleep study because I don't sleep well. He's wondering if lack of sleep is causing a lot of this. I told him that he's brilliant and should immediately win the Nobel Prize for figuring that one out. But then he explained to me that sleep has a huge effect on mood and cognitive functioning and energy levels. Once again, Brilliant! But he went on to say I was a prime candidate for sleep apnea. Wonderful. Now I'm going to have to be hooked up to some machine and sleep while people from the VA watch me! That won't be uncomfortable at all...
So that's it. That's where I'm at right now. It sucks that this doesn't move along quickly at all! Gets on my last damn nerve. But I started this and now I have (for my own sake) to finish it.
Plus he told me to get a hobby to start occupying my mind during down time. Too much time to think is a bad thing he says. (I told you he's flipping brilliant) So I went and bought a guitar. Gonna learn how to play that. I'll let you know how that goes...
Later,
I love you Mom...
May 30, 2011
May 19, 2011
Have you ever thought about harming yourself or someone else?
Well, I've been away for quite a while. Not exactly sure how long but I know I've gotten more than a few emails, comments, and pokes reminding me that I haven't written anything in a long time.
But oh so much has happened since then. First things first gotta talk about Bin Laden getting croaked. Now was I ecstatic when Bin Laden got offed? The puritan in me was certainly excited. I mean he was the guy who was, by his own admission, responsible for 9/11. So when they gave him his two in the head I was pretty stoked.
Now the realist in me was a bit more docile. I mean, one life for 3,000 or whatever it was that died in the world trade center. Or you could look at it from a completely different point of view and say that vengeance was already had when we went into Afghanistan, totally fucked up the Taliban's world, kicked them out of power, and sent the country into 10 years of war. That's my personal way of looking at it. See I am not the kinda person who believes in measured response, or in the inherent fairness of the world or the people in it. For lack of a better term, I like the idea of using a nuclear missile to kill a mosquito!
So anyway, now that I've said my peace about that. What else has been going on? I don't know if you all knew about this but I've been diagnosed with PTSD by the wonderful VA hospital near my home. So that was fun. Answering the same questions over and over again from 5 different people was fun.
Case worker, social worker, counselor, and psychiatrist.
Okay, so I guess I only had to answer the same questions 4 times. The funny part of the whole thing was, one of the questions they always ask. Without fail, always ask is...have you ever thought about harming yourself or someone else? and they do not respond well when you tell them that if you ask me that one more time I am very likely to try and kill someone, most likely you!
Alright, so that's probably not the best response to that question, and fear not. I didn't actually say that but I thought it in my head at least 4 times. One for every person asking me.
Then after all was said and done, my evaluations were over and they were deciding on a treatment plan for me...here take 1/2 this pill daily and we'll call you in three weeks to see how you're doing.
Me: What? That's it? All of that, just to hand me some happy pill? And then when I get it, I only get to take half? What the mother fuck is that? Excuse me, but I'd like to actually get better. I'd rather not hide my bullshit behind some zombie making happy pill!
Them: Oh, well in that case, we'll get you signed up for this PTSD education class. It'll teach you all about the symptoms, and causes of PTSD.
Me: Lady, are you serious? If I've got the fucking thing why do I need someone to teach me about the symptoms? I'm living them everyday. And as far as the causes are concerned, I've got a pretty good grip on where they're coming from. So do you think it would be at all possible to do something that might actually have some sort of discernible effect on the problems that I'm having?
Them: We'll let you know when an individual counselor or psychiatrist becomes available. In the meantime you can visit your local Vet Center. A nurse will contact you via phone in a few weeks to see if you are having any trouble with the medication.
Good times at the VA.
That's what's been happening in Mud Puppy land. I'm trying real hard to maintain my sense of humor, and my sanity. I'm just not succeeding as much as usual.
Anyways,
Later,
I love you Mom...
But oh so much has happened since then. First things first gotta talk about Bin Laden getting croaked. Now was I ecstatic when Bin Laden got offed? The puritan in me was certainly excited. I mean he was the guy who was, by his own admission, responsible for 9/11. So when they gave him his two in the head I was pretty stoked.
Now the realist in me was a bit more docile. I mean, one life for 3,000 or whatever it was that died in the world trade center. Or you could look at it from a completely different point of view and say that vengeance was already had when we went into Afghanistan, totally fucked up the Taliban's world, kicked them out of power, and sent the country into 10 years of war. That's my personal way of looking at it. See I am not the kinda person who believes in measured response, or in the inherent fairness of the world or the people in it. For lack of a better term, I like the idea of using a nuclear missile to kill a mosquito!
