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A is in the business of personal training (athletic/physical exercise programs at home for rich individuals). One of his suppliers of athletic equipment decided to retire and gave A all of the leftover inventory it had for no additional cost. Will this gift be free of income tax to A? Would it make a difference, if A would train his former suppliers for free following the supplier’s retirement?

ever since prettygirl lost to jose luis castillo and got a gift desicion this fraud always avoids questions and changes the subject about anything negative about his performance or ppl hes been ducking and that 2 year retirement was a angle to duck and dodge and let all the top fighters damage each other in wars they had and this fraud came back to fight a blown up marquez and mayweather also avoided the question why he didnt make the catch weight and why he didnt want the public to know how much he weighrd on fight night! now mayweather is avoiding the question if he uses xylocaine to enhance his performance!

If George W. Bush had been the first President to need a teleprompter installed to be able to get through a press conference, would you have laughed and said this is more proof of how he inept he is on his own and is really controlled by smarter men behind the scenes? If George W. Bush had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to take Laura Bush to a play in NYC, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had reduced your retirement plan's holdings of GM stock by 90% and given the unions a majority stake in GM, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had made a joke at the expense of the Special Olympics, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had given Gordon Brown a set of inexpensive and incorrectly formatted DVDs, when Gordon Brown had given him a thoughtful and historically significant gift, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had given the Queen of England an iPod containing videos of his speeches, would you have thought this embarrassingly narcissistic and tacky? If George W. Bush had bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had visited Austria and made reference to the non-existent "Austrian language," would you have brushed it off as a minor slip? If George W. Bush had filled his cabinet and circle of advisers with people who cannot seem to keep current in their income taxes, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had stated that there were 57 states in the United States , would you have said that he is clueless. If George W. Bush would have flown all the way to Denmark to make a five minute speech about how the Olympics would benefit him walking out his front door in Texas , would you have thought he was a self important, conceited, egotistical idiot. If George W. Bush had been so Spanish illiterate as to refer to "Cinco de Quattro" in front of the Mexican ambassador when it was the 5th of May (Cinco de Mayo), and continued to flub it when he tried again, would you have winced in embarrassment? If George W. Bush had burned 9,000 gallons of jet fuel to go plant a single tree on Earth Day, would you have concluded he's a hypocrite? If George W. Bush's administration had okay-ed Air Force One flying low over millions of people followed by a jet fighter in downtown Manhattan causing widespread panic, would you have wondered whether they actually get what happened on 9-11? If George W. Bush had failed to send relief aid to flood victims throughout the Midwest with more people killed or made homeless than in New Orleans , would you want it made into a major ongoing political issue with claims of racism and incompetence? If George W. Bush had created the position of 32 Czars who report directly to him, bypassing the House and Senate on much of what is happening in America , would you have approved? If George W. Bush had ordered the firing of the CEO of a major corporation, even though he had no constitutional authority to do so, would you have approved? If George W Bush had proposed to double the national debt, which had taken more than two centuries to accumulate, in one year, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had then proposed to double the debt again within 10 years, would you have approved? So, tell me again, what is it about Obama that makes him so brilliant and impressive? Command of the language? Corpseman? Can't think of anything? Don't worry. He's done all this in a year-- so you'll have three years to come up with an answer.

Asalaamu alykum wa ramatollhi wa barakatuhu, "Come work for Islam. The work is hard, the hours are long, and the pay is low. But the retirement benefits are out of this world." [Unknown] haha..just saw that on Facebook...like it? Q: lets name one thing we're thankful for? ahhh ..HARD QUESTION..how can we name just one.. we truly cant count our blessings... i guess #1 on the list is thank Allah for ISLAM, and our DEEN and this GIFT, Alhamdulillah, Subhan Allah, Allahu Akbar what else? & lets try no repeats...each brother or sister, try to think of something different :)

My husbands birthday was on February 29th. It is so sad. His parents are divorced and his mother celebrated his birthday every 4 years and his Dad celebrated it on the 28th. Is this fair that his mother wanted him to be born on that date, he was 10 weeks pre-mature and he gets a birthday every four years? According to his mother, he will be celebrating his 8th birthday in 4 years, which I think it is sad. We are getting married in March, and I think it is sad, the way his mother treats him with gifts. His Dad, is the best. When I am with his brothers and sisters and half sibling and step siblings, who ALL live with his Dad, they make me feel like I am in Cheaper By The Dozen or 19 Kids and Counting or Yours Mine and Ours. They are so loving. Especially his step-mother. She is happy and they are like the best family, ever. They are like normal parents and they give birthday gifts every year, not every four years. His mother abused him by verbal, his mother just hates him. I am not serious, she even admitted it. She has a good job, she is not poor, she can afford birthday gifts all the time! She had my husband when she was 14, she is 42 years old! She has a good retirement plan and she had rich parents, who gave her a lot of money. She still refuses to care for my husband and love him. Is that sad ^? Well this year, he wants to forget about his mother and focus on other things. Tonight, we will have a special dinner. I will take him and we will eat with nobody, last night we had a family birthday dinner (and we had a ball/fun time). And I am getting him 2 puppies. I found both at the pound for free, they were cute, they are different breeds, person at pound said they get along great! They will be 8 weeks old today, and I cant wait! We will go to church at 2:00 pm, we will change once we are home and pack up. I am taking him to the beach for 5days, where the pound is located. We will leave the house at 4:30 pm. We will go to a fancy restaurant in fancy clothes at 5:30 pm, while on road. We will eat and have a small cake for dessert. Then we will arrive at the beach condo at 9:30 pm and enjoy a few days. The condo is his Dads so no money :). Road Trip is like $400 and dinner will be $100, but we are fine. I had a budget of $1,500. I got a little extra money at work, so I made it his gift. We will open a gift I got him in the condo and have some whine. Then we will change in PJ's and watch a movie or play video games. Then we will just enjoy 5 days of the beach, we will walk on the beach, take some photos for the wedding, relax, go mini golfing and go to an arcade. We will also go rock climbing and do fun/romantic/interesting things. We will mostly be inside and enjoy the sun set. Then on Friday, we will leave. I will tell him we will have time to look at the pound for an hour or two and we go in. We go to see the English Bull Dog (female) and the Puggle (female) and I will tell him it is ours. He will flip out and get them. We will keep on driving and stop at a Pet Smart, buy supplies and all. Then on Saturday, the next day, at night, he will do a work thing from 3:00 pm- 6:00 pm Then he will come home at 7:00 pm, then we will have a surprise party. I spent about $1,500 on this WHOLE thing and it was my extra money. I bet he will do something special for my birthday, and we might make a baby on the way. Please dont call me spoiled. It is our extra wedding money that we had for the budget of the wedding, the extra honey moon money, the extra work money from work, and some money I saved just for him. I have seen my friends who spent like $4,000 on their husband/wifes birthday. My friend, got her husband an ice sculpture, that would melt in like 3 days or less, for $5,000. Oh, and it was, like a small sculpture. I just build memories for my husband for his birthday, and make up some years his mother ruined for him!

My husband is retiring after 26 years in the Army - any party, gift, etc... ideas? We are both 43 years old. He is a green beret.

