I Am From Virginia

You Know You're From Virginia When...

• Speed limits are just suggestions
• You have at least two friends who have no idea what their relatives do...because its "top secret" government work
• Most of your senior class wend to Mason, JMU, Tech, VCU or UVA
  
• You've never told someone you're from Virginia without putting "northern," "central," or "southern" in front of it
• It's not actually tailgating unless your bumper is touching the car in front of you.
• You know yellow light means at least 5 more cars can get through. (Yeah, man...at least. Probably also happens everywhere else.) A red light means 2 more can.
• You actually know what the black boxes at stoplights are for.
• You took a field trip to Williamsburg as a kid
• You or someone in your family has a Smart Tag
• An inch of snow and you miss 3 days of school
• All the potholes just add a little excitement to your driving experience
• Crown Victoria = undercover cop
• Subway is a fast food place. The transportation system is known as Metro, and only Metro.
• If you stay on the same road long enough, it will eventually have three new names.
• You have never been served tea without the waitress asking "sweet or unsweetened?"
• Your favorite past time is telling West Virginia jokes.
• Anyone who can't trace his or her ancestry back to at least four generations in Virginia is an outsider.
• "Going to the beach" means anywhere from Ocean City to Virginia Beach to Myrtle Beach.
• You measure distance in minutes
• You use "fix" as a verb. Example: I'm fixin' to go to the store
• You find 100 degrees Fahrenheit "a little warm"
• You know there are three type of summer weather: Hot, hazy, and humid (with the occasional thunderstorm thrown in there just for good measure)
  
• You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from Virginia.

I am from Virginia. I am a southerner, and I am proud of my heritage. My college loyalty is to Virginia Tech, and now, more recently, JMU (though I swear I bleed Chicago Maroon and Burnt Orange). My high schools couldn't have been more different, despite the fact that they were thirty minutes away from each other, but I didn't mind going to either. Belle Isle and Maymont Park are two of my favorite places, but I hate going "north of the river." Despite that, Carytown is one of the best places to shop, and the closest mall to my house is about 45 minutes away. Paying tolls means paying fifty-cents, and without my SmartTag, I'd be hopelessly lost, missing on the first throw. I do believe that speed limits are only suggestions, but I also abide by George Carlin's quote of "anyone going slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster is a maniac." I have tailgated, been tailgated and probably will have both occur sometime soon. I applied to four out of the 5 major colleges here in Virginia (UVA, VT, W&M and JMU) and planned on attending one of those four. Both of my parents came from Smalltown, VA, but I still love going back there and visiting family. Speaking of family, mine is very large and close. I have more cousins than I can count on my fingers and toes combined, and the number of second cousins I have is beginning to creep close to that. And yes, people, I have been to a family reunion (and enjoyed most of it too). To me, Ukrops was more than just a grocery store- it was a way of life, and I will miss it dearly when they're gone. Yes, the school system here sucks, as do the SOLs, and some of the teachers, but hey- I got my education. My neighborhood is small, but tight-knit. And a year-and-a-half ago, I was so ready to get out of there... out of the house, out of the county... I was ready to leave. But when I got to college, I realized that I was no longer the big fish in a small pond, but now I was a tiny fish in a huge pond. As time goes on, though, I stop and reminisce about my time spent at home and everything that went on there. One day, I dreamed of getting out of Virginia and moving on to something bigger... something better. And maybe that will happen. All I know is that Virginia is home and I love it. And one day, when I'm older (and wiser), maybe when I'm about to graduate, I'll look back on those memories. I'll remember my hometown, and everything I used to hate about it. And all those things will seem nice. I might hate everything about it now, but I know that one day I'll be saying, "Those were the best days of my life, and I can't wait to go home."

It's Basic Economics

Dear Obama,

Please take a college course in Economics before you decide to give or make anymore fiscal decisions/advice. In fact, don't just take one course. Go ahead and get an entire degree in Economics!

You tell us you're going to bail us out of the current economic rut we're in. And then you turn around and spend over 1.1 trillion (yes, trillion!) dollars on things like your inauguration, bailing corporate companies out and stimulus checks. The thing is, all this money you're getting is tax money. And all the tax money is coming primarily from the middle class people. Guess who makes up a majority of society, Obama? That's right: Middle class workers.

It's basic economics, Obama. If you do not have the money, then you cannot spend it. In personal finance terms, it's called over drafting. And if you're someone like me, an average middle class citizen, it's something that can get you thrown in jail for what's called "check fraud."

You wonder why the banks are floundering and many are going under. Perhaps it is because they don't have enough money. They cannot afford to give out anymore loans, especially to people who aren't going to pay them back. In fact, it's lending like that, like what you're calling for, that's gotten us into this current fiscal mess as it is! Just take a look at history. It's plain as day. Don't try to say the Republicans caused this mess when it's your Democratic policies from the 1980s that did this.

Speaking of history, have you heard of this thing called Keyensian economics? Yeah, that whole idea of if you spend a lot of money, more money than you have, then you'll get your economy back in order? It's only a quick fix. Keyensian economics will never work. It didn't work for Europe. Why do you think it will work for us? Sure, it's worked for the past few decades, but now look where we are. We're a politically and fiscally unstable country full of middle-class workers who are starting to get rather disgruntled.

Open your eyes, Obama. Look around you. Learn some basic economics and history. Once you do that, then you can consider talking to us about what you want us to do with our money. Until then, I highly recommend you keep your mouth shut. Obviously you know nothing about what you're taking about. Like the old adage goes, "it's better to remain silent and appear a fool than to open your mouth and confirm it."

Sincerely,
A Concerned American With Some Common Sense

PS: If you keep going the way you're going and keep attempting to tax the middle class more, you can rest assured that you're going to lose their vote in the 2012 presidential elections. Just thought I'd point that out to you.