So anyway, now that I've said my peace about that. What else has been going on? I don't know if you all knew about this but I've been diagnosed with PTSD by the wonderful VA hospital near my home. So that was fun. Answering the same questions over and over again from 5 different people was fun.
Case worker, social worker, counselor, and psychiatrist.
Okay, so I guess I only had to answer the same questions 4 times. The funny part of the whole thing was, one of the questions they always ask. Without fail, always ask is...have you ever thought about harming yourself or someone else? and they do not respond well when you tell them that if you ask me that one more time I am very likely to try and kill someone, most likely you!
Alright, so that's probably not the best response to that question, and fear not. I didn't actually say that but I thought it in my head at least 4 times. One for every person asking me.
Then after all was said and done, my evaluations were over and they were deciding on a treatment plan for me...here take 1/2 this pill daily and we'll call you in three weeks to see how you're doing.
Me: What? That's it? All of that, just to hand me some happy pill? And then when I get it, I only get to take half? What the mother fuck is that? Excuse me, but I'd like to actually get better. I'd rather not hide my bullshit behind some zombie making happy pill!
Them: Oh, well in that case, we'll get you signed up for this PTSD education class. It'll teach you all about the symptoms, and causes of PTSD.
Me: Lady, are you serious? If I've got the fucking thing why do I need someone to teach me about the symptoms? I'm living them everyday. And as far as the causes are concerned, I've got a pretty good grip on where they're coming from. So do you think it would be at all possible to do something that might actually have some sort of discernible effect on the problems that I'm having?
Them: We'll let you know when an individual counselor or psychiatrist becomes available. In the meantime you can visit your local Vet Center. A nurse will contact you via phone in a few weeks to see if you are having any trouble with the medication.
Good times at the VA.
That's what's been happening in Mud Puppy land. I'm trying real hard to maintain my sense of humor, and my sanity. I'm just not succeeding as much as usual.
Anyways,
Later,
I love you Mom...
Mar 30, 2011
The Magic Bullet...
So lately I’ve been having some anger issues. I didn’t really think all that much of it at first. I pretty much ignored it and I was fine with that, because well I’m a guy and that’s what we do. We ignore our problems. Particularly our emotional ones.
However, after a little while my girlfriend started to notice and being that she is a female and completely incapable of letting me wallow in my own stupidity, she started to get on me about it.
I can’t complain. She just wanted me to be happy and I can’t say that I’m pissed about that. Having a woman around who is genuinely concerned about making me happy is quite an advantage to have. Most guys I know have got a woman who thinks that so long as she’s happy, then he is to. But that’s a post for another time.
Anyway, I started to think increasingly about my anger. Where the hell was it coming from? What is causing this? Blah, blah, blah.
No answers. I mean there’s always the old stand by of “its the war, man” which in some cases is kinda nice due to the fact I can blame Afghanistan for any little twitch I decide to have. Makes being a moody motherfucker a bit easier.
So after a few weeks of not being able to come up with anything resembling a solution and totally pissing off this wonderful woman who is graciously putting up with my shit, I decided to go for the throat with this problem.
I called the MOM.
I know, I know, say what you will about a 32 year old man who still goes straight to his mother with his problems. I don’t care because she is in fact, the magic bullet!
So she called one night and I laid it all out for her. The job, my life in general and all that I thought was pissing me off and turning me into a Styx song.
She listened patiently, gave me some audible feedback here and there to let me know she hadn’t fallen asleep, and when I was done she threw it right back at me.
You know, the past few years you haven’t been yourself. You know you’ve been dealing with so much and you’ve become someone you’re not. You are trying all these anger management techniques and you went to see some hippy shrink that didn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground and you keep trying to find all these soft, lifeless solutions to your problems.
That’s not you kid. Never has been. You remember when you were a kid and you were still in diapers?
No, mom I don’t seem to remember that.
Well, you went out to play one day in your diaper and the kids in the neighborhood made fun of you because you were a baby and wearing a diaper. You came in that day and told me that you weren’t going to wear diapers anymore. I told you that you had to go in the potty like a big boy and you said that was okay, so long as you didn’t have to wear diapers anymore. And from that day forward you never wore a diaper again. You see what I’m talking about?
Nope, sorry mom, not getting it at all. (And I’m kinda chuckling at the fact that I got to use the word “potty” and the phrase “big boy” in this post.
