Can you believe presidential hopeful Barack Obama turned down an offer from Lindsay Lohan to host some events for younger voters? Apparently, his camp thinks she is too controversial. Is it the drunken binges, promiscuous behavior or the fact that she is dating a girl?
According to the article, “…a top source in the Barack Obama team tells me the actress ”is not exactly the kind of high-profile star who would be a positive for us.”
Given Lohan’s past problems, plus ongoing brushes with controversy, I’ve learned the campaign quietly told the actress ”thanks, but no thanks,” but in far more diplomatic terms.”
When you add in the fact that Obama is on record as saying he would not repeal the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on his own, I think he might be someone who is afraid of ‘the gays’. Okay, that’s not entirely accurate of me, but it doesn’t seem to bother the Hollywood left when they do it, I don’t feel so bad about exaggerating things a bit myself. He’s also quoted as saying, “My first obligation as the president is to make sure that I keep the American people safe and that our military is functioning effectively.” That politician talk means that he realizes if his advisers say it’s probably a bad idea, that he will drop the matter.
Personally, I have a few lesbian friends that happen to own a few handguns, rifles, etc. I’ll just say I would trust them to watch my back more than I would Sen. Obama any day of the week.
I got my W-2 forms in the mail yesterday. It used to be that I would wait until the last minute to file my federal and state returns. If you’re taxes are fairly easy to prepare and you’ve never used the online tax preparation program at www.hrblock.com, I’d recommend it. I was able to complete my taxes in around an hour or so… and nearly had a heart attack in the process.
In box 12a of my W-2, there was a fairly sizable number listed. I entered the dollar amount from box 12 in the appropriate field and read the code as being A (which I now know to be the code that designates the money as uncollected Social Security or RRTA tax on tips.) When I was done filling in all the fields, the program calculated that I owed over $2500 in federal taxes! I’m not one to swear a whole lot, but after not having breathed for a couple of minutes while staring blankly at my monitor wondering why I owed so much, I have to admit a couple of expletives parted from my lips.
Rational thinking finally took over and I went back through the form. Box 12a had a little letter ‘D’ to the left of it. This particular code means the dollar amount is a non-taxable elective salary deferral to a 401(k). Non-taxable is the operative part of the description. So, instead of owing $2500, I am getting around $350 back.
Next year I’ll be taking a closer look at line 12.
Hi to all who venture in here!
It’s been a while since I posted but it doesn’t actually feel like it has been that long. Time has been flying by! I can’t believe it is almost February already. There have been a lot of changes in my life and finding time to keep up with the website has been tough.
Fairly recently, I moved to a new company. I was working for a software developer with offices downtown. In early December, a friend whom I used to work with at that company told me there was an opening where she worked for a major luxury coach manufacturer. On a whim I decided to apply for the job. I sent them my resume on a Tuesday morning. A couple of hours went by and my friend asked me if I would come in for an interview. I told her that any day would be fine, except for that day since I was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt (the software developing company was a very casual environment).
She said that her bosses were very interested in meeting with me and they didn’t care that I was in jeans and a sweatshirt, they wanted to meet with me that day. So, I show up to interview feeling like a total scrub. The dress code at the coach manufacturer is business casual. The interview ended up going well. A day or two later they offered me the job!
I’ve been working there for around 5 weeks now and love it. It is nice to still be around technology (I’m working in their IS department), but working for a company with a different focus. It seems like every computer-focused company I’ve worked for has had layoffs or folded or… whatever. For the first time in many years I feel my employment status is relatively stable.
No one likes excuses, but the new job is one reason I haven’t been around here much. At my old job, I could browse the internet, post on the blog, etc. But those days are over. The coach company’s rules are quite a bit different and I don’t have as much freedom on the net - but I’ll take a good 401k and benefits package over that any day.
When I’m not at work, I’m generally at home playing my new guitar or trying to get my business off the ground…
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Have a safe one…
Hi. I’m sure everyone was devastated to see the blog off line for awhile. I received a notice a couple of weeks back that my domain name, vonski.com, was set to expire. So, I went to my domain management screen and made sure it was set up to AR (auto renew) thinking everything would be good. This morning, I went to check on things and the blog was gone. Grr.
So, I went to my domain management screen and renewed it manually. Which was what I was trying to avoid in the first place. Sorry to disappoint you if you were waiting for it to expire so you could snatch it up. Haha!
Ouch. It’s been a good six months since I posted anything substantive at TCMV. Some would argue that even when I was writing regularly I still wasn’t posting anything substantive.
Why did I stop writing? I’m not sure. This site is something I thought about all the time, even though I wasn’t taking the time to log in and post. News was still happening… is still happening. I just couldn’t seem to bring myself to focus on hard news and politics every day.
To be honest, it’s depressing! Look back over the last year in your mind. Scandal after scandal on both sides of the aisle, bribery, solicitation, hypocrisies galore. And no one seems willing to admit they were wrong. They always just point to the other guy and say, “But this doesn’t even compare to what they were doing over there.”
So, I think I’m done with the whole political focus. I’m sure I’ll post about something political here or there, but this web log won’t have 10 categories devoted to elements of politics. There may be one. When I decide I want to write something.
The blog is changing. Something you probably noticed right away was the new theme. I changed from the blog software b2evolution to WordPress. There is also a new, less serious theme.
Chocolaty goodness.
My nephew approves. Yummeh!
If you happen to drop by, say hello!
