Just in Time for Christmas: Marina Melee Book Signings!

Being an author requires some serious juggling skill and I often feel like I'm failing miserably at keeping all the balls in the air: continuing to market and promote Marina Melee, querying for Ye Gods! (the novel formerly known as Chupacabra), writing The Old Putters (working title), and outlining Un-familiar (the sequel to Ye Gods!)

Just when I start making progress on any one of these, I wake up in the middle of the night worrying about the others. I haven't been promoting Marina Melee the way I should  because I'm researching agents and sending queries for Ye Gods! I'm not querying for Ye Gods! enough because I'm writing Old Putters (and trying to get a short story from Old Putters published). I'm not writing as much as I should on Old Putters because I've started a new marketing push on Marina Melee for Christmas. 

AAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!

Just when I'm about to throw an all-out hissy fit and give up because I obviously have no talent or ability in writing, marketing, promoting, publishing or anything related to being an author, I get a surprising little boost. About five or six months ago, the encouragement came in the form of encouragement from Hanna, who LOVED Chupacabra when I was ready to give up and rewrite the whole thing. A few weeks ago, the boost came from my editor, Rebecca Bender, who told me not to give up or change the story, and there is an agent out there who will love it, want it, and find a publisher-home for it, and who thinks the new title, Ye Gods!, is better.

The latest bit of encouragement comes from two sources: The Center for Women and West Marine. The Charleston Center for Women holds an Annual Lowcountry Women Authors Book Signing in time for Christmas shopping. I'll be signing copies of Marina Melee. It's on Sunday, December 9th at the Citadel's Holliday Alumni House at 69 Hagood Ave, Charleston.

I made up some of my own fliers to post at marinas and boating supply stores around Charleston. When I stopped by West Marine in West Ashley, the manager, Rob, asked if I'd like to do a book signing there, too! So, I have a signing on Saturday, December 8th (10:00a.m.-2:00 p.m.) at West Marine, too!

West Marine, Savannah Hwy, West Ashley
Charleston, SC

THE FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY OF SECESSION, or Why We Should Let Them Go

Can you believe those damn bleeding heart liberal democrats—communists, socialists, and welfare recipients, the lot of them--won so big in this election? Always taking all our money, taxing us unfairly, then spending our hard-earned dollars on lazy, no-good welfare recipients! It's outrageous.

Are any of these recipients of our good-will and tax money appreciative? Hell no. And I for one don't want my tax dollars going to someone who is too lazy to earn their own money. Do you want to know what's wrong with our country? All you have to do is a little bit of math.

Just look at these numbers: In 2005 (most recent numbers available), out of the total taxes paid to the federal government, for each $1.00 we pay, only $0.91 comes back to us in our home states or territories. Those other $0.09? Gone: off to Washington, DC or to overseas military bases, or, sometimes, to help some foreign country that couldn't help itself, that expects us to bail them out.

Some people have decided that it's better to keep their tax dollars right at home, in their own states, and use the money to benefit themselves. "We don't need no stinkin' federal government taxing us then redistributing our wealth! SECEDE, I say! SECEDE!"

The secessionists don't want their hard-earned money going to some place that hasn't paid their fair share into the system. That's the equivalent of welfare and good, small-government, capitalist Republicans don't abide by that.

Well, I'm all for those states doing the fiscally responsible thing and seceding from the Union. Their secession can benefit quite a few states, especially those who receive back less than they pay into the system.

Is it fair that those poor residents of New York only receive back $0.24 of every dollar they pay to Uncle Sam while South Carolinians get back $1.31 for every $1.00 they pay? Is it fair that the red states, those who voted Republican, get back, on average, $1.38 for every $1 they pay—a 'welfare benefit' of $0.38 per dollar—paid for the most part by blue states? Is it fair that for every tax dollar those damn Yankee, liberal, democrat states in the northeast pay, the southeastern states, those that want the Federal government to stay out of their business, receive an average of $1.69, while the Yankees only get back an average of $0.74?

http://capitolfax.com/2010/04/12/todays-maps-for-thought/ 

This map shows how states fare on their tax dollars. Those in red receive more than a dollar back for every tax dollar they send the federal government. Those in blue receive less than a dollar. Funny how the states most opposed to taxes and big government, those who vote "red" (GOP) are the ones benefitting the most from the "socialist" redistribution of wealth, isn't it?

