Kiss me

Aside from this post...What kind of kiss do you love most?

Tax Rebates Deal Announced

Thursday January 24, 2:20 pm ET
By Andrew Taylor, Associated Press Writer Congress, Treasury Secretary Announce Deal on Tax Rebates, Business Breaks to Boost Economy

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Congressional leaders announced a deal with the White House Thursday on an economic stimulus package that would give most tax filers refunds of $600 to $1,200, and more if they have children.

 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Congress would act on the agreement -- hammered out in a week of intense negotiations with Republican Leader John A. Boehner and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson -- "at the earliest date, so that those rebate checks will be in the mail."

The rebates would go to 117 million families, according to a Democratic summary. That includes $28 billion in checks to 35 million working families who wouldn't have been helped by Bush's original proposal, the analysis estimated.

Republicans, for their part, were pleased that the bulk of the rebates -- more than 70 percent, according to an analysis by Congress' Joint Tax Committee -- would go to individuals who pay taxes.

Individuals who pay income taxes would get up to $600, working couples $1,200 and those with children an additional $300 per child under the agreement. Workers who make at least $3,000 but don't pay taxes would get $300 rebates.

The rebate part of the plan would cost about $100 billion, aides said. The package also includes close to $50 billion in business tax cuts.

The package would allow businesses to immediately write off 50 percent of purchases of plants and other capital equipment and permit small businesses to write off additional purchases of equipment. A Republican-written provision to allow businesses suffering losses now to reclaim taxes previously paid was dropped.

Pelosi, D-Calif., agreed to drop increases in food stamp and unemployment benefits during a Wednesday meeting in exchange for gaining the rebates of at least $300 for almost everyone earning a paycheck, including those who make too little to pay income taxes.

"I can't say that I'm totally pleased with the package, but I do know that it will help stimulate the economy. But if it does not, then there will be more to come," Pelosi said.

Boehner said the agreement "was not easy for the two of us and our respective caucuses." He added, "The two caucuses have to come together and to work in a bipartisan way and to reach a compromise that I think is in the best interest of the American people."

Paulson said he would work with the House and Senate to enact the package as soon as possible because "speed is of the essence."

The Treasury Department has already been talking to the IRS about getting the checks out "as quickly as possible, recognizing that the tax filing season is ongoing," said Treasury spokesman Andrew DeSouza.

The rebates would phase out gradually for individuals whose income exceeds $75,000 and couples with incomes above $150,000, aides said. Individuals with incomes up to $87,000 and couples up to $174,000 would get partial rebates. The caps are higher for those with children.

The agreement left some lawmakers in both parties with a bitter taste, complaining that their leaders had sacrificed too much in the interest of striking a deal. Many senior Democrats were particularly upset that the package omitted the unemployment extension.

"I do not understand, and cannot accept, the resistance of President Bush and Republican leaders to including an extension of unemployment benefits for those who are without work through no fault of their own," Rep. Charles B. Rangel, D-N.Y., the Ways and Means Committee chairman, said in a statement.

Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., the Finance Committee Chairman, said leaving out the unemployment extension was "a mistake," as he announced plans to craft a separate stimulus package in the Senate.

In Case You Missed It...

Do you remember?

The theme to your senior prom?  Mine was After All, by Al Jarreau.  It was special because it was the first theme song in the history of my school (since the late 1960's) by an artist of color.

My prom was in May of 1986 and though this is obviously not my prom picture, it is from the same year.  Some of you have seen that picture and I'll post it when I get home.  Until then, laughs are on me.

 

 

Old Movies

One of my favorite pasttimes is watching old movies.  I don't do it nearly enough, but I enjoy them (although it's heartbreaking at times to see what roles we were only allowed to have).

Here are a few of my favorites.  If you have any to add, please do.  I'll be looking for them!

Imitation of Life (1959 version...I also like the 30's version)

A Cabin in the Sky-1943

Carmen Jones-1954

It's Time To Pay Attention To What Goes In Your Mouth If You're Not Already!!!!

What do you think about cloned food?

It's a great idea, there won't be any food shortages.

