Child Support…

What’s going on people?  The topic today is going to be a little bit about the  Child Support laws of our country!

I’m sure when you read that you said, Ohhhh sh*t!”  No need to be afraid of the term “Child Support”  It’s a normal thing that happens to a good portion of us, male and female…and as a result, some of us just feel the need to talk about it.

Let’s first look at how this even comes about.  I know of a man whom had CS (Child Support) put on him for a total of two years and didn’t know anything about it.  Lets look at that for a second alright…

#1-Without any type of investigation on the agency’s part, this women was able to walk in to the CS building, file a case against this man, with little to no effort.

#1 Issue:  How is it that any random person with a child, can walk into a CS building and start paperwork on the non-custodial parent, (with or without a blood test in hand) and they not feel the need to talk to the opposing parent to see if this is legit or not?  Honestly, this person could be a functioning drunk for all they know, or a bitter x-lover, but none of that is a factor because they must be coming in for a reason right?!  Miss me with all that noise!  They also don’t feel the need to schedule a meeting with the opposing parent to see what this person is really like.  To see if this person takes any interest in this child’s life at all.  To see if the non payments have a justified reason for not coming in.  Is this parent even employed?  Is this parent disabled?  Is this parent actually paying support that’s not court ordered?  Is this parent coming to visit his/her child on their own free wil?  Is this person actually the Father of the child in question?  Is this parent deceased? (Yes this happens too!)

#1 summary:  The bottom line here people is this.  It is entirely to easy for any woman or man, to walk into a CS building, and start CS paperwork on the non-custodial parent with no more than a application being filled out.  Sure it’s the government and the process might take a while to actually be filed, however that’s all it took.  We’ll get in to the rules and regs in a minute, but with the things that CS can do to the non-custodial parent in terms of restrictons etc.  Their criteria should be a little bit more strict, because these criteria, has serious potential to ruin this persons life, and it all started and technically ended with the filling out of an application, buy a possible functioning drunk, or bitter x-lover.

Now let’s look at the rules and regs of Child Support…

#2-Your drivers license can be taken away.  Any and all professional, recreational, and occupational licenses can be taken away.  Passports can be denied and or revoked.  Renewal of any certifications (that require you to have a registration number, i.e. medical assistants) can be denied as well.

#2 Issues: I’ve learned that Arkansas, Montana and New Jersey require that the delinquent parent be at least six months behind in child support payments before a license may be affected.  In Arizona and Kansas, a contempt order is sufficient to trigger a license suspension, while Indiana requires a three-month delinquency or $2,000 arrearage.  Do you know what California says?  If you’re out of work for 2 months, your license will be suspended.  With the economy being the way it is, and 1 out of every 5 people in California not having a job; That equates to over 6 million people who don’t have jobs in California.  2 months is all time you have before you are no longer able to drive your vehicle.  You are able to apply for an extension on that, but it will most likely be denied in the 90 days it takes for anything to be processed in the CS system.  You can also apply for a temporary DL in your state, and you just might get it, however when you do get it, there will be a 15-20 mile radius on that temp DL.  If you wanted to see your child, and he/she lived outside that radius, you are now unable to drive to see your child.  Which I’m sure will cause more problems with the parent that has the child, even though this was their fault to begin with.  I’m not saying that all parents on CS are good to go parents, but some are, and end up getting a bad break, because of the ones that don’t care about their children!  Fair?  I’m going to go out on a limb here and say…..no!

That’s all for right now ladies and gentleman.  We will continue this at a later time.  Unitl then…If you are being put on child support, putting someone on child support, thinking about putting someone on child support etc.  Really think about what you’re doing before you do!    Don’t do it because youre upset.  Really understand why he or she are not able to help right now.  If you are struggling, don’t think that the other parent can’t as well.  Together or not, you have to help eachother for your child (ren) and bot of your own sanity’s.  CS is not something that should be used as a threat or a way to get back at someone for something.  CS can have some seriously bad residual repercussions even after being taken off.  This is not something that can just be filed and go away when you feel like turning it off.  Sure, in some cases it can, but in others it doesn’t just go away.  All I’m saying is please think about it before you do it.

Until next time folks!  Child Support (Part 2) coming soon…

 

Lakers?

     The Los Angeles Lakers FINALLY closed out the Houston Rockets in 7; 89-70 here at the Staples Center…To say the very least, I can just simply say, this series should have been over 2 games ago.  It should have been over in 5, however I won’t say the very least and continue…

     As Kobe Bryant so jokingly put it, when asked what have they learned from this series, “We’re Bipolar”  This couldn’t be more right.  Why is it that the Los Angeles Lakers chose to give all Laker fans a heart attack every game, when they know they can save a life and just play right?!  After game 6 between the Lakers and Rockets, Mark Jackson said he was done betting on the Lakers in these Playoffs.  He said, they don’t play like a championship team, and as a result, he’s going with the Nuggets, or anybody in the East.  They play as if they know they are that good, and a loss is just a loss.  Very lackluster attitudes

     That attitude may have been good enough to get rid of the very broken down Houston Rockets, but it won’t fly with these Denver Nuggets.  The Lakers dominated the inside play yesterday, as well as the boards with a strong 55-33 rebounding performance.  46-30 in the paint pts, with a 47%-37% FG showing.  Total domination by one team.  This game was won by the big men, and this should be the Lakers focus for the rest of these playoffs.