Hell no, it's not fair!  If the recipients of federal government largess don't appreciate it, continue to deprecate our great country and the duly and fairly elected President, if they don’t like our generosity, screw them. Let's let them secede!

There are a number of states that agree that they should be allowed to secede (mostly ones with poor public education so their citizens are bad at math.) These states are sick of the "socialism" and want to secede from the Union.

Fifteen states have filed petitions to secede since the election last week. With few exceptions, I think we should not only allow them to secede, but thank them for doing so! Fiscally, letting these states go would be the responsible thing to do. It will be to the country's financial benefit. How?

Those states that stay in the Union and grant secession to the petitioners will get to keep their hard earned dollars. Right now, the reason most true-blue states get back less from their tax dollars than they pay into the system is because it's being redistributed to the very states that want to secede (see what I mean about them being bad at math?) Cut loose the states that want to secede, and the remaining states get a windfall profit.

We can only hope the petitioners to secede don't actually ever learn their numbers and renege on their effort to leave the country and go it alone. If they do, Louisiana will figure out that they'll lose the extra $0.78 they get back for each dollar paid in taxes (they get $1.78 back to their state for every $1.00 they pay in Federal taxes)—money that those  bleeding heart liberals in the blue, northeast states will be able to keep! True, Louisiana might struggle a bit as an independent country, but let's five them a well-deserve a round of applause for wanting to practice what they preach. Given their history of cronyism and backroom politics, I'd expect they'd become a third-world country in very short order.

Alabamans, who now get back $1.66 for every $1 paid, will have to do some belt-tightening, but it works out well for the states that are currently supporting them. Kentuckians can kiss good-bye their $1.51 for every $1.00 paid in Federal taxes, freeing up those 51¢ for the states who are now bearing the burden of Kentucky's vehement opposition to welfare and socialism. North Dakota (gets back $1.68 for every $1.00 paid) and Montana ($1.47/$1.00) also complain about socialism and welfare and would like to secede, thereby saving the states that remain in the Union a big chunk of money once they no longer have to support those welfare-recipient states.

Letting Mississippi go is the real money-maker and budget-balancer for the rest of the country: for every $1.00 they pay in taxes, they get $2.02 back! Considering they're almost always dead last in education and healthcare rankings, it makes you wonder what their state government is doing with that money, doesn't it? But hey, "states' rights"--you go, Mississippi.

North Carolina will lose out on their net gain of $.08 per dollar paid ($1.08 back), Indiana will lose 5¢ that they get  back in addition to each $1.00 they pay, and Georgia will lose out on the $1.01 back per dollar paid in federal taxes--not too bad of a drain on Federal tax-payers, but welfare nonetheless, and every penny returned to the coffers of the states whose generosity is so little appreciated is a good thing. So, to these states, I say, "B-bye!"

Florida and Texas might be about okay, once they raise taxes. They get back $0.97 and 0.94 for every dollar they pay, respectively. Maybe they'll continue to help out some of their southern secessionist neighbors? No. Probably not. They don't believe in "socialism."

I just have to wonder, though: If these states are so hell-bent on living according to their principals, of opposing big government assistance and social-welfare programs, why do they accept the welfare from the rest of the country to begin with? Why don't they just give back the money that isn't rightfully theirs?

 

FOR MORE INFO:

To see which states are the biggest drain on our taxes, and which are carrying the greatest share of the load, go to:

http://taxfoundation.org/article/federal-spending-received-dollar-taxes-paid-state-2005

http://capitolfax.com/2010/04/12/todays-maps-for-thought/