SERETIS NOTES

WHAT IS CONSIDERED AN INCOME TO LIVE ON This is a personal situation, as I am trying to help my mother-in-law get some-sort of health-care. A few years ago she lost her husband and now as a widow she collects his social security, so her income is below $800.00 a month. She is a few years away from being eligible for Medicare, and according to our wonderful officials in government positions, she is not eligible for any kind of medical assistance because her income is way over the amount required to get help. My mother-in-law is not asking for any kind of cash or food assistance, just some sort of coverage and she is willing to pay as well, so there is no reason to think that she needs a hand out, but the system turns its back not only on her but for many others that are between the age of 60-65, and have no health coverage. For those few that grew up with a silver spoon, or have a nice nest egg, do not understand the plight that the majority of people are going through in this count...

I DO REMEMBER THIS AS IF IT WAS YESTERDAY, AND IT IS STILL HILLARIOUS! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ALHiadIsKo

October 16, 2009 Dear Friend, Last week Congress passed the 2010 Agriculture Appropriations Act, with bipartisan support in both chambers (263 to 162 in the House and 76 to 22 in the Senate). This legislation provides for $350 million in funding for dairy relief, giving aid to thousands of farmers nationwide who are struggling with historically low prices. Though I was unable to be present for this vote because I was serving on active duty in the Navy Reserve, I voted for the earlier House version of the bill in July. I am particularly concerned about the plight of our family dairy farmers. As a member of the bipartisan Dairy Farmers Caucus, I am committed to working to address the problem of falling milk prices and providing support for our nation's struggling dairy farmers. While the emergency funding in the Agriculture Appropriations bill will not solve the long-term problems the industry faces, it will provide much-needed temporary support to our local farmers. Under the bil...

I have been voicing my concerns and opinion over the last 3-months, and have been active in contacting various members of our elite elected State officials, who by the way kept getting a paycheck while others had to suffer, that their personal issues as to who is better, Republican or Democrat, was destroying the State and the people. WOW!! Today I received this E-mail from my State Senator, Lisa Baker. Thank you for your advocacy and the information you provided regarding the state budget. Over the past three months, I received calls, letters, and e-mails on behalf of many of the programs funded through the state budget. I understand the deep concerns you and others have expressed, and your insights were invaluable to me throughout this process. The impacts of the state budget impasse have been severe. Service providers, local governments, schools, students, and families should not have had to suffer the uncertainty, the disruptions, and the costs inflicted because of the prol...

Dear Sir/Madam, To increase the diversity of the debate on NATO's new Strategic Concept, we are hosting a live video session with NATO experts on 15 October, 15.30 pm (Brussels time, GMT+1). Our first invitees, Michael Ruehle (Policy Planning Unit/Private Office of the Secretary General), Steve Sturm (Defence Policy and Planning Division), and moderator Dr Stefanie Babst (Public Diplomacy Division) will discuss the Alliance's core tasks and functions. What do you think NATO should or should not do to confront terrorism, cyber-attacks or threats to energy security, for example? What should NATO's role be in disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation? Post your questions and comments to the experts on the discussion forum (http://natostratcon.info) or reply to this email before or during the live discussion. With best regards, NATO�s Public Diplomacy Division

Date: Thu, 1 Oct 2009 07:17:49 -0500 (CDT) Subject: DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano concludes National Preparedness Month with major speech Friends, As you know, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano delivered a major speech on Tuesday to conclude a very successful National Preparedness Month. If you missed the live webcast, you can now watch the video of the speech, read the transcript, and share it with your friends and colleagues. Watch Secretary Napolitano’s speech now at www.Ready.Gov. In her remarks, Secretary Napolitano thanked all of our Citizen Corps volunteers, the Ready Campaign, our NPM partners, and the thousands of other volunteers and organizations for all their hard work. Now we need to make sure to get this important message out too all those Americans who are just beginning to think about preparedness. And you can be a huge help just by forwarding this e-mail – or simply giving out the Ready.Gov link – to your friends, family and co-workers. You can Tweet about it, or po...

October 2, 2009 Dear Friend, Congressman Carney has reported for active duty at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. He will return from duty on October 13. While he is away, Chief of Staff April Metwalli and I will be writing Fridays with Chris on his behalf. Earlier this year, Congress passed the American Recovery and Investment Act, as part of an effort to bolster our economy through job creation and investments in long-term economic growth. Under the Recovery Act, 95 percent of Americans have seen increases in their paychecks. One of the Recovery Act's programs, The First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit, is set to expire November 30. The credit of up to $8,000 is generally available to homebuyers with qualifying income levels who have never owned a home or have not owned one in the last three years. With the deadline quickly approaching, you must complete you first-time home purchases soon to qualify. If you are hoping to take advantage of this tax credit, here are a few things...

TONY Blair is set to be made the first President of Europe in weeks, The Sun can reveal. He will be nominated by EU leaders in Brussels if, as expected, Ireland backs the hated Lisbon Treaty in tomorrow's referendum. A senior Government source said: "If we get a 'Yes' vote it will all move very, very quickly. Tony could be named by the end of October." The leaders of the EU's 27 nations, not the voters, will choose the president.