I'm about to go to the gym in a few minutes. To make sure we all took advantage of gyms, I would make gym payments deductable under medical expenses, Preventive medical expenses. Also tack on vitamins and suppliments, any excercise related expenses like gym shoes and training fees, and of course special health foods. Pretty good getting a tax deduction for Atkins low carb candy bars!

For those who keep your reciepts, I would bring back sales tax deductions as well as gas tax, and phone taxes, including all excise taxes, which anyway you look at it are taxes. Cigarette taxes, alcohol taxes, the damn bottle crv deposits etc.

You can pay bottle deposits all day long then try to turn them in for the deposit back and get practically nothing back for your trouble. I say if we pay 5 cents per plastic bottle, the law should be changed to give you back 10 cents per bottle! You want a cleaner environment? there won't be any plastic bottles or aluminum cans trashing up the outdoors at that rate!

Reimburse the recycle companies the amount they payout, but allow them to recycle the stuff as they do now.

Any public company that goes bankrupt and screws it's shareholders out of money while paying millions of dollars to the CEO and Board shall reimburse the retirement accounts and 401Ks of the rank and file employees first, from the "overpayment" to the CEO by some formula. I'd suggest that his last year or two of TOTAL COMPENSATION be returned to the company completely, only allowing him to keep say 3 times what the average employee made. Perhaps all managers over some arbitrary compensation level, maybe $250,000, would be subject to this 3 times rule, thus making sure the risk of failure is spread around a bit. Any excess would be split between the shareholders. An absolute fraudulant stripping of the companies assests would result in taking everything from the CEO and officers like big houses, cars, boats, country club memberships and any other assets. Lets have a little responsibility here. I think the Japanese Seppaku is a good idea too, but leaving criminals destitute might be just as good.

I've heard tell of taking congress to the mall in front of the capital, having a short speech about REALLY representing the people, then drawing straws for 25 democrats and 25 republicans and using a firing squad right then and there. That's 10% roughly. Asking for Citizen volunteers, to replace them, then explaining the new congressional rules. They would have 30 days to straighten out and start governing wisely, or 25 more would be shot or hung in public. These would be publically vilified as government "Crisis Profiteers". It wouldn't be long before those left would be earning thier wages and not taking massive bribes and traveling junkets. Please understand I'm not proposing this, and it wasn't my idea, but I'm merely putting it out there for an alternative idea.

That's enough ideas for now, so on to other stuff.

I worked too hard this week, and stayed up too late at night. 10PM just doesn't cut it when you are up by 3AM. I've gone home and taken a few good naps, so I'm still here and somewhat sane, but I really feel I need some relaxation.

How many of you feel that you can get most anything you want if you put your mind to work on it, and also expend lots of energy towards that goal?

I sometimes feel that way with relationships. I've found that many times I'll accomplish my goal, meeting new people or getting to know a particular person better or whatever. Sometimes it seems like your goal is too elusive, and in spite of your best efforts you can't save the relationship, get to know the person well enough to be closer friends, can't get in the right circles to meet someone, etc. At that time I find it's best to re-evaluate your goals...The times I persisted in accomplishing a goal in spite of numerous sidetracks and roadblocks, it very seldom turned out the way I had hoped. I believe you can sometimes "Force" a result, but Karma, or whatever you call it (God's will, fate, luck) often skews the result to a very diffent accomplishment.

For example if I was trying to purchase a really large special house that I just had to have, I might find that I couldn't afford it or that someone else outbid me or some other roadblock. Perhaps I could defeat these obstacles but if new ones kept cropping up, while I might be able to get the house, most likely some thing negative would result. Thus I find that after a certain point, it's "maybe just not meant to be."

How do you feel about that concept?

Curiouoso* has been meditating on going to the gym for a while now, but it's getting late and no personal trainer has called me up and promised me Arnie Swartz-a-nazi will be at the gym tonight at my beck and call, so maybe my workout is not meant to be!