Debtors Prison in the United States? Unfairly Treated Poor People?

The use of debtors prison  in five states, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Georgia and Washington and their widespread practice of jailing people for debt  has gotten the A.C.L.U. attention.

  Breast cancer survivor Lisa Lindsay end up behind bars. She didn't pay a medical bill -- one the Herrin, Ill., teaching assistant was told she didn't owe. "She got a $280 medical bill in error and was told she didn't have to pay it,"  "But the bill was turned over to a collection agency, and eventually state troopers showed up at her home and took her to jail in handcuffs."

Some states also apply "poverty penalties," including late fees, payment plan fees, and interest when people are unable to pay all their debts at once, according to a report by the New York University's Brennan Center for Justice. Alabama charges a 30 percent collection fee, for instance, while Florida allows private debt collectors to add a 40 percent surcharge on the original debt. Some Florida counties also use so-called collection courts, where debtors can be jailed but have no right to a public defender.

Unpaid Rent Can Get You Thrown in Prison in Arkansas

Unless you come from a family so rich and so uninterested in your character development that they pay your bills for you, you've been short on your rent at least once in your life.

According to the failure-to-vacate law, once you're late on your rent, landlords can give you 10 days to pay up, move out, or go to jail. And it's written so that there is no independent investigation to find out if the landlord is telling the truth or if he's looking to fill your apartment with his buddy's hot daughter. So naturally the system is abused to the point where actual homeowners have been somehow charged with not paying their rent.

Wisconsin Wants to Freeze the Bank Accounts of Unemployed People

If some legislators in Wisconsin get their way, the state will have the right not only to monitor your personal banking account if you accept unemployment, but also to freeze your funds if they goof up in your payments.

Tennessee Tries to Make Welfare Dependent on Kids' Grades

Tennessee State Senator Stacey Campfield proposed a law that would've made poor families' welfare benefits dependent on their child's grades, presumably because he doesn't know anything about education, poverty, or the link between the two. Under Campfield's proposed bill, families on welfare would lose up to 30 percent of their benefits if their kids didn't make "satisfactory progress" at school.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is one of America’s most solemn observances. We honor the men and women who died serving and defending our country—unlike Veterans Day, the day to honor all veterans.


The sheer carnage of the Civil War, America’s deadliest war, inspired Memorial Day as a way to honor the war dead. The observances originally were called Decoration Day because thankful Americans decorated and cared for soldiers’ graves. “Memorial Day” usage began appearing in 1882, but “Decoration Day” was common until post-World War II. Congress officially changed the name in 1967,


Keep noon and 3 p.m. local time in mind today. At noon, all flags lowered to half-staff should be raised completely for the remainder of the day. And at 3 p.m., a National Moment of Remembrance takes place. President Bill Clinton started the tradition in 2000.


Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna (Custis) Lee, a great grand-daughter of Martha Washington. The cemetery is situated directly across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
In an area of 624 acres (253 ha), veterans and military casualties from each of the nation's wars are interred in the cemetery, ranging from the American Civil War through to the military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq. Pre-Civil War dead were reinterred after 1900.



Each year, members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry regiment, also known as the Old Guard, are charged with placing American flags at the graves of each service member in Arlington National Cemetery. Created in 1784, the regiment is the oldest active duty regiment in the U.S. Army.


The Tomb of the Unknowns has been perpetually guarded since July 2, 1937, by the U.S. Army. The 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment ("The Old Guard") began guarding the Tomb on April 6, 1948. There is a meticulous routine which the guard follows when watching over the graves.
                                                                            The Tomb Guard:
Marches 21 steps down the black mat behind the Tomb.
Turns, faces east for 21 seconds.
Turns and faces north for 21 seconds.
Takes 21 steps down the mat.
Repeats the routine until the soldier is relieved of duty at the Changing of the Guard.
After each turn, the Guard executes a sharp "shoulder-arms" movement to place the weapon on the shoulder closest to the visitors to signify that the Guard stands between the Tomb and any possible threat.


Twenty-one was chosen because it symbolizes the highest military honor that can be bestowed—the 21-gun salute.
Each turn the guard makes is precise and is instantly followed by a loud click of the heels as he snaps them together. The guard is changed every half hour during daylight in the summer, and every hour during daylight in the winter and every two hours at night (when the cemetery is closed to the public), regardless of weather conditions.