I apologize in advance for this question being so long! I am a college graduate but presently a stay-at-home mother. I had a battery of medical tests performed, which incidentally included an extensive IQ test. I found out several months ago that, although I have what the neurologist called a "slow processor," my IQ is 142!!! He equated it to having a computer with a 512 gig hard drive but 128 megs of RAM. As long as speed isn't an issue, I have tremendous capability. Needless to say, I was completely floored at my IQ score. I’m considering going back to college for a post-grad degree part-time, but I'm not sure if I should, or what to major in. My child is 5 years old. There are a lot of challenges and the workload is heavy being a divorced mother. But I don't want to waste what nature has given me! Now that I am aware of my high IQ, I feel an obligation to do something significant, leave a positive impact on the world. I previously majored in Animal Behavior, (half psyc and half bio). Research is intriguing, but difficult to find a job without a Doctorate. Any ideas for careers that are similar but have more job availability with a Master's? I don't know if I should even try at my age (late thirties). The debt incurred would be large. Would I have enough time in the work force before retirement to make the debt worthwhile? I am concerned that maybe I should just focus on my son, who is also gifted. (He's 5 and reading chapter books and doing simple math problems in his head.) If I take time away from focusing on his tutelage for my own schooling and career, I may not be able to be there for him in the way I feel I should to help him reach his full potential. I’ve never been so troubled and confused. I knew I was smart but never expected to find out that I am a genius! I need solid input. I am looking for opinions from every source I can find. It's difficult to talk to family because I think that if I told many of them about my IQ, they would somehow look at me differently. Humility is considered a great asset in our bunch! Considering the life situation, having a young child, osteoporosis and related health issues, etc., what would you do if you were in my shoes? Go back to college or not, and if so, for which major? Thanks for reading this lengthy question!

I apologize in advance for this question being so long! I am a college graduate but presently a stay-at-home mother. I had a battery of medical tests performed, which incidentally included an extensive IQ test. I found out several months ago that, although I have what the neurologist called a "slow processor," my IQ is 142!!! He equated it to having a computer with a 512 gig hard drive but 128 megs of RAM. As long as speed isn't an issue, I have tremendous capability. Needless to say, I was completely floored at my IQ score. I’m considering going back to college for a post-grad degree part-time, but I'm not sure if I should, or what to major in. My child is 5 years old. There are a lot of challenges and the workload is heavy being a divorced mother. But I don't want to waste what nature has given me! Now that I am aware of my high IQ, I feel an obligation to do something significant, leave a positive impact on the world. I previously majored in Animal Behavior, (half psyc and half bio). Research is intriguing, but difficult to find a job without a Doctorate. Any ideas for careers that are similar but have more job availability with a Master's? I don't know if I should even try at my age (late thirties). The debt incurred would be large. Would I have enough time in the work force before retirement to make the debt worthwhile? I am concerned that maybe I should just focus on my son, who is also gifted. (He's 5 and reading chapter books and doing simple math problems in his head.) If I take time away from focusing on his tutelage for my own schooling and career, I may not be able to be there for him in the way I feel I should to help him reach his full potential. I’ve never been so troubled and confused. I knew I was smart but never expected to find out that I am a genius! I need solid input. I am looking for opinions from every source I can find. It's difficult to talk to family because I think that if I told many of them about my IQ, they would somehow look at me differently. Humility is considered a great asset in our bunch! Considering the life situation, having a young child, osteoporosis and related health issues, etc., what would you do if you were in my shoes? Go back to college or not, and if so, for which major? Thanks for reading this lengthy question!

I apologize in advance for this question being so long! I am a college graduate but presently a stay-at-home mother. I had a battery of medical tests performed, which incidentally included an IQ test. I found out several months ago that, although I have what the neurologist called a "slow processor," my IQ is 142!!! He equated it to having a computer with a 512 gig hard drive but 128 megs of RAM. As long as speed isn't an issue, I have tremendous capability. Needless to say, I was completely floored at my IQ score. I’m considering going back to college for a post-grad degree part-time, but I'm not sure if I should, or what to major in. My child is 5 years old. There are a lot of challenges and the workload is heavy being a divorced mother. But I don't want to waste what nature has given me! Now that I am aware of my high IQ, I feel an obligation to do something significant, leave a positive impact on the world. I previously majored in Animal Behavior, (half psyc and half bio). Research is intriguing, but difficult to find a job without a Doctorate. Any ideas for careers that are similar but have more job availability with a Master's? I don't know if I should even try at my age (late thirties). The debt incurred would be large. Would I have enough time in the work force before retirement to make the debt worthwhile? I am concerned that maybe I should just focus on my son, who is also gifted. (He's 5 and reading chapter books and doing simple math problems in his head.) If I take time away from focusing on his tutelage for my own schooling and career, I may not be able to be there for him in the way I feel I should to help him reach his full potential. I’ve never been so troubled and confused. I knew I was smart but never expected to find out that I am a genius! I need solid input. I am looking for opinions from every source I can find. It's difficult to talk to family because I think that if I told many of them about my IQ, they would somehow look at me differently. Humility is considered a great asset in our bunch! Considering the life situation, having a young child, osteoporosis and related health issues, etc., what would you do if you were in my shoes? Go back to college or not, and if so, for which major?

I want to enter my mom to win a house. I think she really deserves it. She owns her own house and home daycare, where we get up to 12 kids that come and leave a day. There is also 5 members of the household that she is supporting financially not including our 2 cats and 3 dogs. She worked really hard to earn the house and daycare. Luckily the daycare is going very well or else we would have nothing, since her husband is laid off regularly and is getting to retirement age. I really appreciate all her hard work and everything she has done for us and others. For example giving one of the daycare clients money to get their car fixed. And giving my best friend a place to live, and paying for all of his expenses. In 2004 she lost her oldest son. He was only 28. The whole family was devastated, yet that didnt keep her from running her business. The main problem with her home is that it is extremely small for a business and a home, and has a list of major problems. Including flooding in our basement and garage, and our dogs not having a proper place to live, since there is not enough room in the house. We only have one small bathroom, which becomes a problem when you have 10-17 people coming in and out of your house a day. Just imagine the bathroom wait sometimes. There is many other things that really need to be fixed or added Sometimes she will lose clients for her business because of the size of the house, there really isnt a lot of space for the children to play. I think she is an amazing person, and a strong woman. She has definitely worked extremely hard for everything she has, and has a great family around her for support. A house would be the perfect gift for her at this time! I just hope my story would be eligible for this. Since a lot of the stories are extremely devastating. will they ever reward anyone for just working hard a being a good person, and not have to have a serious illness?

I need a small funny retirement gift (white elephant gift) for my grandfather who just retired.

This is a difficult decision. I want to get a Vette as a retirement gift for myself (nearly 20 yrs military), but I want one that will stand out and one that not everyone has. Should I get a ZO6, a Grand Sport or a Base Coupe tuned by Lingenfelter or Calloway? A ZR-1 is too expensive and I don't need 638 HP. I want the ZO6 if for no other reason than to be unique and destroy any pesky Mustang owners. Be specific in your answers please.

My coworker is going to retire after 35 yrs of service. She is a shoe and jewelry lover. What could be an original and nice gift ? I'm thinking in getting a gift card should it be the best way to go ? Any ideas, suggestions?