Okay, you don’t do soft solutions. You like to fight. You always have. Its just who you are. You need someone or something to fight against. It gives you purpose. It gives you a reason. It sorts the world out for you. You look at the world and you see friend and foe. Whether it be your job, your anger, or anything else for that matter. You make a decision, good or bad, right or wrong, and you run with it. Except lately you haven’t been that guy anymore.
Its simple, you’re not made to think any other way. Most people want peace in their minds. And you do too. The difference is that there is only peace in your mind when there is something to fight against. When there is a war to be won. Otherwise, you’re just drifting, you have no purpose and that makes you crazy...and angry.
So figure out what you’re going to fight. Figure out who or what the enemy is. And then kill it. Then find the next one. That’s how you are going to find peace.
Nice.
Thanks Mom.
Worked like a charm.
Magic bullet.
I love you Mom...
However, after a little while my girlfriend started to notice and being that she is a female and completely incapable of letting me wallow in my own stupidity, she started to get on me about it.
I can’t complain. She just wanted me to be happy and I can’t say that I’m pissed about that. Having a woman around who is genuinely concerned about making me happy is quite an advantage to have. Most guys I know have got a woman who thinks that so long as she’s happy, then he is to. But that’s a post for another time.
Anyway, I started to think increasingly about my anger. Where the hell was it coming from? What is causing this? Blah, blah, blah.
No answers. I mean there’s always the old stand by of “its the war, man” which in some cases is kinda nice due to the fact I can blame Afghanistan for any little twitch I decide to have. Makes being a moody motherfucker a bit easier.
So after a few weeks of not being able to come up with anything resembling a solution and totally pissing off this wonderful woman who is graciously putting up with my shit, I decided to go for the throat with this problem.
I called the MOM.
I know, I know, say what you will about a 32 year old man who still goes straight to his mother with his problems. I don’t care because she is in fact, the magic bullet!
So she called one night and I laid it all out for her. The job, my life in general and all that I thought was pissing me off and turning me into a Styx song.
She listened patiently, gave me some audible feedback here and there to let me know she hadn’t fallen asleep, and when I was done she threw it right back at me.
You know, the past few years you haven’t been yourself. You know you’ve been dealing with so much and you’ve become someone you’re not. You are trying all these anger management techniques and you went to see some hippy shrink that didn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground and you keep trying to find all these soft, lifeless solutions to your problems.
That’s not you kid. Never has been. You remember when you were a kid and you were still in diapers?
No, mom I don’t seem to remember that.
Well, you went out to play one day in your diaper and the kids in the neighborhood made fun of you because you were a baby and wearing a diaper. You came in that day and told me that you weren’t going to wear diapers anymore. I told you that you had to go in the potty like a big boy and you said that was okay, so long as you didn’t have to wear diapers anymore. And from that day forward you never wore a diaper again. You see what I’m talking about?
Nope, sorry mom, not getting it at all. (And I’m kinda chuckling at the fact that I got to use the word “potty” and the phrase “big boy” in this post.
Okay, you don’t do soft solutions. You like to fight. You always have. Its just who you are. You need someone or something to fight against. It gives you purpose. It gives you a reason. It sorts the world out for you. You look at the world and you see friend and foe. Whether it be your job, your anger, or anything else for that matter. You make a decision, good or bad, right or wrong, and you run with it. Except lately you haven’t been that guy anymore.
Its simple, you’re not made to think any other way. Most people want peace in their minds. And you do too. The difference is that there is only peace in your mind when there is something to fight against. When there is a war to be won. Otherwise, you’re just drifting, you have no purpose and that makes you crazy...and angry.
So figure out what you’re going to fight. Figure out who or what the enemy is. And then kill it. Then find the next one. That’s how you are going to find peace.
Nice.
Thanks Mom.
Worked like a charm.
Magic bullet.
I love you Mom...
Mar 7, 2011
Feb 22, 2011
Fuck Wisconsin...
So anyone with a pulse has probably heard about the big doings up there in Cheese land.
Basically, the thin and thick of it is this. Wisconsin's governor wants to save some cash. About 300 million bucks over the next two years or so. And he plans to do this by pretty well destroying the public employee unions in Wisconsin.
Now before I get into any of this a short disclaimer. I am a union employee. I do work for a government agency. I am a proud union supporter and I do faithfully pay my dues, through payroll deduction every two weeks.
So, there's that. Now why Mr. Walker (Governor of Wisconsin) has taken aim at the public employee unions is simple. They're an easy target. Their pensions, their benefits, their pay scales. Which are all things that can be skewed one way or the other depending on who is using the statistics and what they're using the statistics for.
