An Open Letter to Mitt Romney & His Rich Friends

Dear Mitt and his fellow Republicans,

I don’t make some of my money off investments; I make ALL of my money off investments, and yet I still pay nearly 30% in taxes while you pay 13.9%. Can you explain this to me?

Maybe I make the wrong kind of investments. I don’t invest in stocks and bonds or derivitives.

I invest my time in being a motivational speaker, a comedienne, a cheerleader, an editor, a second mom, a confidante, a psychologist, a drill sergeant, a financial consultant, a wardrobe consultant, an employment agency, a nurse, an actress, an interpreter (in Spanish, a language I speak very little), a best friend, and a professional organizer (at which I am a rather pointed failure).

I invest my money in office supplies, candy and other “prizes”, fundraising candy bars I don’t eat, fundraiser tickets to events I won’t end up going to, “borrowed” dollars for bus fair or lunches (most of which I’ll never be repaid), and notebooks and pencils for kids who can’t afford them.

I invest in my own education, all at my own expense, to keep up with the latest developments in brain research and the latest ideas for doing a better job. I invest a small fortune in books and magazines, plus time to read them, for the same purpose.

I invest, Mitt and friends, in other people’s children. I invest in their future, which is the future of our country. Your country. How much have you invested in these children, other than to try to tell me, despite a complete lack of professional training for it on your part, how to do my job?

So, listen, let’s make a deal. If you’re going to invest in financial activities that make you a very, very rich man, could you and your wealthy friends at least give me the same tax break you get? Or better still, since the people of this country really need it, since you and your fellow “job creators” have wholeheartedly failed at that task and voted down the President’s real job creation bill, how about if you cough it up at the same tax rate I pay?

                                                                        With all due respect,

                                                                        The respect I ought to be due,

                                                                        A public high school teacher

According to the puppies...

Today, I learned yet a few more things from the eight puppies:
1. My sister's ideas do not all work out well, even if they sound good.
2. Puppies LOVE playing outside.
3. Puppies really DO know how to swim. Some of them even again after they've already been fished out once.
4. "Tank", the biggest boy, thinks the solar pool cover is just more ground. He hopped onto it on one side to come over to me.
5. As he discovered when he ran out of pool cover, Tank can swim.
6. Some puppies are afraid of blow dryers.
7. Puppies at least smell better after a swim.
8. Spanky and Ernie both have a sense of humor.
9. Ernie loves the puppies after all, but not enough to play lifeguard.
10. Spanky still loves her puppies, but not enough to play lifeguard. (At least not if I'm there to handle it.)
11. The puppies all love Ernie, and give him kisses. He pretends to hate it when I'm looking, and then kisses them back when he thinks I'm not.

(Just so none of you Midwesterners/Easterners think I'm engaging in cruelty to animals, we had a high of about 74 degrees today, and with the pool cover, the water isn't exactly warm, but it is far from ice cold. About another 5 degrees and I would swim myself.)

Oh, and: 12. Trouble deserves her name. Like my beloved Munchkin (sadly, long gone now), she picks fights with her siblings and then sits back to watch them wrestle.