My Father retired from the Govt Depttt and have recieved an amount of Rs.12.50 Lacs as retirement benefit

1) I owe $1275 on a credit card with 23% APR. Minimum payment of $39 a month. 2) I owe $8500 on a credit card with 12% APR. Minimum payment of $166 a month. 3) We rent a 2 bedroom townhouse for $1100 a month, utilities are $600 a month. We each get $350 a month for gas, food, pet food, hair cuts, toiletries, or $700 a month total. 4) We make enough money to meet our needs and provide $300 a month for savings / emergency (this however includes dentist bills, car repairs etc.) 5) Our cars are both 10 years old, but reliable for being so old. 6) We have a total of $15,000 for retirement in IRA's. 7) I have student loan payments of $275 a month, currently in forbearance 8) We have twins on the way, and I am a SAHM with a tight budget 9) I have a credit score of 650, due in large part to one fraudt case I am having a hard time getting removed from my record. 10) Hubbies credit score is less than 400, and although I believe he owes about $12,000, I am not sure on that. 11) His employment is very reliable, but it is unlikely we will receive a sudden influx of cash like this again. He makes $45,000 a year, but great medical benefits and we have a 1% matched 401k. This comes to $3000 a month after medical, taxes and the 401k are taken out. 12) We will owe $2000 in taxes this year, but in future years we will not owe in taxes. 13) The amount of available savings we have right now is $2000. 14) He will get enough of a raise each year to cover at least inflation. 15) Hubbie is 46 years old, I am 32. 16) I will begin working again doubling our income in 5 years, but until then there will be almost no opportunities to stock pile cash. My thinking is I must pay off the $2000 in taxes (I worked as a nanny and didn't pay my taxes while working), and that the $1275 credit card at 23% is only logical. That leaves about $7000. I'm tempted to put at least half of this into something very available (like our savings account) to buy a new (likely used) vehicle in the near future. I am tempted to use the money to start paying off hubbies credit cards, which are years old now and would be VERY happy to make sweet deals to see some green from him after nearly a decade. Him having decent credit would be very very helpful, allowing us to eventually buy a house, get a loan for a car etc., which is completely impossible for us atm. Or paying my student loans now... or paying off almost all of my discover card bill. What do you think we should do with this money to better our situation given our circumstances? We are not careless in our spending. We were unemployed years ago. Don't assume all past debt is because of not budgeting. We might have had cancer for all you know. Our budget is very tight and reasonable. To spend less would be to not provide an adequate home for our children. But I didn't ask about our budget, just about our sudden influx of cash. I don't even see why you assume our budget is out of control? You think $700 total for food, pets, children, gas, oil changes, hair cuts and clothes is out of line? Would be interesting to see what kind of budget you would recommend for those things. If the car dies we need another car... otherwise my husband has no job and we then have no income. The last half of your answer seems very cut and paste and not thought out. In America, a car is simply a necessity. Without out one you cannot improve your situation, because you cannot work, much less get groceries. And if one of my children needs to go to the doctor, what do you do without a vehicle? I'm cool with used vehicles, but being as though our are both 12 years old, we do need to think about when we will need a new one. But I was talking about the money OUTSIDE of the budget, which I know is what is best for our family. Did you not see me list our income and budget? Sorry, I just can't believe you read a word I typed and then said that. Income - $3000 Food + Personal - $700 Utilities - $600 Rent - $1100 Credit Card Payments - $200 Savings / Emergency - $300 There is no "extra unbudgeted money". His debt is all very old credit card debt. It doesn't consist of anything else. I believe at least the majority of it is to discover.

A family friend got married in a private ceremony this past weekend and will be having a reception in a couple of weeks. The newlyweds are both of retirement age and really don't need anything. They would, however, like to take a "honeymoon" in the spring. What would be the appropriate way to word a card to let guests know not to bring gifts, but if they would like to contribute, please bring money to go towards a trip? I don't want it to sound like they're required to bring money! Thanks!

My fiance is a morning person to the extreme. He is tired at 8pm and loves to wake up at sunrise everyday. Recently he was promoted, but the shifts are rotating and the first shift will be 10:30pm to 6:30am for five months or maybe more. After that he may have 2:30pm to 10:30pm for another five or so months. The worst part is that he is a single father and we do not live together until we are married, so this shift is difficult for him to even see his daughter. I suggested that she stay with me the weeks he has her, but he is thinking about it because her mother and him do not get along and she may give him a hard time about it but then refuse to have their daughter with her. (its a long story, but I will just say she is a selfish person). It seems okay as I have a daughter her age as well which is how we met. My concern is for him. How do I help him through this? I know he is going to be insanely irritable and I am not sure how to help him. I work 9-5, so I do not even see how we will see each other. He is concerned about seeing his daughter mainly... Any suggesting or gifts I can get him, or little things I can do to help him with the shift change? A night mask, blackout currtains... other things? If he does not like it past March, he will probably quit. There are four retirements involved with this job, so that is why he is even doing in the first place. I feel bad because finacially, I cannot even contribute hardly at all with my wage, and he has to work so hard.... Thoughts?

I receive 26% of his 'disposable' military retirement pay (I think DFAS figures my percentage after SBP and VA waiver ..IF the waiver is not CRDP...CRDP is included in disposable retirement pay see DFAS web site). Because it is part of the divorce decree it doesn't fall under the 'Gift Tax' category, and because the divorce decree clearly states that no payments to me are to be construed as income as classified /defined by IRS, rather those payments fall under the law as equitable distribution of property (Texas). However IRS is required to collect taxes on any Retirement Pension Plan, therefore I have to pay taxes on it FIRST under that law..Right? But if its' not taxable as 'income' to me will I get the money back I have to pay on it? There is a paragraph in my divorce decree that states "NO ALIMONY'..."funds paid under the equitable distribution are NOT ALIMONY. So this is confusing? The IRS said no those funds are not reported as income for you and I have to attach my divorce decree every year to get or to waive any taxes I may pay or be assessed on those funds. And the payee is not allowed to claim it as a deductible type of spousal support or alimony or gift. Does this make sense to any of you?

Can a immediate family member give me a check for a portion of the home closing costs (loan payment + fees) after the bank has approved the loan based on my finances? I have some funds that are retirement and don't want to break into it. during the loan application, the gift check was never mentioned. is it too late? Thanks everyone. I took #3's advice and spoke with the bank. As long as funds are in the checking account by closing it's fine. there is a gift letter form that must accompany this. but this cannot be a loan. in other words if you want to pay back you can, but you are not obligated. thanks everyone. #1 mentioned $10,000. The gift tax limit in 2010 is $13, 000 I think. This means if a family member decides to gift under $13,000 (a year) to a person, you don't need to pay tax on that amount. somthing like that?

I really do not have any very close friends that will take charge and throw me a shower pretty much all family members has turned their backs on me about this because it is my second child and now a days there are more women having second showers if their child is far in age. My husband said he would help rent a place to have it because he is embarrassed to have it where it's cheaper (the retirement home where my grandmother lives) so he said he would get a hotel. My friend said she would help out with food, decorations and hosting the shower. If I choose my gifts, decorations and games would this be the same as me giving my own? PS It would only be about $50-$100 to rent a place and you can't even get a good crib or stroller for under that amount. I have people that will cook the food for me.

If George W. Bush had been the first President to need a teleprompter installed to be able to get through a press conference, would you have laughed and said this is more proof of how he inept he is on his own and is really controlled by smarter men behind the scenes? If George W. Bush had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to take Laura Bush to a play in NYC, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had reduced your retirement plan's holdings of GM stock by 90% and given the unions a majority stake in GM, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had made a joke at the expense of the Special Olympics, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had given Gordon Brown a set of inexpensive and incorrectly formatted DVDs, when Gordon Brown had given him a thoughtful and historically significant gift, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had given the Queen of England an iPod containing videos of his speeches, would you have thought this embarrassingly narcissistic and tacky? If George W. Bush had bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia and the Emperor of Japan, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had visited Austria and made reference to the non-existent "Austrian language," would you have brushed it off as a minor slip? If George W. Bush had filled his cabinet and circle of advisers with people who cannot seem to keep current in their income taxes, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had stated that there were 57 states in the United States , would you have said that he is clueless. If George W. Bush would have flown all the way to Denmark to make a five minute speech about how the Olympics would benefit him walking out his front door in Texas , would you have thought he was a self important, conceited, egotistical idiot. If George W. Bush had been so Spanish illiterate as to refer to "Cinco de Cuatro" in front of the Mexican ambassador when it was the 5th of May (Cinco de Mayo), and continued to flub it when he tried again, would you have winced in embarrassment? If George W. Bush had mis-spelled the word "advice" would you have hammered him for it for years like Dan Quayle and potatoe as proof of what a dunce he is? If George W. Bush had burned 9,000 gallons of jet fuel to go plant a single tree on Earth Day, would you have concluded he's a hypocrite? If George W. Bush's administration had okayed Air Force One flying low over millions of people followed by a jet fighter in downtown Manhattan causing widespread panic, would you have wondered whether they actually get what happened on 9-11? If George W. Bush had failed to send relief aid to flood victims throughout the Midwest with more people killed or made homeless than in New Orleans , would you want it made into a major ongoing political issue with claims of racism and incompetence? If George W. Bush had created the position of 32 Czars who report directly to him, bypassing the House and Senate on much of what is happening in America , would you have approved. If George W. Bush had ordered the firing of the CEO of a major corporation, even though he had no constitutional authority to do so, would you have approved? If George W Bush had proposed to double the national debt, which had taken more than two centuries to accumulate, in one year, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had then proposed to double the debt again within 10 years, would you have approved? So, tell me again, what is it about Obama that makes him so brilliant and impressive? Can't think of anything? Don't worry. He's done all this in 11 months -- so you'll have three years and seven months to come up with an answer.