WHO'S the ONLY AMERICAN CAR COMPANY TO HAVE PAID BACK the GOVERNMENT?

Model S Signature - Signature Red


TESLA REPAYS DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

LOAN NINE YEARS EARLY

WEDNESDAY, MAY 22, 2013
PALO ALTO, Calif.--

 Tesla Motors announced that it has paid 

off the entire loan awarded to the company by the Department of 

Energy in 2010. In addition to payments made in 2012 and Q1 

2013, today’s wire of almost half a billion dollars ($451.8M) repays 

the full loan facility with interest. Following this payment, Tesla will 

be the only American car company to have fully repaid the 

government.
For the first seven years since its founding in 2003, Tesla was 

funded entirely with private funds, led by Elon Musk. Tesla 

brought its Roadster sports car to market with a 30% gross margin, 

designed electric power trains for Daimler (Mercedes) and had done 

preliminary design of the Model S all before receiving a government 

loan.

In 2010, Tesla was awarded a milestone-based loan, requiring 

matching private capital obtained via public offering, by the DOE 

as part of the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing 

program. This program was signed into law by President Bush in 

2008 and then awarded under the Obama administration in the 

years that followed. This program is often confused with the 

financial bailouts provided to the then bankrupt GM and Chrysler, 

who were ineligible for the ATVM program, because a requirement 

of that program was good financial health.

The loan payment was made today using a portion of the 

approximately $1 billion in funds raised in last week’s concurrent 

offerings of common stock and convertible senior notes. Elon Musk, 

Tesla’s Chief Executive Officer and co founder, purchased $100 

million of common equity, the least secure portion of the offering. “I 

would like to thank the Department of Energy and the members of 

Congress and their staffs that worked hard to create the ATVM 

program, and particularly the American taxpayer from whom these 

funds originate,” said Elon Musk. “I hope we did you proud.”

Speaking as an American Taxpayer I salute you, thank-you, I will be 

a walking talking advertisement for your company, in conversations 

of how the rich get richer & the government gives away money, I will speak

 your name proudly and recite your praises!

Where's People's Common Sense?

25 Most Expensive Things In The World

Where's Our Governments Sense ? The United States Patent and Trademark Office you are Who?

Really Give Google the Right to Guarantee We Do No Evil on their Watch?

Google applied for a Patent for a tool like and or on spell checker that would notify you and of course no one else that your personal messages in your email  and documents and possibly text messages violates policy and redirect you to other choices of words.

Sounds to me like Google wants to assure its  "Own self be True  " SWOLLEN HEAD and of course Google being my parent company Oh my gosh there it is they are trying to be our PARENT!

Google's "Policy Violation Checker"

Matt Kallman from Google said on may 7 2013 that even if they approve the patent there is no guarantee it makes it to the Market.

Until We see it

Correcting us on our tv's cable boxes and our phones!

Google is my Boss in some ways i have earned $18.00  Blogging for them for about a few years.

19 States that can Spank Your Kids

In 2006 over 200,000 children were paddled at school in mostly low income per person states!

NO NUMBERS SINCE THAT DATA WAS RELEASED

FLORIDA USES A FIBER GLASS BOARD

SOUTH CAROLINA





FLORIDA REALLY?

Secretary of Education

 Arne Duncan

The United States Secretary of Education is the head of the Department of Education. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet, and 16th in line of United States presidential line of succession. The United States Secretary of Education deals with Education policy.
The Secretary is advised by the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity, an advisory committee, on "matters related to accreditation and to the eligibility and certification process for institutions of higher education."

Phone:

1-800-USA-LEARN (1-800-872-5327) Spanish speakers available (se habla español)

 call 1-800-872-5327 (202-401-2000 in the D.C. metropolitan area).

California's Government The LEADERS WHO MAKE LAWS!