 

 0

Ain't no way in the hell I'm eating man created food and KNOW it!

 

 8

Makes me no difference, I pray over my food anyway

 

 0

Gloria, the first baby cow of cloned cow Vitoria, is seen with her mother in a 2004 photo. A Food and Drug Administration report finds that meat and milk from cloned animals is, for the most part, safe to eat, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday.REUTERS/Jamil Bittar WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to make a final ruling on Tuesday that food from cloned animals and their offspring is as safe as any other, opening the door to the controversial technology in the U.S. food supply.

The FDA will brief reporters at 12 noon EST on the final risk assessment on animal clones.

FDA officials were unavailable to provide details on the proposed rule. But The Washington Post reported late on Monday that the agency made a final ruling in line with an earlier, interim decision, finding food from cloned cattle, pigs, and goats was safe to eat.

The agency said it did not have enough information to make the same assertion about cloned sheep, the report said.

The cloning industry expects that it will be the offspring of cloned animals, not the costly clones themselves, that would eventually provide meat or milk to U.S. consumers.

There are currently about 570 cloned animals in the United States, but the livestock industry has so far followed a voluntary ban on marketing food from the animals.

While the science appears to have come down on the side of the cloning industry, the technology remains controversial, even within the agriculture industry.

Some dairy firms oppose cloning, betting that consumers will shun goods they see linked to cloning technology. Others believe that more investigation is needed to conclude cloning is safe.

Last week, the European Food Safety Authority made an interim ruling about food from cloned animals and their offspring, saying it was unlikely there was any difference from food derived from traditionally bred animals.

(Reporting by Missy Ryan, editing by Matthew Lewis)

 

Oh I Needed to Laugh

And so I am!

Here are some funny commercial's I found on YouTube.  Comment, add your own or just watch and enjoy these!

But I Thought It Said....

I am famous for hearing wrong lyrics.  I'll be (thinking I'm) jamming to a song and my son will look at me like I have 4 heads.  The conversation will go like this:

What are you looking at?

You!

Why?

That is NOT what the song says!

What do they say then?

Oh.

I got it honestly though because my mom will tear up some lyrics and when you correct her, she'll just say "I like my version better!" LOL

It wasn't until a couple of months ago (go ahead, get your laugh on) that I figured out Janet was saying

Soap opera says and not So Barbara says in What Have You Done For Me Lately.  I just assumed Barbara was one of her friends, lol.

When I first heard Alicia's new cd, I thought she was singing about a Breakfast kinda love, not a Wreckless one.

On Holla Back Girl, I thought Gwen was saying "Eat bananas B-A-N-A-N-A-S".  It was only after we were talking in one of my Yahoo groups that I found she was saying "This shit is bananas".  What did I know?  I only heard it on the radio and they bleeped out shit!

The earliest song I remember jacking up was the Bee Gees How Deep is Your Love, when they say OOOOOO you n me girl...I thought they were saying OOOOOOO you ni**ger.  Hey, I was in grade school!

What lyrics have you misheard?  There's a whole website dedicated to misheard lyrics, so I know I'm not the only one! LOL

So Feeling What this has to Say

You have to double-click the picture to read it.

 

 

A Reason, A Season, A Lifetime ~ An Annual Post

Are you a Reason, a Season, or a Lifetime?

People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.
When you figure out which one it is,
you will know what to do for each person.

When someone is in your life for a REASON . . .
It is usually to meet a need you have expressed.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty,
to provide you with guidance and support,
to aid you physically, emotionally, or spiritually.

They may seem like a godsend, and they are!
They are there for the reason you need them to be.
Then, without any wrong doing on your part,
or at an inconvenient time,
this person will say or do something
to bring the relationship to an end.

Sometimes they die.
Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met,
our desire fulfilled, their work is done.
The prayer you sent up has been answered.
And now it is time to move on.

When people come into your life for a SEASON
it is because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn.
They bring you an experience of peace, or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it! It is real!

But, only for a Season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons;
Things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person,
and put what you have learned to use
in all other relationships and areas of your life.
It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.
Thank you for being a part of my life.