Catherine

Thank you, KC, for a terrific morning chuckle!

:bday: and have a terrific day!

The Articles of Confederation were too loose and too close to anarchy -- the new country did not have enough central power to do crucial business successfully. The Constitution was meant to stay as close to anarchy as possible while still holding enough federal power to accomplish the essential items too large for individuals or individual states to accomplish. The founders had great reason to fear a strong central government -- they suck all power into themselves and, sooner or later, become tyrannies. They had just fought a long, nasty war to throw off the latest (in their time) iteration of this long pattern. They wanted people to be FREE to live their lives, without government jurisdiction of every move. The problem today is that, for close to a hundred years, BOTH major parties have moved us closer and closer to total government control of everything. I don't care whether you call it fascism, communism, dictatorship, absolute monarchy, oligarchy, or Uncle Sheldon. It's the same -- too much power in Washington, too little in the states, WAY too little leftover for the individual -- which is where MOST of it was intended to be held. Y'know, here in Massachusetts, there is LESS turnover of the state legislature than in the old USSR's Politburo. And we have the third in a row of former Speakers of the House under Federal indictment for criminal financial shenanigans. The rot goes very deep, and across the board, ALL the bums need to be thrown out of office. I was raised Democrat (in Massachusetts? like there's a choice?), am socially very liberal, and have become politically very conservative because I have had it ground into me, painfully, that government ruins all it touches (including, Jainen, the 'social programs" that have vastly INCREASED and FOSSILIZED poverty since they started in the 1960's), hurts those it professes to help -- and does it all at QUINTUPLE (at least!) the cost of the same projects done by private hands. I am conservative politically BECAUSE I am liberal socially -- I want the most good for the most people, and that means get it OUT of the government's filthy, power-mad claws.

I love it! The only quarrel I have is that the Republicans have been almost as bad for many years now.

Meant to post this earlier -- I was _very_ glad to hear that your biopsy came back fine. Congratulations on that, at least! And, for your amusement, a paraphrased quote from a book I read: "As long as one is breathing and the bowels move regularly, all other problems are but temporary and transient." Catherine

He had way more common sense, for sure. And always took personal responsibility for his actions. I'd take a congress (federal and all states) full of Forrest Gump's over the gaggle of jackals, thieves, and power-hungry self-serving scum in office now, in a heartbeat.

:bday: and have a great day!

http://www.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2009/0...ty-resolutions/ Eight states have passed state sovereignty resolutions and more are in the works.

If he can't, Gene, I'll dig out my old disk and copy it for you. Got tons of blank CD's here, so that's not an issue. Catherine

Have a VERY :bday:

I will recommend that everyone read the US Constitution. It's available free online, and is only about eight pages long. Add in all the amendments and it's another few pages. Well worth the time and trouble. One note: the first ten amendments should be looked at as a group; they are all specific limitations on Federal power in favor of states and individuals. Remember, one of the biggest hurdles the Constitution had to overcome was the fear on the part of the states that the Federal would "take over" sovereignty of the individual states. The Bill of Rights was designed to address those fears so the states would ratify the new Constitution.

:bday: and have a great day!

:bday: and have a terrific day!

:bday: and have a great day!

:bday: and have a terrific day!

:bday: sounds like you had a terrific time!

:bday: -- hope you had a great day!

Thanks -- I'll read it tonight. Catherine

John -- This sounds great; my very next step is to look at the links and possibly do what Margaret did and order it straightaway. Thanks so much. And here's a return giggle for you -- my husband is in awe of me that I keep my email inbox (personal, not business) _down_ to about 600 emails. His have upwards of 7 or 8 _thousand_ at any given time. Yikes! Catherine

There should be a "temp" for "downloads" folder in your earlier IE directory where you will find the update. As long as it's not installed, just delete it. But IE may download it again next time your back is turned. I've generally found IE to be stereotypical Microsoft bloat-ware, security-flaw-ridden garbage -- you could look into Firefox or Google Chrome for a more secure, stable browser. I usually use Firefox but have found that Chrome can work with IE-only sites where Firefox sometimes has trouble. Catherine

Possibly that type of seminar (that's why I was wondering....). Motivated -- yes. Think -- I do. But it still gets overwhelming sometimes, and I have yet to hit upon a really good way for dealing with the flood of paperwork that I have to deal with. Sigh. Catherine

Thanks. They seem to be mainly ticked off about the refund policy. One mentioned a waste of time - but if so, why did he sign up for more (which were the ones that ticked him off about the refund policy)? And frankly, no refund less than 10 days before seminar is still a lot better than the CCH/ATX "no refund, not ever, no matter what, nyah-nyah" policy. Catherine

Has anyone taken any of the seminars given by this group? I keep getting email solicitations and some of them look good and/or intriguing. Just got one on managing multiple priorities with special features for folks (like me) who work by themselves. But before I bite, it occurred to me that someone here may have personal experience with these folks. Thanks! Catherine

Congratulations, Booger!! Catherine

I was talking to someone at one of our local professional group meetings, who had been on the fence about ATX for several years. Really liked some aspects, kept hesitating over the price. Told him about the TRX deal, he signed up next day, and sent me an email thanking me _and_ telling me that TRX had told him to pass along to me that I mention the referral to get an additional $40 off. That was a sale CCH/ATX would _never_ have made -- this guy wasn't biting because of the cost. If he likes the program, he'll be back the next year probably regardless of who he has to buy from. So it gains them sales from new folks, as well. It's not "loss of revenue" to them if it builds a customer base at _no_ additional support cost. And I highly doubt they sold all 500 licenses in this one forum. But you're right, KC, there are two sides to this story. And it must hurt to lose full-price customers to a reseller. OTOH, I had been thinking _very_ seriously of going over to Drake because of the total cost for my small practice. This TRX deal kept me as a customer, so for CCH it's still better than losing me completely. Catherine