American Girl???? Made in China.

Ok. Check it out. American Girl dolls AREN’T made in America, they are (no drumroll necessary) made in China! Well, I guess as long as they have the little hangtag that says so, they’re technically not  being fraudulent. However, let the buyer beware. I would imagine that there are more people than not that are making assumtions by the name of the company. Nothing against the American Girl film, and I LOVE Julia Roberts, but I would love to see that more people knew the deal before purchasing. American Girl Doll sales are bound to skyrocket with the launch of the film, and it just seems to be a little too easy for the company to reap the benefits with a name that many associate with the dolls being made domestically. In fact, I couldn’t find ANY INFO on the American Girl website as to where they are manufactured. So c’mon American Girl, let’s have some full disclosure.

p.s. I recently accompanied someone to a COACH handbag outlet. The buyers of COACH bags are dedicated customers and don’t seem to hestiate to open their (Coach) wallets in big ways to buy bags. Do THEY know and/or realize that most of the bags are also made in China? That’s all well and good, or not, depending on where you stand, but regardless, it does NOT go hand in hand with the prices that they are getting! Is anyone noticing a pattern here? If goods are so much cheaper to manufacture in China, then WHY OH WHY ARE THE PRCIES SO HIGH IN THE U.S.!!!!!?????? Think about it people. There’s a missing link here, and it’s the $$$$$ flying out of your bank account.

Howdy there!

Welcome to the world as we know it. Or don’t know it. Or wish we knew it better. In any case, allow me to introduce myself. I’m your host, LisaBeth Weber. I’m pleased to be here and hope that you’ll come back and check in from time to time, say hello, share the blog with your friends. I’m here to hopefully impart fun, frolic, ideas, brainstorms, commentary, venting, questions, answers, songs, therapy, and a whole bunch of etc.’s.

My first tip-o-the-blog is: Think consciously when you’re in your car. With gas prices as they are, you could save a bundle by grouping trips together and avoiding unnecessary carventures whenever possible. Ok people, I know it’s not rocket science, but the truth of the matter is, I run into people all the time that have “never thought of that”!

 

 

The ongoing ramblings of King George

Unbelievable. George on Charlie Rose. The rhetoric is so redundant, how does he even believe his own words? He says that the General’s say it’s NOT a civil war in Iraq. He says “what does it say about us if we put a timetable on the war”? He says, “I will not accept micro-managing General’s decisions.”And with all due respect to anyone with a legitimate speech challenge, he actually said, and I quote, “GIVE MY CHANCE A PLAN TO WORK”. If I thought he was dyslexic, I would have all the empathy in the world. But he’s not, he’s the (so-called) President and he’s supposed to be able to speak well.

Re: sectarian violence….”It’s significantly lower than it was a coupla months ago”. He DARES say this the day after 9 American soldiers were killed, the most in a single day since the war began.
He’s truly delusional.

He’s busy defending Alberto Gonzales, “Al did nothing wrong”
Did I mention he’s delusional?

He ONCE AGAIN brought up 9/11 in relation to the war in Iraq.

King George. The king of delusions.

Thank God They Weren’t Ready To Make Nice

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE DIXIE CHICKS ON WINNING THE GRAMMY’S!!!

If music has the power, then the Dixie Chicks have the engine.
How DARE could anyone have treated them the way they did “back then”. It was more than embarrassing to be part of a nation that could be so narrow-minded. Are our memories that short? Are the lies that the Bush administration spoke so loudly and proudly, enough to make people think twice the next time they decide to vilify people for SPEAKING OUT the way that our Constitution protects? How embarrassing that we have such hypocrisy in a country that’s supposed to be the great example of freedom. And don’t even get me started on how so many of the people who blacklisted the Dixie Chicks were religious Church going folk. Believe me, I would defend anyone’s right to practice religion openly and honestly, but don’t pretend to be the truth sayers of all things, when your so-called truths are based on lies. And perhaps, just perhaps, you could be following a leader called Bush, who has less than no concept of how to lead.
http://www.dixiechicks.com/

Clinton campaigns for Patrick Murphy!!