He wants a few concessions from the unions that he has already said, repeatedly that he is not willing to compromise on. He wants an end to the ability of public employee unions to collectively bargain. He wants larger contributions to pensions from public employees. And he wants a larger contribution from public employees to their health care costs.
In exchange, he won't lay off any workers and he won't force furloughs onto workers who aren't laid off.
Kind of seems to me like he's pointing a .45 at a puppy and saying, "do what I want or fluffy gets one in the head."
In addition you'll notice that Mr. Walker left the police and firefighters unions out of this whole mess. Purely a political move if you ask me. How would it look to have a bunch of public heroes crying poor because the governor wanted to save a few bucks?
First of all, and this is a biggie with me. It boggles my mind why someone is allowed to attack these unions without being willing to give up anything himself. I'll bet Wisconsin has a very generous pay package for the governor. I'll bet that, like so many elected government officials, he will get a pension after a very short period of time in office. Some of these jokers draw a pension after only one term! I'll bet that the state of Wisconsin's taxpayers foot the bill for his medical, dental, vision, they pay for his house, they pay for his car, they pay for his police protection, they pay all his travel expenses, they pay all his vacation time and they pretty much meet every need he or his family may have for the duration of his stay in office. And I would imagine that most, if not all Wisconsin lawmakers are in pretty much the same palatial boat.
Well Mr. Walker, when are you going to curtail some of that? Public employees are one thing. When are we going to get around to the elected officials and all the sweet little goodies that they get? When are we going to not only attack the unionized employees, who are such a political thorn in your side, and start attacking those ass bags (like you) who go so far as to vote on their own pay raises? Alright, that one wasn't directed at Wisconsin so much as it was directed at the US Congress.
Now, I'll agree. Costs must be cut for state services. That's pretty much a given across the country, every state in the union plus the Fed is hurting for money and needs to save a little here and there. Okay, they need to save a shit ton, and they need to do it now or the whole kit and kaboodle is going to go tits up!
But here's where things start to make me laugh. They take aim at the wrong things. They take aim at the teachers, they take aim at the prison guards (of which, I am one.) they take aim at all the unions that provide a necessary, yet un-romanticized service to the public.
Have any of you met kids these days?
They're horrible. They're lazy, disobedient, undisciplined, violent, and a million other things that are bad. In short, they suck. Now of course, I'm not talking about your kids. But we all know what kind of kids are out there. Question being, would you want to go into a public school and deal with those little shits? Because I sure as hell wouldn't.
Do I think the teachers deserve to be fairly compensated for what they do? Hell yeah. The only thing I've always had a problem with teachers about is this. Why do they get a full years salary for nine months of work? That pisses me off. I work 12 months for 12 months of pay. They work 9 months for 12 months of pay. A teachers salary should be roughly 3/4's of what it currently is, and they should be expected to either work the other 3 months of the year or deal with only making 3/4's of what they were before.
Now on to the prison guards. Let's get a few things out of the way right off the bat. Prison guards as a profession have the highest levels of suicide, divorce, and alcoholism. Because if you ask me, we have the most stressful job. Name another job where a normal part of your day is protecting yourself from having piss and shit thrown at you? Can't do it can ya?
I tell cops that brag about how many guys they arrest. Yeah, well I get locked in a room by myself with 120 of the worst of the worst every day. All these guys have is time, and they use that time to come up with new and inventive ways to maim or kill one another and/or me. And I'm expected to control that situation with nothing more than my brain and my ability to coerce. So until you've stared down a room full of gangsters, drug dealers, child molesters, pimps, money launderers, and murderers let's keep the theatrics to a minimum.
But everybody loves cops and firemen. There's no love for prison guards or teachers. So guess who gets this mountain of shit dropped on them.
The funny part of this whole thing is, this move will only save Wisconsin 300 million over the next two years. Wisconsin's current debt load is 3.6 billion.
Now 3.6 billion is 36,000 millions. Got that? Now if all these budget estimates are right. That means that if Wisconsin puts every single solitary fucking dime they save from breaking these unions into paying off their debt (and no interest at all is charged on the debt, LOL) then in two years the debt will only be 35,700 millions. Hmmm, not a real big dent if you think about it. And it comes at the expense of all these working class people.
When are people in this country going to wake up? When are they going to realize that we're always looking at the wrong things? We were looking in the right direction for a little while, but then we lost it.
