Words of Truth

I’m upset. As per usual, I come here to vent.

Hey Government: You want to know how to really make people mad? Promise them money, and then don’t give it to them.

I have waited patiently for my stimulus check. I used the irs.gov website to calculate my rebate ($2100 based on my wife and myself, as well as three kids). Two weeks ago I got a letter from the IRS that said, “You are entitled to an economic stimulus payment of $2100 as provided by the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008.” I got my stimulus check in the mail yesterday. It was for $772.06. That’s right Mabel, $1327.94 less than what the government said they would be giving me.

The letter that said I am due $2100 had a phone number on it. It said, “Whom you can contact with questions.” I called the number on the letter, and got nothing but recording.

When I go to the website as instructed, I enter my SSN, filing status, and number of exemptions. It tells me the following:

Your total Stimulus payment was calculated as $2,100.00 and consists of the following:Basic Amount: $1,200.00. Qualifying Child Amount: $900.00 (Based on 3 qualifying children). Your payment of $772.06 is scheduled to be issued on June 27, 2008. If you do not receive your check by July 25, 2008, please contact us again. We are unable to take any action until then.

Please Note:
You may receive part or none of your Stimulus payment if you have any outstanding IRS tax liabilities or owe other federal debts such as child support, another federal agency debt, or state income tax. If this applies to you, you will receive a notice within the next two weeks providing details of the offset.

I still owe $863 on my 2006 taxes, for which I filed a form 9465 (Installment Payments of Tax). The IRS has been deducting my monthly payment ever since last September. I have six months of payments left. Now, I would understand if they sent me a check for $1200, and then I wouldn’t have to make payments anymore.

I will be very interested to read their letter in two weeks, telling me where my $1327.94 went, and if they take the $150 out of my checking account this month. Right now I am just irate.

Anybody have any ideas?

I am just about sick to death of the left-wing environmentalist propaganda regarding global warming. It’s everywhere.

Today, I read an article on Foxnews.com that explains the possibility that the polar icecap at the north pole may completely melt this year. In the article, they quote a “Dr Mark Serreze” in Boulder, CO. He says,”“From the viewpoint of science, the North Pole is just another point on the globe, but symbolically it is hugely important. There is supposed to be ice at the North Pole, not open water.”

Correct me if I’m wrong, but what does symbolism have to do with science? There’s supposed to be ice at the north pole? Why? So Santa’s Workshop isn’t flooded? Come on, get realistic. If you ask the average American, Iceland has snow on the ground 12 months out of the year (if they have even heard of Iceland, that is).

Global Warming is not a scientific fact, it’s a doctrine in the Church of Environmentalism. If you don’t place your faith in the doctrine that man is destroying the earth with his “carbon footprints,” then you are a heretic, and denounced. What ever happened to the free exchange of ideas? Isn’t that what science is all about? Finding the truth? The scientific method is defined by Merriam Webster as, “principles and procedures for the systematic pursuit of knowledge involving the recognition and formulation of a problem, the collection of data through observation and experiment, and the formulation and testing of hypotheses.

In case you are afraid that the ice is melting forever, the first line of the article allays those fears: “If predictions hold true, the situation presents a “unique” prospect of sailing in open waters at the North Pole before the region begins to cool in September.“ The ice will re-form. God’s plan for the Earth will continue, no matter what Algore says.

Anthropogenic Global Warming is a hypothesis. Nothing more.

The huge investment in childcare has finally paid off! For years I have been pouring money, time, and a lot of energy into training these ankle-biters to become useful to society.

A milestone has been achieved!!!!

I have worn glasses since I was 14 years old. I had eye surgery in 1998 for a detached retina, and again in 2000 for strabismus (double vision). I take my vision seriously. I am thankful for glasses, because they allow me to see. But they can be annoying at times.

That’s why I was glad when, in 2000, I was told that I could wear contact lenses (I had always told that because of the “prism” in my glasses, I couldn’t wear them). The experience of wearing contact lenses was amazing at first, because I was now able to see, but I didn’t have to wear glasses! But contacts had their drawbacks as well. You had to take them out every night, clean them, sometimes they got filmy and unwearable, etc. The biggest drawback was the expense. My experience with getting contacts thus far was this: pay the doctor over $100 for the exam, pay the contact people over $100 for the contacts.

In 2005 I moved to Indianapolis to work in a hospital. They have insurance benefits including vision. I had never had vision insurance, and didn’t understand what it allowed. So I kept doing what I had always done: go to the doctor, assume that they filed the insurance correctly, pay whatever they tell me for the exam, and then buy my contacts outright.

I had occasion to call VSP (the vision insurance company that I have) and ask them exactly what is covered, and what my benefits are. They told me. I was shocked. After several argumentative phone calls with my optician, I have been reimbursed for $150 worth of “exam fees” from last year that I should not have paid. You see, their contact lens exam fee is $106. I am supposed to get a $105 allowance for “contact exam, fitting, and/or lenses”. They assumed that I would buy contacts through them, so they filed the claim for the entire $105, but only gave me credit on my exam for $60. They then filed a claim on Kim’s exam, but didn’t bother giving her any credit at all. So I called yesterday (and the day before), back and forth: optician, VSP, optician, VSP. I finally got it worked out: they are going to reimburse me $150 for the fees we paid that we shouldn’t have.

And that’s not the only good news. I found a new optometrist. They have a good selection of normal glasses, friendly staff, good with kids, knowledgeable doctors, and inexpensive fees. The old place had a good doctor. The rest was no good: “cutting edge glasses” (they looked horrible to non-fashion sensitive me), snotty staff members, not good with kids, a cold atmosphere. The new place only charges $39 for the contact exam fee (versus $106).

More good news: I am getting new contacts. As far as face value goes, they cost twice as much as the contacts I got last year, but….they come with a $60 rebate, and I get to use that $105 allowance on the purchase. What does this mean? A years supply of contacts will cost me $23. That’s right. Twenty-three dollars. Since it’s an allowable expense for my medical flex spending account (which I set up because Kim needs to have two MRI’s this year), I pay the initial costs from that and then get the refunds back into my regular checking account. Pretty sweet.

The final piece of good news is this: These new lenses are extended-wear “bi-weeklies” instead of bi-monthlies. My old contacts (“Focus Monthly” lenses) I would put in every morning, wear them all day, and take them out at night to clean and soak them for at least six hours. I would need to change them when they were just over a month old. The optometrist told me that I could wear them for two months, but they usually got filmy and hard to see through before the 2 month mark. My new contacts are “Acuvue Oasys” lenses. I am supposed to be able to put these in, and leave them in for a week. At the end of the week, I take them out, clean them, and put them right back in. At the two week mark, I take them out and put in new ones. Repeat. So basically, except for putting in a re-wetting eyedrop every morning, and a once-a-week regimen, I don’t have to think about my contacts. I just have 20-20 vision. This is amazing!