what does it mean when someone gives a cactus plant with a red bow (that you mustn't take off) as a new year gift? I am not liked by my husbands family bc he since he dated me he stopped paying his mothers and sisters bills (His sister is 40 something and his mom is 80 and she gets social sercurity plus his dad's retirement and plus their savings and etc) so when his sister gave me a gift i accepted it graciously but she made sure to emphasize on not taking off the red bow but im not going to lie was suprised and i was thinking that she probably put some vodoo stuff on it. bc his mom and sister are known to do dumb stuff like that. I believe in GOD but still i am scared of having this plant in my home thinking that it might have a double hidden meaning. i just cant throw it away bc it would upset my husband so what can i do? and what does it mean when someone gives you a cactus plant for new years with a red bow on it?

what does it mean when someone gives a cactus plant with a red bow (that you mustn't take off) as a new year gift? I am not liked by my husbands family bc he since he dated me he stopped paying his mothers and sisters bills (His sister is 40 something and his mom is 80 and she gets social sercurity plus his dad's retirement and plus their savings and etc) so when his sister gave me a gift i accepted it graciously but she made sure to emphasize on not taking off the red bow but im not going to lie was suprised and i was thinking that she probably put some vodoo stuff on it. bc his mom and sister are known to do dumb stuff like that. i believe in GOD and i am scared of having this plant in my home thinking that it might have a double hidden meaning. i just cant throw it away bc it would upset my husband so what can i do? and what does it mean when someone gives you a cactus plant for new years with a red bow on it?

Mother In Law has always sent thrift store purchases as gifts for xmas and birthdays to our 4 y-o. Usually sends about 3 or 4 very small things from the thrift store (used 5 inch beanie babies, a small book that costs $1.50- we know this b/c the price tag is left on, a small wooden top- these are examples of what she has sent in the past). Most of the time, the presents are unwrapped. On the rare occasion they are wrapped, it's usually in tissue paper with no tag indicating it's from grandma/grandpa. Last year she sent her nothing for xmas (but did send something for her birthday in January). This year one of her gifts was half of a simple train set- unwrapped. The first 1/2 consisted of track about a foot wide and two train cars. Told my hubby 2 weeks after it came that the other half of the train set would be sent for her birthday. Everyone is telling me she is cheap, rude and mean to send her 'half' a present. Thoughts? We ALWAYS tell her thank you and say how much we appreciate the gifts no matter what. They retired 10 years early and are well off- they vacation for 3 weeks across country every summer, sent a relative a $200 wedding gift this year (it was off of an online registry so we knew the price). In other words, they weren't financially forced to retire and are doing well- she even told my hubby a week ago that she received a substantial increase in her retirement pension just recently. She encourages my hubby to 'give generously' to his other relatives. Is it mean/strange/rude to send half a gift? Is it cheap to always send used thrift store gifts? What about the lack of wrapping gifts? She sent our daughter a digital camera along and told my hubby that it cost her only $8- don't know why she would tell my hubby how much she paid for things? Ok here's the deal- she does not like me. I have tried to reach out to her but stopped doing so after the following things happened: 1. pouted when she found out that my Mom was not able to pay for $400 of wedding pics that she ordered- told my hubby and me when she found out she had to pay for what she wanted that she didn't want ANY pictures from our wedding (she had taken pics w/ a disposable camera and those would be fine). Me, my hubby and I paid for the entire wedding- she did not offer to contribute at all but turned around and had a costly, separate reception for HER side of the family 2 months after the wedding. 2. When I was trying to get pregnant w/ our 1st child and had trouble conceiving, she sent a book to me entitled "Women who think too much' 3. I sent birthday/xmas cards and gifts that I put thought and effort into for three years and she said absolutely NOTHING to me- hubby had to ask if she got the gifts. 3. My Mom paid for a hotel for them when they came to visit at the last minute b/c she could get a great price reduction (they could afford to pay but my Mom was trying to be hospitable)...they did not say anything to my Mom- no thank you or acknowledgement. 4. She would not speak to my husband for a few months when he sold some land HE had bought years ago that was near where they lived...he sold it to help pay for him to finish college. 5. My husband had been away on business for a month and the first weekend he could come home to visit was our 1st anniversary. They retired early and are well off financially. She decided to pick THAT weekend to visit us from across country. She did the same thing for our 5th anniversary. Chose the weekend of our anniversary to visit. 6. She has never asked when my birthday is and never says anything about it. 7. She never asks anything about me or my family- I am not kidding. Nothing. The way she converses with me is telling me about her side/my husband's of the family and how they do things. 'WE do this this way, WE do this that way..." "OUR family does blah blah blah" "When John (hubby) was a little boy, OUR FAMILY did things this way...". When my 93 year old grandmother told them a little bit about where we were from when they were visiting, she made a comment that insinuated our ancestors isolated themselves and did not care about anyone but themselves. 8. When I was pregnant and they were visiting on our anniversary she did not ask ONE THING about the pregnancy or how I was feeling. Before they arrived they got lost and called for directions. I answered the phone and she got impatient w/ my directions and snapped at me. She did not even say hello when I answered but just said "We're lost". She then proceeded to hang up on me at the end (did not say goodbye or we'll see you in a few minutes...).

My father-in-law is retiring. Here are the details: he is a well-known upper management in the town we live in. A sit-down dinner at a banquet hall is being held for him, with a cost of $50 per person to attend the dinner. On the invitation, it suggests you mail in a monitary donation (to be put towards a gift) if you will not be attending the dinner. (On a side note, I have no idea who is throwing this party, possibly my mother-in-law & sister-in-law). First, do you agree that it is tacky to suggest that people who can't attend this $50 per person dinner send in cash (towards a gift) anyways? Second, what on earth sort of gift should we get him? I am thinking probably cash, right? But how much? He himself makes a HUGE salary (my in-laws are well off), but he always is very generous with us. But, not only are we personally of modest means, if we don't give "enough", my mother in law & sister in law probably will chew us out. Help. He did not do these invitations (with the suggestion of the monitary donation) - I think my sister-in-law did the invitations. He probably hasn't even seen the invitations. Like I said, he himself is very generous.