George Carlin once said something, he said, "Race, sexual orientation, anything that they can bring up to get us fighting amongst ourselves so that they can keep on going to the bank. Simple strategy. Happens to work."
In this case, they're using this financial crisis to break the unions. Make no mistake that's exactly what this is. Union busting. 2011 style. They used to come at us with sticks, bricks, and guns. Now they're coming at us with laws and regulations. They found another thing to get us fighting amongst ourselves.
A lot has been made in this debate of how the private sector workers have had to take pay cuts, benefit reductions, removal of pensions, and reductions in or outright suspension of employer contributions to 401k plans.
Okay, I get where they're coming from. But here's what I want to know. Why are we trying to pull the public employees down? Why aren't we trying to figure out how to raise the private sector employees up?
I don't know the answer to that question but I'd really like to hear what you guys think.
But it all boils down to this. If there's one thing that I know about this country its that there's only one color that actually matters and that's green. Money. Its the end all be all. Try to argue with me on this and you're...well you're gonna lose. Any pie in sky notion that money doesn't make the world go around is going to get shot down like an Iraqi scud.
Now there's a class of people that have it. And there's a class of people that works for it. And finally there's a class of people that doesn't get any of it. And, at the risk of sounding redundant, Mr Carlin said "The rich have all of the money, and pay none of the taxes. The middle class pays all of the taxes, does all of the work. The poor are there...just to scare the shit out of the middle class. Keep them showing up at those jobs!"
Now its time for a different frame of thinking in the country. I think too many people fell prey to the Tea Party mantra of less government. I fell for some of it myself. Problem is, I don't think we need to destroy so many lives for the sake of saving a few bucks...
Well maybe we need to be taking a good hard look at who's got what, and how much they've got. But regardless of what we do...it all amounts to nothing if we don't stand together.
Just a thought.
Later,
I love you Mom...
Basically, the thin and thick of it is this. Wisconsin's governor wants to save some cash. About 300 million bucks over the next two years or so. And he plans to do this by pretty well destroying the public employee unions in Wisconsin.
Now before I get into any of this a short disclaimer. I am a union employee. I do work for a government agency. I am a proud union supporter and I do faithfully pay my dues, through payroll deduction every two weeks.
So, there's that. Now why Mr. Walker (Governor of Wisconsin) has taken aim at the public employee unions is simple. They're an easy target. Their pensions, their benefits, their pay scales. Which are all things that can be skewed one way or the other depending on who is using the statistics and what they're using the statistics for.
He wants a few concessions from the unions that he has already said, repeatedly that he is not willing to compromise on. He wants an end to the ability of public employee unions to collectively bargain. He wants larger contributions to pensions from public employees. And he wants a larger contribution from public employees to their health care costs.
In exchange, he won't lay off any workers and he won't force furloughs onto workers who aren't laid off.
Kind of seems to me like he's pointing a .45 at a puppy and saying, "do what I want or fluffy gets one in the head."
In addition you'll notice that Mr. Walker left the police and firefighters unions out of this whole mess. Purely a political move if you ask me. How would it look to have a bunch of public heroes crying poor because the governor wanted to save a few bucks?
First of all, and this is a biggie with me. It boggles my mind why someone is allowed to attack these unions without being willing to give up anything himself. I'll bet Wisconsin has a very generous pay package for the governor. I'll bet that, like so many elected government officials, he will get a pension after a very short period of time in office. Some of these jokers draw a pension after only one term! I'll bet that the state of Wisconsin's taxpayers foot the bill for his medical, dental, vision, they pay for his house, they pay for his car, they pay for his police protection, they pay all his travel expenses, they pay all his vacation time and they pretty much meet every need he or his family may have for the duration of his stay in office. And I would imagine that most, if not all Wisconsin lawmakers are in pretty much the same palatial boat.
Well Mr. Walker, when are you going to curtail some of that? Public employees are one thing. When are we going to get around to the elected officials and all the sweet little goodies that they get? When are we going to not only attack the unionized employees, who are such a political thorn in your side, and start attacking those ass bags (like you) who go so far as to vote on their own pay raises? Alright, that one wasn't directed at Wisconsin so much as it was directed at the US Congress.
Now, I'll agree. Costs must be cut for state services. That's pretty much a given across the country, every state in the union plus the Fed is hurting for money and needs to save a little here and there. Okay, they need to save a shit ton, and they need to do it now or the whole kit and kaboodle is going to go tits up!
