West Point

My cousin, Tony Segura, is a Cadet at West Point. I haven't seen him in almost four years, so we made plans for him and his friends to come to DC for a weekend visit. It was great seeing Tony and meeting his friends. I love having family back East and we're already making plans for another visit.

~EASTERN MARKET~

Eastern Market is a great little farmer's market in the District. There is a delicious breakfast every Saturday morning. So, we woke up early, had breakfast and walked around. It was a perfect Fall morning to be out and about.

Breakfast, yum! I had the french toast.

~THE WHITE HOUSE ~

This is hands down, my all time favorite picture of Chareese and Nicole.

Tyler and Tony checking out china. I wonder which pattern is their favorite...

Nicole, Millie, Chareese & Chelsea

Millie & Tony

Handsome West Point Cadets. Call me girls, if you want their phone numbers.

Tony & Chris, doing their best to get a perfect picture.

Reese and I are close...love her!

Love my cuz!

Millie, Chareese & Tyler

Good looking group!

Millie, Tanya, Tyler, Chareese, Tony, Nicole, Chris & Chelsea.

We took A LOT of pictures...

Walking down Pennsylvania Avenue for dinner at Old Ebbitt.

~OLD EBBITT~

Old Ebbitt is a great restaurant in DC. Every President since Lincoln has eaten here and it is one of my favorite places to take out of town guests.

"Where everybody knows your name..."

Tyler and Chris outrank my cousin, Tony. We watched the West Point football game during dinner. And, when the team scored...Tyler and Chris had Tony do push-ups. No problem! Tony's a Segura and can handle anything! Pah-lease, doing a few push-ups in a bar full of strangers is a total cake walk. Way to go Tony!

Obama and the Tax Tipping Point

How long before taxpayers are pushed too far?
By ADAM LERRICK

What happens when the voter in the exact middle of the earnings spectrum receives more in benefits from Washington than he pays in taxes? Economists Allan Meltzer and Scott Richard posed this question 27 years ago. We may soon enough know the answer.

Barack Obama is offering voters strong incentives to support higher taxes and bigger government. This could be the magic income-redistribution formula Democrats have long sought.

Sen. Obama is promising $500 and $1,000 gift-wrapped packets of money in the form of refundable tax credits. These will shift the tax demographics to the tipping point where half of all voters will receive a cash windfall from Washington and an overwhelming majority will gain from tax hikes and more government spending.

In 2006, the latest year for which we have Census data, 220 million Americans were eligible to vote and 89 million -- 40% -- paid no income taxes. According to the Tax Policy Center (a joint venture of the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute), this will jump to 49% when Mr. Obama's cash credits remove 18 million more voters from the tax rolls. What's more, there are an additional 24 million taxpayers (11% of the electorate) who will pay a minimal amount of income taxes -- less than 5% of their income and less than $1,000 annually.

In all, three out of every five voters will pay little or nothing in income taxes under Mr. Obama's plans and gain when taxes rise on the 40% that already pays 95% of income tax revenues.

The plunder that the Democrats plan to extract from the "very rich" -- the 5% that earn more than $250,000 and who already pay 60% of the federal income tax bill -- will never stretch to cover the expansive programs Mr. Obama promises.

What next? A core group of Obama enthusiasts -- those educated professionals who applaud the "fairness" of their candidate's tax plans -- will soon see their $100,000-$150,000 incomes targeted. As entitlements expand and a self-interested majority votes, the higher tax brackets will kick in at lower levels down the ladder, all the way to households with a $75,000 income.

Calculating how far society's top earners can be pushed before they stop (or cut back on) producing is difficult. But the incentives are easy to see. Voters who benefit from government programs will push for higher tax rates on higher earners -- at least until those who power the economy and create jobs and wealth stop working, stop investing, or move out of the country.

Other nations have tried the ideology of fairness in the place of incentives and found that reward without work is a recipe for decline. In the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, Margaret Thatcher took on the unions and slashed taxes to restore growth and jobs in Great Britain. In Germany a few years ago, Social Democrat Gerhard Schroeder defied his party's dogma and loosened labor's grip on the economy to end stagnation. And more recently in France, Nicolas Sarkozy was swept to power on a platform of restoring flexibility to the economy.

The sequence is always the same. High-tax, big-spending policies force the economy to lose momentum. Then growth in government spending outstrips revenues. Fiscal and trade deficits soar. Public debt, excessive taxation and unemployment follow. The central bank tries to solve the problem by printing money. International competitiveness is lost and the currency depreciates. The system stagnates. And then a frightened electorate returns conservatives to power.

The economic tides will not stand still while Washington experiments with European-type social democracy, even though the dollar's role as the global reserve currency will buy some time. Our trademark competitive advantage will be lost, and once lost, it will be hard to regain. There are too many emerging economies focused on prosperity and not redistribution for the U.S. to easily recapture its role of global economic leader.

