Helping others: Please toot your own horn!

The local Humane Society is running out of kibble.
They deliver kibble to pet owners that have fallen on hard times.
So we're taking a couple of big bags down there this weekend.
Love them critters.

Last Sunday, I was in the middle of a 200-mile return trip home, driving back from a visit with old friends from college, when I passed by a ragged looking man on the side of the road who had a cardboard sign that said, "Homeless."

I pulled over to the side of the road, walked over to him and give him a handful of cash, which amounted to about $120. The gratitude he expressed was worth much more than that. Though I did not help him out of need for gratitude.

The funny thing is, when I stopped again for gas, a few more miles down the road, there was a praying mantis perched on the one gas pump out of about 12 that I picked to use.

I have a picture from a couple of years ago of that was taken when I was visiting the same friends that I was visiting last weekend. I was sitting on a porch, and the picture was taken after a praying mantis had crawled up my back and perched itself on my shoulder.

The following is a true story.

My wife and her sister are both home care providers.
My wife was working in a private facility when one of the wealthier homeward bound elderly persons hired her at $10. per hour for 24 hour private home care, in the lady's own home.
My wife and her sister worked out a schedule where they would each work a 12 hour shift, since most of the late night shift was spent sleeping, while the day shift consisted of the usual daily tasks.

Now the costs of a retirement home in our area, vary from about $3,000 per month to over $7,000 per month.
The elderly person was paying about $6,720 a month to my wife and her sister for the 24 hour care,,,,,without any deductions.

While caring for this person, my wife was offered another similar job, that she accepted. The family of the 2nd disabled person hired another care giver to help my wife and her sister, and the 3 of them rotated between the two disabled persons houses. My wife was off every 12 hours but her sister a single woman who lived with us when she wasn't working rotated between the two houses for about one year, saving her money.

Now $6720 X 2 = $13,440 divided by 3 = $4,480 per care giver per month.

Everybody was happy until.....the federal taxes were figured out at the end of the year. My wife owed over $6,000 in taxes despite our joint tax return { I was self employed and had many deductions } and her sister owed quite a bit more.

Her sister was so angry about the taxes she moved out of the country and hasn't come back in over 10 years.

The point is government is here to rob us of our earned income!

Oh by the way, since my wife and her sister didn't drive at the time I was the volunteer free taxi service to shuttle them around during this period, and my business suffered because so much time was spent driving.

Yesterday, my wife was approached by a young woman who asked for money to buy some food. This is not uncommon in Portland--Oregon has the second highest unemployment rate. Neither my wife nor I like to hand out money for fear it will be used for unhealthy things, so my wife offered to take the woman to a fast food place down the street and buy her some food. During the trip, my wife found out that the woman had a prescription for an infection. She was unable to afford the prescription (~$100), so my wife took her to Wal-Mart and paid for the prescription to be filled (it turned out to be $80 at Wal-Mart). While they were waiting for the prescription to be filled, my wife bought her some groceries that didn't need to be kept cold--the woman lived in a tent with her husband.

As a side note, I think hiring people to do work for you is charitable--even though it is not charity. For instance, since both my wife and I are employed, we hire a cleaner to clean our house once a week. Granted, we can clean our own house, but this way someone else gets a little help putting food on the table and we get a clean house. :)

universal health care has nothing to do with our well being.

It is another step toward collectivization and if you have been at the DP for more than a week you KNOW it.

You actually need ME to explain to you that the best way to control us is to make us DEPENDENT on the government?

In 1905 the federal government's contribution to the GDP was about 6%.
Today it is about 46%. Do you see a pattern?

Do you see that there are many posters here who "steer" the debate?

Do you see that the best way to deal with this control is to learn to divine the truth for yourself? Then, you will be free.

Why do you watch the media?

Why do you engage in the lie?

They are selling you down the river and have been for 100 years and you are telling me that you like it?