But here's where things start to make me laugh. They take aim at the wrong things. They take aim at the teachers, they take aim at the prison guards (of which, I am one.) they take aim at all the unions that provide a necessary, yet un-romanticized service to the public.
Have any of you met kids these days?
They're horrible. They're lazy, disobedient, undisciplined, violent, and a million other things that are bad. In short, they suck. Now of course, I'm not talking about your kids. But we all know what kind of kids are out there. Question being, would you want to go into a public school and deal with those little shits? Because I sure as hell wouldn't.
Do I think the teachers deserve to be fairly compensated for what they do? Hell yeah. The only thing I've always had a problem with teachers about is this. Why do they get a full years salary for nine months of work? That pisses me off. I work 12 months for 12 months of pay. They work 9 months for 12 months of pay. A teachers salary should be roughly 3/4's of what it currently is, and they should be expected to either work the other 3 months of the year or deal with only making 3/4's of what they were before.
Now on to the prison guards. Let's get a few things out of the way right off the bat. Prison guards as a profession have the highest levels of suicide, divorce, and alcoholism. Because if you ask me, we have the most stressful job. Name another job where a normal part of your day is protecting yourself from having piss and shit thrown at you? Can't do it can ya?
I tell cops that brag about how many guys they arrest. Yeah, well I get locked in a room by myself with 120 of the worst of the worst every day. All these guys have is time, and they use that time to come up with new and inventive ways to maim or kill one another and/or me. And I'm expected to control that situation with nothing more than my brain and my ability to coerce. So until you've stared down a room full of gangsters, drug dealers, child molesters, pimps, money launderers, and murderers let's keep the theatrics to a minimum.
But everybody loves cops and firemen. There's no love for prison guards or teachers. So guess who gets this mountain of shit dropped on them.
The funny part of this whole thing is, this move will only save Wisconsin 300 million over the next two years. Wisconsin's current debt load is 3.6 billion.
Now 3.6 billion is 36,000 millions. Got that? Now if all these budget estimates are right. That means that if Wisconsin puts every single solitary fucking dime they save from breaking these unions into paying off their debt (and no interest at all is charged on the debt, LOL) then in two years the debt will only be 35,700 millions. Hmmm, not a real big dent if you think about it. And it comes at the expense of all these working class people.
When are people in this country going to wake up? When are they going to realize that we're always looking at the wrong things? We were looking in the right direction for a little while, but then we lost it.
George Carlin once said something, he said, "Race, sexual orientation, anything that they can bring up to get us fighting amongst ourselves so that they can keep on going to the bank. Simple strategy. Happens to work."
In this case, they're using this financial crisis to break the unions. Make no mistake that's exactly what this is. Union busting. 2011 style. They used to come at us with sticks, bricks, and guns. Now they're coming at us with laws and regulations. They found another thing to get us fighting amongst ourselves.
A lot has been made in this debate of how the private sector workers have had to take pay cuts, benefit reductions, removal of pensions, and reductions in or outright suspension of employer contributions to 401k plans.
Okay, I get where they're coming from. But here's what I want to know. Why are we trying to pull the public employees down? Why aren't we trying to figure out how to raise the private sector employees up?
I don't know the answer to that question but I'd really like to hear what you guys think.
But it all boils down to this. If there's one thing that I know about this country its that there's only one color that actually matters and that's green. Money. Its the end all be all. Try to argue with me on this and you're...well you're gonna lose. Any pie in sky notion that money doesn't make the world go around is going to get shot down like an Iraqi scud.
Now there's a class of people that have it. And there's a class of people that works for it. And finally there's a class of people that doesn't get any of it. And, at the risk of sounding redundant, Mr Carlin said "The rich have all of the money, and pay none of the taxes. The middle class pays all of the taxes, does all of the work. The poor are there...just to scare the shit out of the middle class. Keep them showing up at those jobs!"
Now its time for a different frame of thinking in the country. I think too many people fell prey to the Tea Party mantra of less government. I fell for some of it myself. Problem is, I don't think we need to destroy so many lives for the sake of saving a few bucks...
In 2004, the wealthiest 25% of US households owned 87% ($43.6 trillion) of the country’s wealth, while the bottom quartile held no net wealth at all.[3] The middle 50% of the country held 13% or $6.5 trillion of the total household net wealth.
Well maybe we need to be taking a good hard look at who's got what, and how much they've got. But regardless of what we do...it all amounts to nothing if we don't stand together.
Just a thought.
Later,
I love you Mom...
Feb 16, 2011
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