Tomorrow's children may come to question why their parents sold their birthright for a mess of "fairness" -- whatever that will signify when jobs are scarce and American opportunity is no longer the envy of the world.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122463231048556587.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Decisions are the worst!

I can't decide what to be for Halloween. I have it narrowed down to two solid contenders. But, can't make up my mind! There are those who use Halloween as an opportunity to be a little more risque. Not I. I tend to take more of a comical route.

Bzzzzzzz...

Gobble, Gobble!

In order to make a fully informed decision, I needed to see how each costume would work. Would they be comfortable? The bee outfit is pretty much "what-ya-see-is-what-ya-get." I can comfortably wear it with jeans, etc. However, dressing up as a chicken is a bit more work. And, this costume is hot! (Not H-O-T, like cute, obviously.) So, to get an idea of what it would be like walking around all night as a chicken...we took a little video. Again, we (okay, I) think we're funny.

Arizona or bust!

I have been thinking of moving out West after I wrap things up in DC. Arizona has been on my list of possible new homes for a while, so I took off and spent the weekend in Phoenix to get a feel for the place. I had an interview on Monday and spent Saturday and Sunday exploring the city. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised! Arizona is fantastic! Who’d a thought, I’d like the desert! It is a beautiful place!

A few highlights…

People Watching: I love to people watch…especially in airports. There is always something to see. I flew on Southwest, which is already pure entertainment in itself. However, the most memorable moment was on my layover in Missouri when I overhead a man say, “My wife really wants me to take her to I-Hop when I get in tonight.” Sign me up for that!!

Haunted House: I haven’t been to a haunted house in over six years. And, after Saturday night, I remember why. We were probably the oldest people there and the little seventh grade girls were braver than me. If you know me well, you know I'm a pretty jumpy person who startles easily. (Those of you who remember the Knots Scary Farm incident from my sophomore year of high school, know exactly what I’m talking about.) Just imagine me going through not one, but, four haunted houses!!! It was bad; I thought I was going to break my protector’s hands because I was holding onto him so tightly.

Cunningham Sunday Family Dinner: Lots of laughter. Think I even cried at one point from laughing so hard. Reminded me of Segura Family laughing fits and made me a little homesick.

Taliesin West: I love Frank Lloyd Wright architecture and visiting this house was great! It was Wright’s home for 20 years and it was really interesting to see how the famous architect lived!

Laying Out: It is October and I was laying out by the pool! No explanation needed. I love Arizona!

Arizona Singles Ward: I felt old! After Relief Society a girl came up to me and said, “Millie, you were my EFY counselor in San Diego!! I teach 4th grade, now!” Sheesh!

Barrios: If you’re from Arizona, you definitely know why this restaurant would be among my trip highlights. Yum!

Visiting with Mimi & Baby Claire: I met Mimi at BYU and haven’t seen her in at least five years. Neither of us can remember when or how we met. We just know we’re glad we did meet. Mimi and her husband live in Phoenix with their darling one year old daughter, Claire. When I knew I would be in Arizona, Mimi was one of the first people I called. I had to see her while I was in town. We had a great visit and I loved catching up with an old friend. Mimi is a fabulous person and little Claire was just too cute!

Being clumsy me: On my return flight, I was stuck in the middle seat, between two men, who promptly fell asleep right after take off. No problem, right? I just sat quietly, reading my book and magazines. The flight attendant came by and asked me what I wanted to drink with my lil’ in-flight snack. I asked for water. (Shocking that I didn’t get a Diet Coke, I know.) She returned with my water as well as some snacks for my sleeping neighbors and me. Everything was great…for about ten minutes. I was snacking on my crackers, sipping my water, reading Vogue, and then it happened. I spilled my very cold ice water all over the SLEEPING man next to me! Yikes! He obviously woke up with quite a start. I apologized over and over and quickly called the flight attendant to bring towels so we could dry ourselves off. Well, all this commotion inadvertently woke up my other sleeping neighbor. I turned from the water soaked man to begin apologizing to the other guy for having woken him up. They were both sweet about it, and the wet one even chuckled a bit. I then remembered that the flight attendant had given me their snacks, which I had tucked away in the seat pocket in front of me. So, as a little “peace offering” I pulled the snacks out and said, “Well, now that you’re awake you can have your snacks!” We all laughed, exchanged phone numbers and emails and are now great friends. Okay, not really. But, the three of us did have a good laugh.

I had a fantastic Arizona visit. I stayed with wonderful friends who made me feel incredibly welcome and at home. Was able to reunite with old BYU & DC friends and meet and make new ones! It was a great little vacation. Arizona or bust! Maybe, we’ll see.

Congratulations Stu & Christine!

Stu and Christine - The proud parents

Mack Thomas Segura

Oooops!

My friend, Jocelyn, is getting married. So, a few of us got together to throw her an incredibly tasteful and elegant bridal shower. Tasteful and elegant that is, until yours truly sat on a piece of cheese cake. Typical Millie moment.