Politics, Local style

Politicians.  They deliver their spiels and promise the world and how things will be better if you just vote for them.  They lean left.  They lean right.  Some are wise in the ways of the political game.  Some are not as wise but hopeful and work hard to honestly give their all as they somehow are seen at every function, getting their name to match a face online.

Then there are the supporters behind the scenes.  Running the phone banks, putting out the signs, arranging the fund raisers and the meet and greets.  Small town politics are an entity like no other.  The letters to the editor, the sudden scandal, all add to the flavor of the spring primaries.  Ours are next week.  School boards, commissioners, township folks, even judges and recorders of wills.

While most of the country is making a recovery, slow and steady, and the attention is on the big boys and girls getting into the race early, hundreds of small counties like ours, will be casting the vote to make things better.  To bring living wages into an area by bringing in businesses that will offer more than a minimum wage.

Keeping the funding for the schools while lowering property taxes to free up money that will stimulate the local economy are issues are our minds.

I'll be voting to clean house.  The dust has been settling for too long and it's time for a change, time to let new faces tackle the status quo.  They have come to love this area, and I don't believe they will just settle.  Like the good ole boys in office now.

Come election morning I will go to the polls and cast my vote for change.  For the future.

Sticker shock

Well there certainly is enough to comment on in the news lately, but most if not all the finger pointing is taking up front page space. Although I mentally make a list of topics for this blog, I really should write them down as I never seem to remember them when I finally block out time at the keyboard.

So today I've decided to rant a bit on sticker shock. Not the price of retail goods or cars or even groceries, but where manufacturers, drugstores, grocers, almost any retailer or wholesaler opts to place a price sticker on an object.

This sticky tactic first came to light for me when I realized that the drugstore that I occassionaly used as a quick shop pick up, knowing full well I would be spending more money there, opted to start putting the price sticker on over an important part of the "directions for use". Now obviously some things we already know how to use, but there are times when we would like to reinforce this knowledge as ingredients do change as does how to use a product.

Not only does the offending drugstore employ bad placement but uses a sticker that defies removal without destroying the label beneath it. We should all have access to such adhesive. It could be used to mend everything from a broken piece of china, to patching a hole in a bike tire.
It is science at it's finest.

Then there is the bagged product, an ice scoop I purchased yesterday at a restaurant supply store. It was protected by a fine plastic bag. Was the price sticker on the bag? Nope. It was firmly adhered to the heavy aluminum scoop itself, defying any normal attempts to remove it without leaving the inevitable sticky substance behind. Now had I been at home I would have used any number of sticky removal tricks, but I was not, and so soaked it with soap and proceeded to scrape away the residue as best I could rinsing it many times over in the process. All the while wondering who had the idea that the sticker would best be placed on the scoop and not the bag.

Lets talk about plates or cups or glasses. Seems to me that the perfect area to place a price sticker on the aforementioned items is on the bottom of such an item. But noooo...I think major and not so major retailers train their staff to adhere those offensive little squares on used areas only. They must feel that we need the challenge of scraping off the stinky stickers, before we can wash them and use them. Goo gone has become a staple in my household, but then requires an open window as well as a double wash to remove that residue.

Now the final pet peeve of mine doesn't really fall into the category of stickers, but printed dates and information on plastic bags that keep our breads, rolls and other items fresh. If the use by date is stamped on a bag, why would not the manufacturer place a date where we could actually read it. Instead I have been noting that more often than not, this special little code that lets us know if the bread will make it through the week without turning a lovely color of blue, is placed in an area of the bag which makes it virtually impossible to see. I am then forced to go through the shelf until I find one that is legible and meets my requirements of purchase.

So that's that. Not earth shattering by any means, and in the grand scheme of what is happening in our country right now, truly way, way, way down on the list. Isn't it the little things that irk us, that truly make or break our day. We cannot do anything about grown elected officials who seem to be having issues playing nice with each other, and therefore causing more mayhem, at least until the next election. Perhaps we can make our daily life a little better by a well written email complaint, or a call to a store. A little reminder that there are a whole lot of places to shop and perhaps we will start buying the products or using the stores that make it easier for the comsumer. Now where is my list.