Y’know, they say a picture speaks a thousand words, so I’ll save the other 900-something words and just say it was incredible to be invited to sing at the Clinton rally (October 11, 2006), and GO PATRICK!!!!!!!! www.murphy06.com . Please visit Patrick’s website to see how you can HELP HIM WIN THIS CONGRESSIONAL RACE HERE IN BUCKS COUNTY-PA, AND BRING A CHANGE TO WASHINGTON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here’s what Bill Clinton said at the rally….
“Start thinking. We’ve been through 2 elections now where they got us to stop thinking…because we were frightened and insecure. When you are frightened and insecure, that is the most important time to think. When you are in crisis, it is the most important time to think. Tell people to take a deep breath. Be brave. Be big, and put your thinking cap on. Bring Patrick Murphy home to victory.”
(photo credits: Lori Barstow, and unknown.)

Election Day Reasonable Doubt: Digital Cameras vs. Danaher

So I had this idea…..

Since we won’t have a paper ballot/receipt on election day, and there is great concern about voter tampering, computer viruses, undercounts, the Danaher voting machines, etc., I’ve decided that my personal statement will be to bring my digital camera into the voting area and take a picture of the screen with my choices in full view. If the powers that be won’t provide proof and verification for me, I’ll create my own.

Who’s with me?

With apologies to Arlo Guthrie……If one person, just one person does it, they may think he’s really sick and they won’t let him vote. And if two people, two people do it, in harmony, they may think they work for the government, and they won’t let either of them vote. And if three people do it, three, can you imagine, three people walking in, taking a picture of the computer screen with their digital camera, and walking out. They may think it’s an organization. And can you, can you imagine fifty people an hour, I said fifty people an hour, walking in, taking a picture of the computer screen with their digital camera, and walking out. And friends, they may thinks it’s a movement. And that’s what it is, the Bucks County and State of Pennsylvania, United States of America, Anti-Voter Fraud Movement, and all you got to do to join is snap your picture the next time it comes around on the memory card

best of luck to us all………

LisaBeth

p.s. Don’t be a chad. Learn everything you (hope) you need to know about working the new machines at: http://www.buckscounty.org/news/2006/2006-09-29-DemoSites.aspx

If the link doesn’t work, go to www.buckscounty.org and look for the info about BUCKS VOTES. There are demonstrations throughout the month at various locations around the county. It’s not that the machines are hard to use, but we all know what can happen………..

YOUR HEALTH CARE VS. YOUR POCKETBOOK:

FULL DISCLOSURE, MEDICAL MANEUVERING, AND CONGRESS, ARE YOU LISTENING?
Why is it that one of the most important aspects of our daily lives is also the ONLY one I can think of that we don’t comparison shop for? I’m talking about the ACTUAL costs of medical procedures, tests, hospital charges, and the like. THINK ABOUT IT. We comparison shop for everything from a car to a TV to a bag of groceries, but when it comes to any procedure our doctor prescribes, we don’t bat an eye. What do you suppose this does to the cost of health care? You got it. This is a mockery. I was actually told one time by the HEAD OF A DEPARTMENT AT A MAJOR PHILADELPHIA HOSPITAL that I was asking ridiculous questions when inquiring about how much certain procedures would cost that he prescribed, including a catscan. There is a mindset in this country that we don’t need to know what everything ACTUALLY costs. People inquire about costs for virtually every other aspect of their outgoing budget, with reasons ranging from simple curiosity, to budget necessity, to wanting to be a smart consumer. SMART CONSUMER. Hmmmm…..seems to me the only area of our lives we cannot freely apply that notion is with health care costs. WHY ISN’T THERE FULL DISCLOSURE?