I'm struggling to think of gift ideas for my two sisters and mum/dad..Any suggestions would surely help. My budget for each is $40-$75.. Oldest Sister - 24 yrs old, likes books, music, works for financial company in boston, looking to go to grad school Other sister - 21 yrs old, senior at BU, marketing major, likes music, hitting the bars in town, also into arts and culture, etc. Mom - secretary, spends most of her time at home, reading and taking care of the house/family Dad - general contractor close to retirement, very interested in arts + culture, likes to stay active with building projects I would like to get something that they will use/enjoy, looking for something more than a simple gift card or generic item...THANKS

My father in law is retiring on the 30th. He is a big Columbus Blue Jackets fan, but I feel that he has alot of BJ stuff already. I dont want to give him money because he will give it right back to us. I just feel that we (my husband and I) should give him something, other than just a card. What do you suggest?

What is a good gift for a male who is retiring?

By working overtime last month, the club members ____ enough money to give the coach a nice gift at his retirement party. a-saving b-will save c-had saed

I"m 30 years old. Married about one year ago. I make a descent living and my wife works as well. I dont' have much saved up as we just moved and have spent a good deal of money on our house. Yesterday my engine block cracked in my 2006 civic. it somehow broke when I was trying to get up my driveway in the snow. I sold my SUV a couple of years before we moved and regret it desperately now. We live in the mountains in Jersey and my car is awful in the snow. Anyway, my mom offered me $5,000 to help me pay for a used HOnda CR-V. The money would lower my payment much more than what I am paying now for my Civic and the CRV would be so much better in the snow. My wife and I want to start a family when we get back on our feet and having a CRV would be a great start. My problem is that my mom doesn't have much retirement and this would be coming out of that. I just feel bad accepting it. She'll have about $300,000 in the bank when she retires. I feel so guilty about taking it but I could realy use a lower car payment and a better vehicle in the snow. What would you do?

If George W. Bush had been the first President to need a teleprompter installed to be able to get through a press conference, would you have laughed and said this is more proof of how inept he is on his own and is really controlled by smarter men behind the scenes? If George W. Bush had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to take Laura Bush to a play in NYC, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had reduced your retirement plan's holdings of GM stock by 90% and given the unions a majority stake in GM, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had made a joke at the expense of the Special Olympics, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had given Gordon Brown a set of inexpensive and incorrectly formatted DVDs, when Gordon Brown had given him a thoughtful and historically significant gift, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had given the Queen of England an iPod containing videos of his speeches, would you have thought this embarrassingly narcissistic and tacky? If George W. Bush had bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia , would you have approved? If George W. Bush had filled his cabinet and circle of advisers with people who cannot seem to keep current in their income taxes, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had been so Spanish illiterate as to refer to "Cinco de Cuatro" in front of the Mexican ambassador when it was the e 5th of May (Cinco de Mayo), and continued to flub it when he tried again, would you have winced in embarrassment? If George W. Bush had burned 9,000 gallons of jet fuel to go plant a single tree on Earth Day, would you have concluded he's a hypocrite? If George W. Bush's administration had okayed Air Force One flying low over millions of people followed by a jet fighter in downtown Manhattan causing widespread panic, would you have wondered whether they actually get what happened on 9-11? If George W. Bush had failed to send relief aid to flood victims throughout the Midwest with more people killed or made homeless than in New Orleans , would you want it made into a major ongoing political issue with claims of racism and incompetence? If George W. Bush had created the position of 32 Czars who report directly to him, bypassing the House and Senate on much of what is happening in America , would you have approved. If George W. Bush had ordered the firing of the CEO of a major corporation, even though he had no constitutional authority to do so, would you have approved? If George W Bush had proposed to double the national debt, which had taken more than two centuries to accumulate, in one year, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had then proposed to double the debt again within 10 years, would you have approved? So, tell me again, what is it about Obama that makes him so brilliant and impressive? Can't think of anything? Don't worry.. He's done all this in a few months, so you'll have three years plus years to come up with an answer.

My husband is in the Navy and opted for the CSB/REDUX retirement plan. His paperwork has been filled out for 6 months (at the 14.5 year mark) and was submitted on November 19, 2009. His 15 year anniversary was yesterday (December 7, 2009) and he was told the money would be deposited into our checking account by his anniversary date or no later than the end of this week. Has anyone else received CSB/REDUX and/or knows how long it takes to receive it? The command says everything has been submitted and DFAS says they have not yet received anything, so it appears the submission is in limbo. It's been 2 1/2 weeks since it was submitted. That should have been ample time to have it ready by December 7. Anyway, if anyone else has chosen this retirement plan and you have an idea of when we can expect this money, I would appreciate some information. Christmas is coming and we were counting on that money to get gifts for our kids! Debi He just called DFAS and they said they just received the authorization to release payment this morning and that we can expect it in our bank within the next 2 days. Fingers crossed! No, we're not spending it all on Christmas presents, but we will be using a small portion of it for that, as well as paying some bills. However, our plan is to invest at least half of it. We want to put it in TSP, but do not know if that is an option, now that the paperwork has already been submitted. If we are unable to do that, we are planning to invest in CDs. We're not idiots. We have looked into all options and for us, this one was the best one. I am a business major, so I know the losses associated with taking this route. In any case, DFAS has told us the money will be there tomorrow or the next day.

If George W.. Bush had been the first President to need a teleprompter installed to be able to get through a press conference, would you have laughed and said this is more proof of how inept he is on his own and is really controlled by smarter men behind the scenes? If George W. Bush had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to take Laura Bush to a play in NYC, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had reduced your retirement plan's holdings of GM stock by 90% and given the unions a majority stake in GM, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had made a joke at the expense of the Special Olympics, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had given Gordon Brown a set of inexpensive and incorrectly formatted DVDs, when Gordon Brown had given him a thoughtful and historically significant gift, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had given the Queen of England an iPod containing videos of his speeches, would you have thought this embarrassingly narcissistic and tacky? If George W. Bush had bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia , would you have approved? If George W. Bush had visited Austria and made reference to the non-existent "Austrian language," would you have brushed it off as a minor slip? If George W. Bush had filled his cabinet and circle of advisers with people who cannot seem to keep current in their income taxes, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had been so Spanish illiterate as to refer to "Cinco de Cuatro" in front of the Mexican ambassador when it was the 5th of May (Cinco de Mayo), and continued to flub it when he tried again, would you have winced in embarrassment? If George W. Bush had mis-spelled the word "advice" would you have hammered him for it for years like Dan Quayle and potatoe as proof of what a dunce he is? If George W. Bush had burned 9,000 gallons of jet fuel to go plant a single tree on Earth Day, would you have concluded he's a hypocrite? If George W. Bush's administration had okayed Air Force One flying low over millions of people followed by a jet fighter in downtown Manhattan causing widespread panic, would you have wondered whether they actually get what happened on 9-11? If George W. Bush had failed to send relief aid to flood victims throughout the Midwest with more people killed or made homeless than in New Orleans , would you want it made into a major ongoing political issue with claims of racism and incompetence? If George W. Bush had created the position of 32 Czars who report directly to him, bypassing the House and Senate on much of what is happening in America , would you have approved. If George W. Bush had ordered the firing of the CEO of a major corporation, even though he had no constitutional authority to do so, would you have approved? If George W Bush had proposed to double the national debt, which had taken more than two centuries to accumulate, in one year, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had then proposed to double the debt again within 10 years, would you have approved? So, tell me again, what is it about Obama that makes him so brilliant and impressive? Can't think of anything? Don't worry. He's done all this in 5 months -- so you'll have three years and seven months to come up with an answer.

Anybody who knows what to get a Mom for 'under the tree'? I'm actually at a loss for ideas on this one; all I can figure out is that visual problems figure in to the equation for a Canadian parent pushing retirement age. Assistance anyone?

