10 Days until Christmas

A nice thought from Christmas Countdown last year

Under the Christmas tree,
With many dreams in the eyes,
The gifts and the fun,
Feeling a little wise,
That is the fun of Christmas,
With family and friends,
Stay blessed,
Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

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Post by Christmas Countdown.

 

Election Day is here #GOTV Calls

Today is the Day to Get Out The VOTE!

Polls opened up at 6am & will be opened until 8pm
(barring any funny business at the polling stations which seems to be happening a lot the past few years in our cities)

Have you already gone to Vote before going to work?

Call Friends & Family & Remind them to #GOTV

Can you take a Co-Worker to go vote during your lunch break?

Can you get out early to assist with getting friends & family & neighbors to the voting booths?

Call the candidate that you are supporting & ask if there is some assistance that you can offer, many times there are polling stations that could use a sign waver outside for an hour or two.

Did you remind the people in your social networks?

If we are going to turn around our state we must begin with our cities & towns.

NC Enters Year 4 of Common Core and Reading Retention for 3rd Graders Increases Statewide

Those who are fighting common core have been made fun of the parents fighting common core & the administrations in most states have gone on the attack to try to drown out the voices of those concerned & knowledgeable enough to stand up & say “NO This is Very Bad for our children & we do not want it”

With each passing year the schools make excuses after excuses for why the students are doing poorly…
Then they demand more money because they think that if the test scores are bad then of course they must spend more money on the worst educational system that was developed…

#ParentsRights are being denied as many school officials try to hide the curriculum & lessons & tests from the parents. Teachers & Administrators have gone against what are in the best interest of the children in their push to add more highly paid staff with titles to do worthless studies…

Our children are worth more than the crazy experiments which these testing corporations are doing. We can not afford for our children’s lives to be ruined by these people.

#StopCommonCoreInCT end the moneypit waste that we have going on in every town in CT.

Learn All that you can about this program & then get down to the town halls & demand for the removal of this mess from our state & towns! #TakeBackOurSchools

Source: NC Enters Year 4 of Common Core and Reading Retention for 3rd Graders Increases Statewide

New gang in Chicopee recruiting kids as young as 12 years old – Western Mass News – WGGB/WSHM

I came across the article below
After hearing about some recent bike thefts & seeing some complaints & debates about the gangs of children on bikes riding recklessly in Windsor neighborhoods on facebook; I’m wondering if this might be what is going on.

Parents want to put their heads in the sand & think that their children would not act in such a manner but reality is that in the times in which we live we possibly could have such a bike gang problem going on.

Parents we have to talk to our children & their friends parents so we can know where our children are. I think that it might be a good thing to have our police departments to compare notes to see if there is a possibility that this gang in Mass is also operating here in CT.

What is there for our youth to do to distract them from this type of activity that is quite dangerous?
With all of the money spent on the schools aren’t there after school activities for the children to be a part of?
What activities are offered at the community centers that our children can take part in so they aren’t playing in the streets?

A new gang in Chicopee has police on high alert because the group is recruiting kids as young as 12-years-old.  Officers are now continuing their efforts in providing safety for residents.

Source: New gang in Chicopee recruiting kids as young as 12 years old – Western Mass News – WGGB/WSHM

Windsor Budget – Vote NO Tomorrow

Reminder Get Out & Vote NO on the Budget Tomorrow

Polls Open at 6am & Close at 8pm

#YourVoteIsYourVoice – #VoteNo

#SayNoNewTaxes – there is a lot of questionable BoE items needing transparency & the democrats in charge of the BoE aren’t being forthcoming about all the numbers nor looking for cost saving measures that can be options for our citizens – the BoE budget is 2/3rds of the town’s total budget & it needs to be better managed, we’ve had too much vagueness in their numbers & animosity by the BoE leadership when being questioned about how they plan to spend our families money

#SaveWindsorPuppies – Save our Windsor Animal Control Shelter the democrats are forcing our current “dog pound” to be destroyed by their corporate friends who they have given the tax breaks to build luxury mixed use apartments (think like Hartford office & stores downstairs & apartments on top commercial buildings) so the rich get rid of our puppies who have gotten lost & found by our animal control officers & now instead of building a new shelter the democrats who obviously do not like dogs are trying to send our Windsor Puppies out of town to possibly kill shelters #DemocratsHatePuppies

#SaveTeamParagon – our 18 year olds need to vote to save their classmates Robotics Program which the democrats will displace when they try to take over the old Roger Wolcott school which was closed due to students leaving the district – our teens deserve to have the Robotics Team in a space where they can continue to grow in learning as well as experiencing successes as they compete #DemocratsHateRobots