Call me naive, but to me it seems the writing is on the wall. For years, and thankfully, the majority of this country has had health care coverage through their job. However, WHEN SOMEONE DOESN’T HAVE TO PAY FOR SOMETHING, THERE IS LESS TENDENCY TO ASK HOW MUCH IT COSTS. Think about it. If you never had to pay for a car again, would you bother to find out how much it cost, or worry about paying for it? Not likely. People can be like sheep and simply hand over their insurance card at the medical facility and leave it at that. There is a dark side to that. For years I had crappy insurance with an incredibly high premium, a $1000.00 deductible, and an 80/20 payout after that for the first $5000.00. Do the math, and you’ll realize that the translation of that meant I had to pay $2000.00 out of pocket (besides the premiums) before I ever saw a dime. And NO, this was NOT a major medical policy. I’ll never forget what it was like time and time again when a receptionist would ask for my health insurance card. Time and time again I would respond with various forms of eye-rolling, responses of saying I have BAD health insurance, and occasionally with palatable envy when another patient would simply hand over their insurance info and walk out the door.

This got me thinking; WHY IS HEALTH CARE THE ONLY THING YOU CAN’T FIND PRICES FOR? Why isn’t there a SIMPLE LIST of how much things cost? I don’t want to go so far as to say that it’s a conspiracy, but my friends, wrap your head around this……If the medical world had to disclose how much procedures cost, don’t you think there might be some reduction in those costs?!? I think there is a feeling in this country that if we create competition in health care procedures, it will drive the quality down. I have had this conversation with several people and I’m shocked at this response. There is a culture of fear in this country that if we started comparison shopping for our medical care, that we would be compromising that care. This is bullshit. Do I think Southwest Airlines is not going to work just as hard to keep me safe as another airline that costs 4 times as much for a plane ticket? THINK ABOUT IT PEOPLE.

When do prices come down? When there is competition.
I don’t know about you, but if I could know how much a procedure cost at 10 different facilities in my region, I’d be sure to triple check the quality of ANY place I went to, from the least expensive to the most expensive. Sure, you can call each individual facility and attempt to inquire about costs. Good luck. Have you heard about the needle in the haystack? You’d probably need some medical procedures yourself after you were finished trying to get through to the myriad of departments only to have someone tell you you’re asking ridiculous questions. CONGRESS, ARE YOU LISTENING???????

HISTORY vs. HIS STORY. a.k.a. Why the hell is Rumsfeld still here??!!!!!

Ya know, sometimes the best time to blog is when you find yourself listening to NPR and hearing 2 stories, nearly in a row that are so unbelievable in their amazingness, that you simply find yourself laughing-in-disgust rather than the usual reaction of normal disbelief and unabashed outrage.

Story # 1.
MAJOR GENERAL PAUL D. EATON, who trained the Iraqi military from 2003 to 2004, called Rumsfeld INCOMPETENT. He wrote in the New York Times that Rumsfeld should be replaced. “He has shown himself incompetent strategically, operationally and tactically, and is far more than anyone else responsible for what has happened to our important mission in Iraq,” said retired Maj. Gen. Paul D. Eaton in an op-ed column. “Mr. Rumsfeld must step down.”

Dumbhead Rumsfeld. Claims he has attempted to turn in his resignation to Bush more than once, and that he serves “at the pleasure of the president”. Bush responded by saying, “We go to war with the Secretary of Defense we have, not with the one we want.” (Ok, I’m kidding about that part.) George, go have a drink, and let somebody else be president.

Story # 2.
Bush is cutting back one initiative in the AMERICORPS program. Which one? The one where people are going to KATRINA affected zones to help rebuild.
REASON? It’s too costly.
——–
See? I’ll bet you’re laughing too. Not because it’s what you want to do, but because it’s what you have……oh never mind. Perhaps laughing is the only way to stay sane while observing the daily embarrassments of this alleged administration. So, when is the JON STEWART show going to hire me as one of their writers. JON, are you listening?!!