I received an email that began with "IF George Bush would have..." it goes on on to detail a long list of undesirable actions for a president. Then at the end, it says that Obama actually DID these things. Here is the list, can anyone tell me if any or all of this is true? If George W. Bush had been the first President to need a teleprompter installed to be able to get through a press conference, would you have laughed and said this is more proof of how he inept he is on his own and is really controlled by smarter men behind the scenes? If George W. Bush had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to take Laura Bush to a play in NYC, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had reduced your retirement plan's holdings of GM stock by 90% and given the unions a majority stake in GM, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had made a joke at the expense of the Special Olympics, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had given Gordon Brown a set of inexpensive and incorrectly formatted DVDs, when Gordon Brown had given him a thoughtful and historically significant gift, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had given the Queen of England an iPod containing videos of his speeches, would you have thought this embarrassingly narcissistic and tacky? If George W. Bush had bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia , would you have approved? If George W. Bush had visited Austria and made reference to the non-existent "Austrian language," would you have brushed it off as a minor slip? If George W. Bush had filled his cabinet and circle of advisers with people who cannot seem to keep current in their income taxes, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had been so Spanish illiterate as to refer to "Cinco de Cuatro" in front of the Mexican ambassador when it was the 5th of May (Cinco de Mayo), and continued to flub it when he tried again, would you have winced in embarrassment? If George W. Bush had miss-spelled the word "advice" would you have hammered him for it for years like Dan Quayle and “potatoe” as proof of what a dunce he is? If George W. Bush had burned 9,000 gallons of jet fuel to go plant a single tree on Earth Day, would you have concluded he's a hypocrite? If George W. Bush's administration had okayed Air Force One flying low over millions of people followed by a jet fighter in downtown Manhattan causing widespread panic, would you have wondered whether they actually get what happened on 9-11? If George W. Bush had failed to send relief aid to flood victims throughout the Midwest with more people killed or made homeless than in New Orleans , would you want it made into a major ongoing political issue with claims of racism and incompetence? If George W. Bush had created the position 32 or more Czars who report directly to him, bypassing the House and Senate on much of what is happening in America , would you have approved. If George W. Bush had ordered the firing of the CEO of a major corporation, even though he had no constitutional authority to do so, would you have approved? If George W Bush had proposed to double the national debt, which had taken more than two centuries to accumulate, in one year, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had then proposed to double the debt again within 10 years, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had spent more than all the Presidents combined since George Washington, would you have approved? So, tell me again, what is it about Obama that makes him so brilliant and impressive? Can't think of anything? Don't worry. He's done all this in 10 months -- so you'll have 3 years and 2 months to come up with an answer. Sorry, that last part was the end of the email. Please respond with sources if you have them

My dad is retiring around Christmas-time, so I want to get him something he'll enjoy during his retirement. Here's the problem...he really isn't "into" much. He likes to watch TV/movies, lounge, do some home improvement projects, etc. He has every tool in the book, a nice TV with all the stations, etc. Any ideas at all?

My boyfriend of 5 years is so cheap and has a lot of money saved. Between his bank account and retirement fund he has about $50K saved. He makes about $12K more than me a year and I have no savings account and only a few K in my retirement fund. He hardly ever buys me gifts for the holidays or birthdays. He takes me out to eat, a movie or maybe a bar afterwards. He is also in grad school and comes to my house to use my computer for his school work because he is too cheap to buy his own. I know his monthly bills are more than mine are, but I don't think that's a reason to be so cheap. He is also always in my house for dinner or makes himself something because I don't cook every day. Once in a while I get him to buy me things or loan me money when I need it, but that's only when he is drinking and tipsy. I know he was brought up living on welfare and hardly had anything and maybe that's why he likes to save. Why do you think he's so cheap?

New projections show little recovery despite the bailouts and stimulus directed toward the banks and corporations, nor do propositions for tax-breaks seem to offer much. Banks in particular seem to have returned to their carpetbagging, raising interest rates and lowering available credit, while continuing to give bonuses and golden parachutes to their executives. Meanwhile, news reports say retailers are already desperately cutting prices to try and bolster holiday sales. In Miami where I live (and am facing bankpruptcy), every week sees new exposures of felony corruption in government, while the State has ingeniously disguised what I would estimate as a 30% real unemployment rate by simply closing all the unemployment offices. I filed online (the only method) and received a refusal of benefits letter which said "...the State of Florida has no record of your qualifying employment...". Of course not. I worked in New York last year. I followed the recorded message after waiting half an hour, only to be given another 800 number which in turn gives another message after another half-hour wait: "Due to the volume of calls, we are unable to take your call at this time. (*Click*)." A dozen tries like that and I realized I was facing a brick wall. SO HERE IS MY SUGGESTION. If the problem is indeed getting money into the public's hands as the experts say -- why not circumvent the banks? Take those people like myself who fell victim to the banks' usurious practices of selling "debt-equity" to one another and charging arbitrary and stratospheric interest rates (mine are as high a 31.4%). Select those who have repaid the principle, say, 3 times over as I have -- and make those debts amnestied by law, either permanently or for a period of time like the eighteen months that the banks were allowed to continue their practices which will become illegal in February of 2010. Or even six months! In my case, that would give me $600 each month to put directly back into the enconomy -- and I am sure there are millions like me. Please, abstain for calling me an idiot for borrowing money at 30% as has happened when I offered this idea in the past. My loans were not "introductory rates" that expired, but fixed-rate below 10% that were sold from one bank to another which set new rates as allowed by the small print in the credit-card agreement; a practice which is now illegal under the law. The most onerous of these was Chase, which took over my card and account when it was gifted all of WAMU's assets by the FDIC. Thus, Chase has collected from me for the last 18 months on a debt for which it paid nothing, and meanwhile paid THEIR bad debt though my taxes, as well as part of the recent $65M "retirement package" given the CEO of bank of America which also holds one of my notes.. That one originated at Suntrust, was sold to MBNA which raised the rate from 8% to 24.9%, and then on to B of A which raised it to 29.9%. I have been paying that one faithfully for 9 years, and -- once again, their bailout and their executives windfalls as well. That's about it. Now on disability, I can pay no more. So, 90 days delinquent, I am facing bankruptcy a age 60 as I said. Meanwhile Chase declared last-quarter profits of $3.47Bn, and harasses me daily for the $2K I "owe" them from WAMU, ruining my credit rating so badly I cannot even get a Christmas part-time at Macy's because of my poor FICO score. Like I said: amnesty the debt. Given the chance with the publicly supported bailout, the banks and brokers have not shown any indication they will rehabilitate. So why not give me, the consumer -- and people like me who have shown good faith by paying consistently over a long time -- a chance to do better? Reuben: Despite the seemingly condescending "just simply", I did enjoy the links you supplied to the Cabalist prophet. I liked his stating his viewpoint in an unequivocal way. The thing is with prophets; from Isaiah to Nostradamus -- what they predict is unprovable before the fact, and often arguable afterward. It's when philosophy begins to call itself science that I get worried. Take Josef Goebbels, for instance. frenzy: Right with you up until that last sentence denouncing President Obama. What has he conceivably got to do with the creation or existence of the Federal Reserve? P.S. frenzy: ...If that's who you mean by "Oma". Unclear to me. It's just a guess that was a typo.

gra⋅tu⋅i⋅ty   /grəˈtuɪti, -ˈtyu-/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [gruh-too-i-tee, -tyoo-] Show IPA –noun, plural -ties. 1. a gift of money, over and above payment due for service, as to a waiter or bellhop; tip. 2. something given without claim or demand. 3. British. a. a bonus granted to war veterans by the government. b. a bonus given military personnel on discharge or retirement. How come restaurant service in Europe and Latin America is better than in the U.S.? Because they're not expecting to be tipped! And if the bill is over 100, they receive 10% of the bill. Don't worry about spitting in my drink, I never return to same place twice.