If you are RICH you’ll have no problem going along with the democrat bullies who have been steadily increasing our taxes every year but if you are part of the lower income brackets that are struggling under the weight of the excesses & wasteful spending that the democrats who are running Windsor are jamming down our throats then #VoteNo
#DemocratsHatePoorPeople

Windsor Budget Vote May 12th

Windsor Voters it is time once again to get your paper & pencil & sit down & figure out how much more this year your family can afford to spend paying for the high & inflated budget which has been put in front of us to pay with another tax increase on our property taxes…
Keep in mind that our state officials are also planning to increase our income taxes & adding taxes on items not previously taxed, in addition to raising the taxes on items we’ve got to pay for our gas, cigarettes, & wine

Many do not have the ability to attend the town hall meetings on a regular basis due to family & work obligations, but were you aware that even if you do not get cable tv into your home you can watch many of our town hall meetings online?

Below is a clip of the last portion of the Windsor Town Council Meeting that was held on April 27th 2015 from the town website.
Clicking the link will open the video in a new window for you to see the last 15 or so minutes of the 2+hours that took place.

Windsor Town Council Meeting 2-27-15

http://windsor-ct.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?clip_id=505&view_id=2&embed=1&player_width=640&player_height=480&entrytime=8342&stoptime=9332&auto_start=1

Shop Small Saturdays 2015

Shop Small Saturday is normally the day after Black Friday

I think to help our Mom & Pop Shops we need to not shop just the 1 day

To help our economy in CT let’s Buy Local & Buy American Made.

I know sometimes it’s faster & cheaper to run into a big box store, but there are many small shops that are reasonably priced & you can see if they are open to the lost art of haggling & get a better deal.

With some planning we can at least buy gifts for holiday giving from our local family owned businesses & crafts people in the state.

We can also buy more of our food locally at family farms. We have several pick your own farms in CT so you know it’s fresh since you & the family spent some fun family time picking the fruits.

So as we start wrapping up the school year & get ready for summer, let’s shop small CT. I hope that you’ll share the small shops that you find good deals & great services at with us.

#ShopSmallCT #ShopSmallSaturdays

Ups & Downs of Traveling

I’ve been taking a series of classes down in VA over the past few months

It has been interesting comparing the other states to CT as I’ve driven along the way.

Of course there is the simple Nicer Weather (mostly nicer it did get a Freezing Spell halfway thru my first stay while CT & Boston had a blizzard) than CT this winter. Enjoyable as I started stripping off layers on the drive down & then not so fun adding them back on as I drove back home to CT’s cold winter weather.

As I hear talk about adding Tollbooths back into CT; all I can think about is how the career democrat politicians have all lied to us when they removed the original tollbooths after the terrible multi-car & truck accident years ago.

These career democrat politicians stuck us with both Increased Sales Taxes & Increased Income Taxes! These Career Democrat Politicians are Breaking their Promises to Our Hard Working Taxpaying Families!
#DemocratWarOnWorkingFamilies

They promised both taxes wouldn’t be raised again but all taxes HAVE Been RAISED, including adding on taxes to items that were not previously taxed like our clothes costing less than $50.00 which hurt poor families.
The INCOME TAX that was supposed to be temporary but instead has not only Not Gone Away but Has Been RAISED!

Currently we are blessed enough to live close enough to the Mass border that we have been going there to purchase both gas & cartons of cigarettes. Since we have been quitting smoking & the gas prices lowered in the state we have started buying our gas once again in CT. The only question is “How long will that last?” since the career democrats are hellbent on raising all current & adding new taxes once again…

It is clearly shown that the career democrats who have been ruling our state for so many years have not the slightest clue on how their meddling is so badly hurting our families nor businesses.
Those who are able to do so shop elsewhere to avoid our high taxes. We have been losing businesses & hard working tax paying families with each year as more taxes & fees & crazy regulations are added in CT.

Travelers should be wooed to our state to shop & visit our historical sites but our elected officials for as much as they travel on our taxpayer dollars they do not come back with ideas that can be used here in CT to bring in businesses or tourists or working taxpaying families.

In PA the Rest Stops are bright clean & scenic as well as being a safe place to pullover & rest on the long trip north or south.
In NY the rest stops aren’t quite as nice along 84 but frequent reminders to pull over to check the texts & double as state trooper roadside mini stations to be dispatched from.

Do you know that you can drive down to the DC area & back & only pay $1.50 in tolls from CT’s north most towns?

