Because then they will be able to read what I say about them on the internets.

Yeah, these days it's all about whether your kids will friend you online, but soon it's going to be about whether your mom will friend you...

He did not say anything to them, just froze and gave me the phone, at which point I explained that my son had called and they verified that there was no emergency and hung up. Apparently pretty common amongst kids with quick flare tempers.

That's a better tactic than my former crazy neighbors who hung up and then pretended they weren't home when the cops showed up. Which led to the cops knocking on my door. I got the feeling that this was not their first time showing up at my crazy neighbors.

Yesterday some neighbor called 911 and reported an emergency at our house. The cops showed up and said it was a cell phone that called. We don't have a cell phone. The cop asked if the phone could have called it accidentally, and Hubby reiterated that we don't own a cellphone. Cop was startled, then looked around the neighborhood in annoyance, wondering who was prank calling the cops.

For some reason, the neighbor two doors down dislikes us. He may not realize that our town now has the means to track down 911 calls done from cell phones. Heh.

Not answering your door when the cops come knocking in response to a 911 call is a good way to get it broken in....

Oh, the crazy - it burns it's funny! Joe The Plumber Quitting The GOP: Time Magazine

Stop the presses... (even though we haven't received the press release yet). Time Magazine is reporting - burying rather - the news that Joe the Plumber, also known as Samuel Wurzelbacher, is quitting the GOP. That's big news considering Joe became the new GOP mascot during the McCain campaign and has since advised the party during conferences and in Capitol Hill briefings.

From Time:

Well, more elections. Big Government is never popular in theory, but the disaster aid, school lunches and prescription drugs that make up Big Government have become wildly popular in practice, especially now that so many people are hurting. Samuel Wurzelbacher, better known as Joe the Plumber, tells TIME he's so outraged by GOP overspending, he's quitting the party -- and he's the bull's-eye of its target audience. But he also said he wouldn't support any cuts in defense, Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid -- which, along with debt payments, would put more than two-thirds of the budget off limits. It's no coincidence that many Republicans who voted against the stimulus have claimed credit for stimulus projects in their district -- or that Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal stopped ridiculing volcano-monitoring programs after a volcano erupted in Alaska. "We can't be the antigovernment party," Snowe says. "That's not what people want."

mac did, because I am "always mad at him, and I am mean, and I should be ashamed."

It's a better reason than adults who call 911 because their restaurant service is bad.

Poor MsBelle.

But he also said he wouldn't support any cuts in defense, Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid -- which, along with debt payments, would put more than two-thirds of the budget off limits.

Add in the war on terror and unemployment and welfare benefits that's about 87% of the budget. Budget cutting is tough.

One of my co-workers who was laid off last week just stopped by to say hi before heading out to lunch with a few friends, and she told us more details on her severance package. We had been hearing from previous laid-off people that they were getting two weeks per year with a maximum of 26 weeks, but Nancy told us that she got capped at 38 weeks. If I got laid off this year, I would be eligible for 34 weeks, so that was good to hear.

Nancy is 70 years old (which I would never have guessed--I thought she was around 60), so she's been collecting social security for five years and will be going on Medicare when the insurance runs out here. The younger people who were laid off are the ones I'm worried about.

For those who don't want government interfering in their lives.

Joe The Plumber Quitting The GOP: Time Magazine

Oh, Joe, you rascal. Never stop being you!