Where’s Waldo?

Gee, I’m so glad george bush cut his 35 day vacation short to hurry back to Washington and do nothing for people dying in the streets, starving in the convention center, and getting shot for offering the food in their store.

There are known to be poisonous snakes in the streets of New Orleans that have spilled over from the lake. I guess one of them got to Washington DC.

Where’s Waldo? hell, Where’s GEORGE.

Bush is a wonderful president; haven’t you heard?

Well, I guess I was wrong all along; I guess we have the best president ever, who’s taking care of everyone, and we’re all going to live happily ever after.
NOT.
Even with everything he’s done up till now, I can’t remember a time that I was as angry about our so called president as RIGHT NOW. He was just on Good Morning America and in response to Diane Sawyers question about receiving aid from other countries, he just said he doesn’t expect help from other countries because we didn’t ask for it. What a completely insane thing to say!!!!! Not only does it potentially alienate other countries from ever stepping up in the future, but we DO need EVERY BIT OF HELP we can get. What the hell is wrong with him!!!!! And now the BBC has just reported what this idiot has said. UNBELIEVEABLE. If there were EVER a time to reach out…….he is SO POMPOUS and ARROGANT, I can’t take it any more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He paints a picture of a hurricane aftermath through rose colored glasses, repeating everything we already know, and reciting those words, “HELP IS ON THE WAY” like a robot. The hurricane happened 72 hours ago, and I’d like to know what the people on the rooftops and swimming through dangerous water think about his words. I realize it can take some time for help to arrive but with the resources that Bush keeps saying we have plenty of, why the HELL is it taking days and not hours. If the media can get in with reporters and plenty of helicopters, why can’t we get the military in quicker. Hmmmmm, perhaps because we’re stretched so thin with so many deployed in Iraq!???

When asked about airdrops to deliver food, he said it’s not the most efficient way to deliver food. I’d like to see him not eat for 3 days.

When asked about looting, he said there should be a zero tolerance policy, even for people getting lifesaving supplies. While I agree about zero tolerance for people stealing things like jewelry and tv’s, especially when they’re taking precious time away from police and rescue personnel, I do feel that there is a big difference between that and people getting food, water, diapers, medicine, etc. They’re in a catch-22, while Bush is asking them to use their “civic responsibility” to behave properly. If he was watching the same news I’ve been, he’d realize this is about as bad as it gets. The mayor of New Orleans announced that he’s moving 1500 police officers from search and rescue to going after looters. It makes me sick that people may die who aren’t being rescued because someone is stealing a tv downtown. There was just a delivery of essential medical supplies that could not be delivered to a tarmac because there were hundreds of looters waiting with guns. We have sunk into a free for all.

Yet again, he admitted no wrongdoing. He sidestepped EVERY SINGLE QUESTION Sawyers asked by using placating words and actually saying things about all the GOOD work they’re doing to keep gas prices down (!!!!!!!) by opening up the strategic oil reserves and suspending some EPA regulations on fuel. Are we so naive to believe that he’s helping?!
Is he so psycho that he believes his own words? I’d have some shred of respect for him if he admitted that we DO need help.

Why isn’t he calling for a national effort to conserve gas and fuel!!!!! He only just touched on it in response to one of Diane’s questions by saying that he hopes people are conserving. Well, if there was any time to use his presidential muscle, he should be calling for everyone to cut back. I guess all of his cronies would lose money in Halliburton etc., if people did that in droves.

He also dodged the question about how we may not have enough National Guard since we’re stretched so thin in Iraq. He reiterated that we have to win the war on terror, and that we will win the war on terror and that we have enough resources. He simply (with his simple mind) yet again painted a picture that “we’re gonna take care of everything, and we’re doing NOTHING wrong.”

Where is the help; the people on the Gulf Coast need it NOW.
LisaBeth

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