Senator

Dianne Feinstein

U.S. Senate

Capital Office Phone:

(202) 224-3841

State Office Phone:

(415) 393-0707

Senator

Barbara Boxer

U.S. Senate

Capital OfficePhone:

(202) 224-3553

State Office Phone:

(510) 286-8537

Representative

Jim Costa

U.S. House of Representatives

Capital Office Phone:

(202) 225-3341

District Office Phone:

(559) 495-1620

April 25, 2013

RE: Please Protect Small Business

As your constituent, I ask that you oppose the Marketplace Fairness Act (S. 336/H.R.684). As currently written, the bill will hurt small online businesses. Before any changes are made to Internet sales tax policy, more scrutiny is needed to ensure small businesses are treated fairly, that they are encouraged to grow and continue creating jobs for our economy, and that consumers can benefit from the value and selection that healthy competition provides.

A real small business exemption is needed in any Internet sales tax legislation. That’s not the case in the current bill. I support an Internet sales tax exemption for small businesses with less than 50 employees or less than $10 million in annual out-of-state sales. That’s equivalent to the amount of sales generated by a big, national online retailer such as Amazon in only 90 minutes. That’s a reasonable approach to protect jobs and fuel our economy. But so far, proponents of the current bill have refused to consider a fair and reasonable exemption similar to robust small business exemptions already provided by federal legislation on other issues.

Currently, small businesses collect and remit sales taxes for purchases made in states where they have a physical presence. This makes sense because it means that small businesses are paying for the government services they use and they are treated the same as offline small business retailers that only collect in one state.

Under the Marketplace Fairness Act, however, small businesses would have the same tax obligations as multi-billion-dollar retailers who have a physical presence nationally and use government services in many local tax jurisdictions. I am concerned because the bill also gives tax collectors in every state unprecedented authority to threaten out-of-state small businesses with costly audits and unnecessary litigation. Tax collection software does not solve this issue for small businesses, nor does it guard against the significant liability issues small businesses could face.

Small online businesses should not be saddled with new tax burdens. Everyone benefits from Internet-enabled small businesses. Unfortunately, current Internet sales tax legislation will make these businesses less competitive against big national retailers who use government services nationwide and have the resources to collect sales taxes everywhere. I am concerned that this current bill may shut down small online businesses, costing jobs and reducing competition that benefits consumers.

Please speak up and oppose the Marketplace Fairness Act. Make sure any Internet sales tax legislation fairly protects small businesses, the jobs they create and the consumer benefits they provide. Legislation should support small businesses, not put them out of business.

Sincerely,

YOUR NAME 

YOUR .COM

YOU DECIDE HOW THEY SHOULD VOTE, GIVE THEM A CALL YOUR DIME WELL THEY ARE ON OUR DIME, QUARTER, and OUR  DOLLARS  ALREADY !

WE PAY THEM TO REPRESENT US LIKE A GOOD LAWYER IN COURT ONE YOU CAN TALK TO   AT LEAST LEAVE A MESSAGE !

CALL THEM THEY DON'T KNOW UNLESS YOU TELL THEM!

THE LETTER I RECEIVED FROM SENATOR FEINSTEIN

Thank you for your expressing your opposition to collecting sales taxes on Internet purchases.  I appreciate hearing from you, and I welcome the opportunity to respond.

I am an original cosponsor of the "Marketplace Fairness Act" (S.336), which was introduced by Senator Michael Enzi (R-WY) on February 14, 2013.  This bill would allow states to require sellers to remit sales taxes on internet purchases.  The legislation includes an exemption for online retailers with gross annual sales in the United States under $1,000,000.  The "Marketplace Fairness Act" is awaiting consideration by the Senate Finance Committee.

I understand you have concerns that this legislation would create a new tax on internet purchases.  To be clear, this is not the case.  Items purchased over the internet are subject to sales taxes in states that levy these taxes, including California.  Under current law, it is the responsibility of the buyer to report these purchases and pay the taxes.  This system puts brick and mortar businesses, which have to collect sales taxes at the point of sale, at a relative disadvantage in the pricing of their products. This bill would make it easier for states to collect the sales taxes they are already owed on internet purchases.  Ultimately, it would be up to states to decide whether to require the collection of these taxes.

Once again, thank you for writing.  If you have any further questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 224-3841. 

Sincerely yours,



  Dianne Feinstein
         United States Senator
Further information about my position on issues of concern to California and the nation are available at my website,Feinstein.senate.gov.  You can also receive electronic e-mail updates by subscribing to my e-mail list. Click here to sign up.  And please visit my YouTube, Facebook and Twitter for more ways to communicate with me.