Things That Make Me Go Hmm…

Not So Proud

Anna Blankenheim Politics, Things That Make Me Go Hmm... , , , , ,

It’s not often that I post about politics. I’m very much of the mindset that you are more than welcome to your opinion and I am welcome to mine. I don’t dislike people because of their beliefs and am proud to be a part of a society that allows political freedom and choice.

Until today. The long and short of it is that our government needed to have a finalized budget by midnight last night in order to avoid a government shutdown. The Republicans seem to be stuck on the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), which went into enactment today. They refused to ratify the budget (I know, I’m making it very simple) and therefore forced the country into a shutdown. Over a bill that will provide health insurance to the roughly 15% of people who are uninsured today. A bill that the people of the United States of America voted for. That the Supreme Court ruled as constitutional.

The best part of all of this is that Congress still gets paid. Thanks to the 27th Amendment, Congress does not have the ability to change their pay, which prevents them from giving themselves raises. That’s a good thing. The bad side of that is it also prevents them from freezing or cutting their pay. Here’s the crappy part… some of the Congress members such as Republican John Fleming (from Louisiana) have said they would donate their pay to a charity during the shutdown because “obviously we need to share the pain of the American people“. Yes, because the thousands of furloughed federal works who have lost pay surely feel that some rich congressman donating his paycheck to charity makes it all ok.

Regardless of which side of the political spectrum you’re on, I think we can all agree that this is a childish, despicable act on the part of Congress. I am blown away that in a time that the American economy is just starting to rebound we would unnecessarily force ourselves into a shutdown that has no impact whatsoever on politicians and is devastating to the American people. What kind of statement are we sending to the rest of the world?

Today I’m not so proud to be an American.

Neurotic Eating

Anna Blankenheim Critters, Things That Make Me Go Hmm... , ,

Sometimes I really do wish my dog could talk. Those of you who have labs know that they’re notorious chow hounds. As in some people have to get special bowls to slow their dogs down.

My dog, on the other hand, thinks a little more about his food. He’s always done it. When Mike was working at the fire station and gone for several days in a row Shadow would go on a hunger strike. Sometimes he takes bits of food, carries them to a random part of the room, spits them out, and eats them later.

This is what his bowl looked like when I left for work this morning… I swear, I did not touch it at all. That’s right, he ate it right down the center. I wonder what he’s thinking!

Neurotic Eating
Neurotic Eating

Does anyone else out there have a dog who does this? Do you have any solutions? I don’t even know if it’s something that necessarily needs to be fixed – he’s healthy and happy, but I feel terrible when I leave for work and he hasn’t eaten all of his food!

Price of Steel

Anna Blankenheim Things That Make Me Go Hmm...

Some things just blow my mind. Earlier this week, Gilt and Starbucks announced they would be selling 5,000 special edition steel Starbucks cards.

Steel Starbucks Card
Steel Starbucks Card

Let me fill you in on a little secret. I have a Starbucks gold membership. You know how much I pay for it? Nothing. Want to know how much that costs me? Thirty items a year at Starbucks. That’s right… I have to buy thirty drinks or snacks a year (that I would have been buying anyway) in order to get free ones every twelve (and one on my birthday). That’s all a gold membership is.

This new fancy steel card costs $450. That’s right four hundred and fifty dollars. Here’s what you get for that (from the Gilt product offering):

Fashioned out of solid stainless steel, the card costs $450, but comes pre-loaded with $400, valid for drinks, food, and merchandise at participating Starbucks locations. Beyond that, you get automatic My Starbucks Rewards™ Gold Level membership, which entitles you to perks like a free birthday drink, and a free drink or food item after 12 Stars (some restrictions apply).

Ok, two things:

  1. The gold level membership is essentially free to us commoners that don’t have $450 lying around to invest in steel. You get the membership by simply buying stuff at Starbucks.
  2. Does the “some restrictions apply” make anyone else nervous? If I walk into Starbucks with a $450 piece of steel in my hand, I better get whatever I want.

Here’s the best part… the 5,000 limited edition cards sold out in less than five seconds. Merry Christmas.