Our career democrat politicians want to drive away tourists who can & will tap the option Avoid Tolls on their GPS units or Google maps – Yes it might take you a bit out of the way but…

With beautiful countryside & clean rest stops along the way & even less traffic than going through NY/NJ turnpike systems; the extra miles & much less expense of tolls, it is well worth the trip.
The traffic avoidance alone it’s worth the extra mileage & will get you there in just about the same time but with less frazzled nerves due to the congestion & bad drivers at the many tollbooth stops.

Besides there are some nice family owned shops to stop & eat or shop along the way rather than the big box stores.

Can you guess where the most congested traffic always is on the way home to CT? Yes that’s right at the crazy mess of the tollbooth at the Beacon-Newburgh bridge where the tollbooths are!

With the addition of tollbooths the career democrat politicians are dooming our state to loads of increased debt & taxes that we do not need & can Not Afford!
Exactly why would any traveler come through CT with the highest gas taxes in the area?

#CallCTGeneralAssembly tell them #JustSayNoToTollBooths #CutSpending #StopAddingTaxes

PS: My Rant about More Gambling in CT is posted on another blog post which I’ll link back to here at a later date Life Calls so I must get to it

Driving in Winter – ugh I Hate Snow on the Roads

Yes it’s that bane to unicorn fart believers time of year – WINTER

When freezing temps & lots of snow is falling & we in the frozen lands ask “Hey can you send some of that global warming over here?”

I hate driving in winter during snow storms or afterwards when there is a hit or miss on will the roads being traveled be plowed & cleared.

Sometimes it can’t be helped people have to go to work & children off to schools & snow storms have their own schedule.

What is in your car as you’re driving around this winter?

I’ve been lucky to not have gotten stuck in the snow on the roadside but they have shown on the news this winter how others have not been so lucky.

I’ve done my best to stay off the roads when possible when snow is falling but a couple of times have had the unpleasant experience of being out when the snowstorm starts.

People yes we all want to get home & out of the snow but SLOW DOWN!
What good is speeding home to hit an ice patch & have an accident that causes not only you but everyone on the highway after you to spend an even longer time stuck in the cold in a traffic jam?
Saw that happen on my way home from DC earlier this winter.

Emergency Kit Backpack

Do you have a blanket or some sort of throw inside the car to reach for if you get stuck for an extended period of time out in the mess? If you have children then an old twin blanket for them in the back seat will reach across the seat to cover them all fold in half lengthwise to add warmth & a 2nd one for the adults in the front seat.

With it being winter try to never let the gas tank go below 3/4 full would be ideal but reality is not as easy to do as we’d like. The danger in letting the gas tank go below 1/4 is that in a traffic jam you could run out of gas or more common is that in this cold the gas lines will freeze. To help against gaslines freezing in the car adding some drygas to a full tank once a month has helped me over the years.

While it’s not snowing take a few minutes to gather items for your next trip out to the car
Snow Scraper with Brush – reminder the new law passed we have to remove car roof snow too
Extra Mittens to just leave in the car
Sunglasses – glare from the sun & snow means sunglasses are year round requirement for driving
Blankets or Throws – 1 for each row of seats
Flashlights & a RED film covering for signaling to show up against snow day or night
Some munchies to leave in the car like granola bars or protein bars that are wrapped & not affected by freezing or heat for a month
Candle in a Tin & Matches – hey save gas & battery life with a candle in a tin if stuck on the roadside adds a tiny bit of heat too
First Aid kit – pick one up at the store & add what you need to it & put it under the front seat

There are websites that offer more in depth details about what to have in an emergency kit for the car & home. One of the sites which I have been involved with is http://AroundTheCabin.com/Campfire This is where we can chat, ask questions & discuss all sort of different ideas about life in a world without electrical power or emergencies like Katrina / Sandy style events.
They start 8pm eastern Sunday through Friday nights & will be expanding their times on air as they bring on more hosts.

OBAMA BUDGET KILLS TAX BENEFITS FOR CITY FUNDED STADIUMS

With the discussions & debates about Hartford stealing the RockCats from New Britain with building the millionaire owner a brand new stadium I wonder if this bit of legislation will be brought up in the newest discussions?

Or will they ignore it to force the residents & possibly the state of CT to pick up the tab?

Will they continue ignoring the fact that Hartford has schools which need to be fixed both educationally as well as physically; as many of the schools are literally falling apart & some have even been deemed to be unsafe for the people to be in…?

How many Hartford & CT Citizens will be hired for constructing these projects? The stadium & other buildings should be high wage jobs & a benefit to the people living in Hartford, will the city’s tax money be spent employing people from other states?

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