These people are immoral....you are actually so brainwashed that when they accuse YOU of being immoral you believe it?

A plant goes to the Barney Frank town hall with an Obama/Hitler picture.

Frank makes her look like an idiot. It hits the internet.

This was SCRIPTED.

Please learn the truth and tell it.

Stop engaging in this media "show."

They are grouping you and tagging you and brain washing you.

Stop helping them.

Sorry I try not to toot my own horn for obvious reasons ..I let God do the Math.
Good people do Good deeds
and are no respecter of person

But no one in the MSM will acknowledge that the efforts of individuals and community groups can replace the government efforts (though I think they can).
Two years ago my friend lost his job and shortly after needed to renew his driver's license. In order to do this (to continue to legally have the ability to drive his car) he needed new glasses (Eye exam and new lenses). The bill was over $300, but I did this for him as a friend. I also had him living in my home for 6 months to afford him easier access to the city for jobhunting, as his family lives 40 miles away, not convenient to the local job market.

I see others posting about their blood donating, and yes I am a 2 galloneer at this time, but I am currently on deferral (due to melanoma 2 years ago) and cannot donate until next year.

I also give about $40 per month to my community YMCA as a payroll deduction.
That $40 gives me access to their pool (which I have never used yet) but only a meager 10% discount on any pay activities they offer, like summer programs for the kids.

I have also sat on the board of a local food Cooperative, eventually becoming the Board Chairman. The Coop did not survive, but I did my part while it was viable.

I have fixed (paid repair bill) of another friend's car when his transmission gave out. I cannot tell you how many "payday" loans I gave this fellow too... when he ran out of money before he ran out of month.

If we are counting political contributions here... RP got $100 last year, and Rand/Schiff each got $50 in the last week or so (money bombs).

I was a cub scouts leader for 5 years, ending about a decade ago.

Certainly there are others like me... and the stories are likely overwhelming if added up. This is my 2 cents.

That's what big-government advocates try to tell us when they attempt to leverage these false-guilt accusations.

They believe themselves better at deciding the portion of your earnings you should get to keep for your family, and how much government must extract from you to serve their ever-expanding list of noble-sounding programs.

When the appeal of their lofty notions fails to persuade us, they then use demeaning terms to decry our motives for not giving in or giving up without a fight; hoping to put us in a self-defensive position.

It's been my life experience that liberty-lovers give the most freely to truly needy people and truly noble causes. Those who promote the inefficient redistribution of wealth by government often seem to squander their own money in other wasteful ways besides.

I chair the board of a local non profit providing services to at risk and disadvantaged (mainly minority) youth. I give 1-2% of my net income to charity every month and my goal is to increase that to 10% in the next year it so.

If I was taxed less, I could give more.

I think socialism robs me of the opportunity to help my fellow man...literally denies me the ability to increase my Karma....or gain whatever spiritual and mental benefits there are to giving. (You should see the new documentary Happiness Is)

Giving of your resources has value.

Voting to take someone elses resources and give them to another has no value. (At least for you...you may feel selfless but is a sad illusion)

It was a home for young pregnant women.
The father of the child was out of the picture. Then the kid was born,
My wife kept telling me how smart she was, and what potential she had.
She knows I'm a sucker for these things. That, and stray cats and dogs.
So she started taking the girl to work with her, training her on Office software, and management. Then we helped her get enrolled in college. I drove her there at first. Then we matched her dollar for dollar to buy a used car. So far so good.

is the only way to go for me.

They are the lazy ones looking for others to support them instead of taking responsibility for themselves.

Obama = O.ne B.ig A.ss M.istake A.merica

I volunteered for 6 years at about 40 hours/month while having a full time job mentoring 7-12 graders. I believe government programs that take care of the needy deprive us of our humanity by taking care of the people that WE should be helping.

I don't mentor officially anymore but I do still keep in contact and help many of the youth and their families. In fact, I am putting one up in a spare bedroom because of her family problems.