Its a dark day for the country today. Obamacare has been upheld as 'constitutional'. Apparently it is a constitutional thing for the government to fine an individual who 'chooses' not to have health care. Interesting the way that's worded. Chooses not to have health care- I wonder- Is that like choosing to be gay? or choosing to have cancer? From my perspective (And no, I don't have health care for myself, by the way, I'm unemployed at the moment and I simply can't afford personal health care. My kids are covered by the state, but I don't qualify due to a 'glitch' Since my stepson Nick lives with me and his father doesn't pay child support I don't qualify for any assistance from the state.) most anyone who can afford health care will get health care. We're not talking a minor expense, people. I've looked into the costs of 'personal' health insurance. your most basic, crap coverage will run you around 250$ a month. For me at this time that is NOT an insignificant expense. (that is with around a 5000$ deductible, by the way) I simply can't afford it, so I won't be getting it. So now its constitutional to fine me because I can't afford to spend the money on something the government says I should have. Sounds a lot like legalized theft to me. Read your history books, anyone ever heard of 'debtor's prison'? The other thing that simply boggles my mind is all the democrats that are saying how great this is. Democrats who, traditionally are supposed to be for the 'little' guy. Do they not realize how many small businesses this new 'constitutional' directive is going to drive into bankruptcy? Small businesses are in the same boat I am. a little mom and pop shop which is barely struggling by will be forced to close simply because they can't afford to buy group insurance for Maggie Sue who helps out once or twice a week in the shop. Wake the hell up, people! The only ones this new directive is going to help are the insurance companies. The other gem that happened yesterday, which most people haven't taken notice of is the fact that Obama declared a national emergency because of Russia's decision on how they process weapons grade plutonium or some such. Now, I agree that we have to keep an eye on where the world's plutonium is going, kind of an important thing to know, but why a national emergency about it? Well, here's what a lot of people don't realize. In the case of a national emergency being declared all voting for officials is suspended until the emergency is declared over. Oh, another little gem? Under national emergency martial law can be declared with no notice by the President of the United States. Heads up, people. The masks are coming off and no one is even bothering to hide the fact that our 'free' country isn't being such a great place to live anymore. Hail Amerikastan.

I don't want to say the mosquitos are bad this year, but my first waking thought this morning was that somehow I must have gone on a bender last night and fallen asleep on the Willow air strip and there were about a hundred Piper Supercubs  circling and waiting for approach. As I slowly cracked my eyes open, waiting for one of them to land on top of me I saw the cloud of mosquitos circling my face.They are literally everywhere. The only consolation is that they should be gone soon. We had a couple of days of rain and it kicked their breeding cycle into high gear. My K.I.T.H (Killed in the house) count is over 400 and still climbing.  We got a new cat yesterday. Sylvester is his name and I think he'll be a pretty cool cat, once he manages to get up the courage to leave the kitty condo and start exploring. He hasn't moved that we've seen since he got here, not that I can blame him. Coming into a house with 4 other cats, 4 dogs, a goat and 3 kids intimidates the hell out of me sometimes, too. The infamous tattoo has been once again rescheduled. I'm supposed to get it Monday now. We'll see if it happens. Perhaps the stars will align and I'll be able to get it done this time. I hope so, I'd really like it to be fully healed before I go to work as a commercial fisherman in July. That's right, I'll soon have another truly 'Alaskan' experience under my belt. Some very good friends have given me the opportunity to help them out and I'm really looking forward to it. Other than that not a lot going on. I'm going to be cramming today to catch up on my school work. I have no idea what my problem has been lately, but my study habits have been abhorrent. I really need to remove my head from my backside and get back into studying again, so this weekend will be new leaf time. It's hard to explain. It seems like I've been marking time in life for the past couple of months, waiting for something to happen. Well, enough of that. Its time to plunge forward, move onward and outward and get back to the business of making a new life for myself and the kids. After all, if I don't, no one is going to do it for me. And on that note I best go and get to work. Still plenty of homework to do and I need to get my mosquito KITH numbers higher because they are driving me crazy! Have a good day, a great weekend, and an amazing life! Later!

The coolest cat in the world died tonight. HArvey, the first animal we got when we came to Alaska laid down by Aoibheann's chair and passed away. It seems like he has always been around. We saved Harvey from destruction when we got him from the shelter. We had been in Alaska exactly one week when Glenda decided she needed to have an animal around so we went to the shelter. She was actually looking for a small female kitten. We looked at a bunch of them and then the girl asked us if we would consider looking at an older male cat because no one had adopted him and he was slated for destruction. They brought Harvey out and he was instantly one of the family. I always expected he'd get eaten by a bear out here, he used to spend almost all summer outside, only coming in occasionally to check on his people. Whenever we would pull into the driveway Harvey would amble out to greet us. Whenever something bad would happen it seemed like Harvey was there, offering quiet comfort, purring as if to say, "don't worry, everything will be fine in the end." I'm gonna miss you, Buddy. I know you hung out long enough to make sure we were all right after Glenda passed away, and now you went to be with her. You always liked her best anyway. And so we say goodbye, my friend. I'm sure I'll see you again someday, probably waiting for me when my time comes, purring to let me know everything will be okay.