I have a niece who spends more then she makes. Is always in debt. Never saves for retirement. Designers things was only things she use to buy. She has gotten to the point she is going bankrupt. The last time I tried to help was over a year ago. I offered to refinance her mortgage, and pay off her credit cards, and get her up to date on her 2 car payments. It was going to cost 12,000. And her monthly bills would go down by $600. After paying one car payment, of close to $500 she said she did not want to refinance her house, and just wanted the money to pay off her credit cards. Which would only lower her monthly bills buy $300. That is not good financing. I said no. And since then I have not given any more money. Except for a small gift, for birthday, or now Christmas. The problem now is she is mad at me because even though money is tight, I have given a few hundred to charities this year. And I signed up for $100 to my church to buy a gift for needy kids for christmas. I usually give $10 to kids under 12yrs old and $20 for the older older kids. My niece is mad that I most likely be giving more to a stranger. By the way I have forgiven over $3,000 in loans in the last 10yrs Am I wrong. I am an uncle not a aunt. But thanks for the support. I get weak every few months and feel guilty. Thanks for making me strong again.

If George W. > Bush had been the first President to need a > teleprompter installed to be able to get through a > press conference, > would you have laughed and said this is more proof of > how inept he is > on his own and is really controlled by smarter men > behind the scenes? > > If George W. Bush had spent hundreds of > thousands of > dollars to take Laura Bush to a play in > NYC, would you have approved? > > If George W. Bush had reduced your > retirement plan's > holdings of GM stock by 90% and given the unions a > majority stake in GM, would > you have approved? > > If George W. Bush had made a joke at > the expense of the > Special Olympics, would you have approved? > > > If George W. Bush had given Gordon > Brown a set of > inexpensive and incorrectly formatted DVDs, when > Gordon Brown had given > him a thoughtful and historically significant gift, > would you have approved? > > If George W. Bush had given the Queen of > England an iPod > containing videos of his speeches, would you have > thought this > embarrassingly narcissistic and tacky? > > If George W. Bush had bowed to the > King of Saudi Arabia , > would you have approved? > > If George W. Bush had visited > Austria and made > reference > to the non-existent "Austrian language," > would you have brushed > it off as a minor slip? > > > If George W. Bush had filled his cabinet > and circle of > advisers with people who cannot seem to keep current > in their income > taxes, would you have approved? > > > If George W. Bush had been so Spanish > illiterate as to > refer to "Cinco de Cuatro" in front of > the Mexican ambassador when it was > the 5th of May (Cinco de Mayo), and continued to flub > it when he tried > again, would you have winced in embarrassment? > > > If George W. Bush had mis-spelled the > word "advice" would > you have hammered him for it for years like Dan > Quayle and potatoe as proof > of > what a dunce he is? > > > If George W. Bush had burned 9,000 > gallons of jet fuel to > go plant a single tree on Earth Day, would you have > concluded he's a > hypocrite? > > If George W. Bush's administration > had okayed Air Force One > flying low over millions of people followed by a jet > fighter in downtown > Manhattan causing widespread > panic, would you have wondered whether they > actually get what happened on 9-11? > > > If George W. Bush had failed to send > relief aid to flood > victims throughout the Midwest with more people killed or made > homeless > than in New Orleans , would you want > it made into a major ongoing > political issue with claims of racism and > incompetence? > > > If George W. Bush had created the > position of 32 Czars who report > directly to him, bypassing the House and Senate on > much of what is happening > in America, would you have > approved? > > > If George W. Bush had ordered the firing of the CEO > of a major > corporation, even though he had no > constitutional > authority to do so, > would you have approved? > > > If George W Bush had proposed to double the > national debt, which had > taken more than two centuries to accumulate, in one > year, would you have > approved? > > > If George W. Bush had then proposed to double the > debt again within 10 > years, would you have approved? > > > So, tell me again, what is it about Obama that makes > him so brilliant > and impressive? Can't think of anything? > Don't worry. He's done all this > in 5 months -- so you'll have three years and > seven months to come up with > an answer. >

My very dear friend and her adorable husband have had a really busy year. * Birth of their triplets * Getting their Doctorate Degrees (He graduated from Pharm D and she has a Doctorate in Health Education). * He retired from the Navy after being in for 20 years. * They sold all of their real estate investments, and they we're able to buy a house with cash. * Becoming debt free! My friends have worked very hard for the last 10 years: saving their money, investing in their retirement, and education. They are 100% debt free. I am so very proud of them both. Now they have decided to take a few months off to get situated in their new house, before my friends husband starts his new job in January. My friend will be staying home and taking care of her babies until Jan of 2011. Even then she will only be working part-time until they are in school full-time. I want to get my friends a really unique house warming gift to reflect their new life as parents, getting their doctorate degrees, retiring from the Navy, becoming debt free, buying their house, starting a new job. Can anyone help me with some suggestions, ideas? Please no rude answers, thank you.

IF GEORGE W. BUSH WAS AN IDIOT . . . If George W. Bush had been the first President to need a teleprompter installed to be able to get through a press conference, would you have laughed and said this is more proof of how inept he is on his own and is really controlled by smarter men behind the scenes? If George W. Bush had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to take Laura Bush to a play in NYC, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had reduced your retirement plan’s holdings of GM stock by 90% and given the unions a majority stake in GM, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had made a joke at the expense of the Special Olympics, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had given Gordon Brown a set of inexpensive and incorrectly formatted DVDs, when Gordon Brown had given him a thoughtful and historically significant gift, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had given the Queen of England an iPod containing videos of his speeches, would you have thought this embarrassingly narcissistic and tacky? If George W. Bush had bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had visited Austria and made reference to the non-existent "Austrian language," would you have brushed it off as a minor slip? If George W. Bush had filled his cabinet and circle of advisers with people who cannot seem to keep current in their income taxes, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had been so Spanish illiterate as to refer to "Cinco de Cuatro" in front of the Mexican ambassador when it was the 5th of May (Cinco de Mayo), and continued to flub it when he tried again, would you have winced in embarrassment? If George W. Bush had mis-spelled the word "advice" would you have hammered him for it for years like Dan Quayle and potatoe as proof of what a dunce he is? If George W. Bush had burned 9,000 gallons of jet fuel to go plant a single tree on Earth Day, would you have concluded he's a hypocrite? If George W. Bush's administration had okayed Air Force One flying low over millions of people followed by a jet fighter in downtown Manhattan causing widespread panic, would you have wondered whether they actually get what happened on 9-11? If George W. Bush had failed to send relief aid to flood victims throughout the Midwest with more people killed or made homeless than in New Orleans , would you want it made into a major ongoing political issue with claims of racism and incompetence? If George W. Bush had created the position of 32 Czars who report directly to him, bypassing the House and Senate on much of what is happening in America, would you have approved. If George W. Bush had ordered the firing of the CEO of a major corporation, even though he had no constitutional authority to do so, would you have approved? If George W Bush had proposed to quadruple the national debt, which had taken more than two centuries to accumulate, in one year, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had then proposed to quadruple the debt again within 10 years, would you have approved? So, tell me again, what is it about Obama that makes him so brilliant and impressive? Can't think of anything? Don't worry. He's done all this in ten months -- so you'll have three years and two months to come up with an answer. Momma- you bring good points. however this "obama" guy preeched that he would not do spending unless it was needed. Has that been the case? Thank you.

IF GEORGE W. BUSH WAS AN IDIOT . . . If George W. Bush had been the first President to need a teleprompter installed to be able to get through a press conference, would you have laughed and said this is more proof of how inept he is on his own and is really controlled by smarter men behind the scenes? If George W. Bush had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to take Laura Bush to a play in NYC, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had reduced your retirement plan’s holdings of GM stock by 90% and given the unions a majority stake in GM, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had made a joke at the expense of the Special Olympics, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had given Gordon Brown a set of inexpensive and incorrectly formatted DVDs, when Gordon Brown had given him a thoughtful and historically significant gift, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had given the Queen of England an iPod containing videos of his speeches, would you have thought this embarrassingly narcissistic and tacky? If George W. Bush had bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had visited Austria and made reference to the non-existent "Austrian language," would you have brushed it off as a minor slip? If George W. Bush had filled his cabinet and circle of advisers with people who cannot seem to keep current in their income taxes, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had been so Spanish illiterate as to refer to "Cinco de Cuatro" in front of the Mexican ambassador when it was the 5th of May (Cinco de Mayo), and continued to flub it when he tried again, would you have winced in embarrassment? If George W. Bush had mis-spelled the word "advice" would you have hammered him for it for years like Dan Quayle and potatoe as proof of what a dunce he is? If George W. Bush had burned 9,000 gallons of jet fuel to go plant a single tree on Earth Day, would you have concluded he's a hypocrite? If George W. Bush's administration had okayed Air Force One flying low over millions of people followed by a jet fighter in downtown Manhattan causing widespread panic, would you have wondered whether they actually get what happened on 9-11? If George W. Bush had failed to send relief aid to flood victims throughout the Midwest with more people killed or made homeless than in New Orleans , would you want it made into a major ongoing political issue with claims of racism and incompetence? If George W. Bush had created the position of 32 Czars who report directly to him, bypassing the House and Senate on much of what is happening in America, would you have approved. If George W. Bush had ordered the firing of the CEO of a major corporation, even though he had no constitutional authority to do so, would you have approved? If George W Bush had proposed to quadruple the national debt, which had taken more than two centuries to accumulate, in one year, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had then proposed to quadruple the debt again within 10 years, would you have approved? So, tell me again, what is it about Obama that makes him so brilliant and impressive? Can't think of anything? Don't worry. He's done all this in ten months -- so you'll have three years and two months to come up with an answer. Joshua C- read answer below you. And no the point that you are missing is beyond me. The point is that people rode Bush hard for his mistakes he made. They really did. Why are people not for obama? You even did it yourself making fun of bush for the marbles in mouth. Why is the public not insulting obama the way they did to bush? Im not saying bush did not make mistakes. But he also did not create this "change" theory of spending money wise and end up going against it. Sorry to burst your bubble but you had wasted a lot of time writing what you wrote. Plus the guy below called you out. Better luck next time and thanks for backing up a president who has us in more debt than the last 200 years of presidents.

I want to limit the number of moronic answers to this question, so please: if the word "communist" is racing through your head at the moment, don't bother answering. I just wanted to see what other people think of this, as I have always had a gut feeling that inheritance is fundamentally incompatible with capitalism. Capitalism is a system whereby people are rewarded for providing factors of production; inheritance is a mechanism that transfers wealth in return for no factor of production. I cannot see how having rich parents constitutes productive labor. It doesn't. Just to be clear, for the purposes of this argument I am only talking about the inheritance of money. Your mother's earrings are safe. Capitalism is supposed to be a meritocracy, where everyone has equal opportunities (in contrast, Communism strives for equal ends). Surely the only way to provide equal opportunities is to ensure that everyone starts from the same (financial) place? The advantage derived from a solid financial basis is immeasurable. As the saying goes: a little money can make a lot of money - the difficulty is getting the little. Inheritance must act as a disincentive to work for those who anticipate a short-term fortune. If your financial future is secure, why bother exerting yourself? There are those who maintain that abolishing inheritance would act as a disincentive to work because it is a desire to provide for their children's future that drives older people to work harder. This is clearly false. Bill Gates is testament to this fact. In general, human beings do not think past their own death. They certainly do not work for it. People are faced with a long, uncertain period after their working life that must be catered for: it is this, a comfortable retirement, that people work for in later life (not their children's inheritance). Others claim that your money is your own, you have the right to do with it what wish. But we have already seen that money should only be transferred in exchange for a factor of production. To ignore this is to ignore a central tenet of capitalism. In a way, it is the very fact that the money is 'your own' that makes inheritance unreasonable: it is yours, and no one else's. It was given to YOU because YOU provided a factor of production. For this to work, all forms of capital acquisition must be considered. Gifts, even between family members, must be limited to a reasonable value. You cannot simply purchase 'x' ounces of gold as a 'gift' to your children, who then sell it on (transferring the 'gift' back into cash). Whatever money you have left when you die would be transferred to the Government coffers. It would then be invested back into the economy or possibly donated to charitable causes. Money would be instantly recycled, creating employment and prosperity. To suggest that the money would be misused by a corrupt Government would be to ignore the argument at hand. This is all hypothesis: we can cross that bridge when we come to it. I would place one caveat on this system: in the case of dependents, a certain sum should be inherited. It seems unfair that children, for example, would suffer because their only source of income (their parent/s) passed away. Transfer of wealth between spouses should also be permitted, if only because it is nigh on impossible to distinguish between the individual fortunes of man and wife. Without inheritance, everyone has the incentive to work as hard as possible, money does not stagnate within estates, individuals are rewarded solely for their contribution to the economy, the rich no longer get richer and the poor no longer get poorer. It would seem to me to be a near-perfect approximation of a meritocracy, and of capitalism. Please share your thoughts with me. I am completely open to criticism, and have no qualms about changing my mind. I only ask that you read my entire post and try to provide logical arguments as opposed to unsubstantiated ad hominem ones. @ Steve C: Thanks for the response. I can see your argument, but I have a few problems: 1) While it is debatable whether or not children are 'extensions' of their parents, I think it is clear that brothers are not extensions of each other, nor are nephews extensions of aunts (for example). Yet I doubt you would abolish inheritance in either of those instances. This point doesn't hold up for me. 2) I don't deny that luck has a vital role to play in the success and failure of individuals; I do, however, believe that we should limit its influence. Just because successful people need to be lucky doesn't mean that lucky people should be successful. 3) I agree that outcomes in a free market do not always seem fair: I don't want them to be. To strive for equal ends is socialism; to strive for equal opportunities is capitalism. My argument is that equal opportunities is exactly what inheritance takes away, by rewarding a certain few from birth, while crippling others. @Anonymous?: 1) When I said, "W

My sons preschool teacher will be retiring in January. She was also my teacher when I was in school so I would like to get her something nice. I found a clock I would like to get her, but don't know what to get engraved on it. What do you think would be a nice saying or short poem that I could get engraved onto the clock? Thank You!

I sit on a committee that has multiple members both male and female. I was tasked with finding an appropriate "momento" or parting gift for the people leaving the group, either retirement or just moving on in their careers. I was given a budget of no more than 20 dollars each. Photos are not an option because we never have a meeting with everyone at one time, and many travel in from out of state. What would be a good thank you, farewell, retirement gift?

The only thing that matters to me at this point is money. Even as a child I coveted money. Money seemed to be the answer to my problems coming from a poor family with both parents being divorced and me not having alot of things as a child, and also having to miss out on most things children get. So I was motivated to get good grades and get a degree from a top school. That is why I have no time to go partying and making friends and have never had a friend. I usually stick to myself and barely ever talk at all. After graduating with all my schooling intact I plan on working 10 hours a day keeping a business on the side so that I can enjoy retirement as a mutli millionaire. I've already lived a life of no friends, no girl friend, and no money, so wouldn't I be happy with a life of at least money? I lack most social skills to even make friends so shouldn't I use the one thing I've been given as a gift, my brain?