     We all know that Kobe Bryant will get his points.  We all know that as sure as it’ll be noon everyday.  The question is his supporting cast.  Pau Gasol, (to be frank) is weak!  The man will get destroyed by any other big man int eh league with a slight mean streak in them.  It was evident in the 2008 Finals.  In game 1, Kevin Garnett established his presence, and chest checked Pau, which put him on the floor.  Pau was no good for the rest of the series after that, in turn, making himself into a team liability on the court.  Mr. Gasol truly needs to get a little meaner, and a little tougher, to cause the right damage and make the necessary noise he should be making in these 2009 playoffs.  Pau is a finesse player in ever sense of the word.  That’s all well and good, but these are the playoffs and the stakes are way higher now.  You have to get meaner to let your opponents know, “Not In My Hose!”  He can pull that type of play off during the regular season, but come playoff time…the guys who really want it, will step their game up and make that extra pass, dive for that ball, get that rebound, or yes, even stand up to the bully on the other team.  The superstar sets the tone, and if takes Kobe or Pau standing up to Ron Artest to show they won’t be intimidated, then that’s what needs to happen.  Pau had 21 pts and 18 rbs in yesterday’s game, minus Yao Ming and Mt. Mutombo.  That’s huge!  His best game came, when the their center went down, however, game 6 proved that even without Yao Ming, Pau STILL didn’t show up to his potential with 14 pts and 11 rbs.  Sure he had a double double, (barely) but without a Yao Ming, he should have easily had 20 plus pts.  Not only is he soft, but he doesn’t show up every night to play when it’s clear he can have a good game due to a lack of size on the opposing team.

     This will definitely hurt the Lakers in this Denver series starting  Tuesday on ESPN.  Don’t get me wrong; Pau is a decent player.  He is averaging a double double in these playoffs with 18.5 pts and 10.8 rbs a game.  His numbers are not my issue here.  The issue is a lack of urgency and drive to dominate the inside when it’s clear you have the advantage, and when the advantage is not necessarily in your favor, don’t back down, and push back.  He has skills…use them and not let intimidation be your down fall and ultimately the teams.

     The Denver Nuggets will give the Lakers another test I’m sure.  This last series with the Rockets was simply a slap in the face to wake up, and start playing.  The Lakers twin towers, (Gasol and Bynum) are collectively averaging 24.1 pts and 14.6 rbs a game.  Shaq’s first championship year with the Lakers, he averaged 30.4 pts and 15.4 rbs a game, and this is only one man.  Now granted, this is Shaq in his prime I’m talking about, however his stats alone are better than the two big men on the Laker squad. If you think that’s to much, then Dwight Howard is averaging 19.6 pts and 16.6 rbs a game in these 2009 playoffs.  Pau is soft, and Bynum is not 100% yet from his injury.  So the Lakers might have a rough time in the paint next series.

The Denver Nuggets have  2, 7 footers (Hunter and Petro) and 2 other players over 6’10” (Anderson & NeNe).  Hunter did not play in the last series due to a knee injury and is most likely done for the rest of the playoffs.  Petro has not been a factor in these playoffs averaging 0.9 pts and 0.8 rbs a game.  Anderson is not a huge offensive threat for the Nuggets, however does give them 6.9 pts and 6.1 rbs a game.  Nene gives the Nuggets 12.5 pts and 7.3 rbs a game.  Collectively that’s 20.3 pts and 14.2 rbs a game from all their big men, which actually boads well for how the Lakers big men are playing right now.

     Unfortunately, the Nuggets have 8 other players to worry about outside of their big men.  4 particular ones to be exact…Kenyon Martin, (9.9 pts per game) Chauncy Billups, (22.1 pts a game) J.R. Smith (16.3 pts a game) and of course Carmelo Anthony (27.0 pts a game)  It comes as no shock to anyone that both these teams are very talented and can score.  I think this series will be decided on who plays the better defense.  I just hope the right Lakers show up to this series, because it’s going to be sad to watch them lose.

     We all want to see the Kobe/Lebron NBA Finals, so let’s go Lakers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I’m going with the Los Angeles Lakers in 6!  Let’s go Lake Show!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Forgive Folks!

     Yo…what’s up folks?  I just wanted to throw out some words on forgiveness.  Check this out….

     I read a quote once that read, “Forgiveness is a virtue of the brave”  Do you believe this to be true?  I do.  It takes a lot to forgive anybody for anything.  BUT, when I say forgive; I really mean it.  There is a HUGE difference between accepting an apology, and actually forgiving someone. 

     When you’ve realized that you’ve forgiven someone for something, that person is almost never around to know it, short of them living with you.  Forgiveness is something that you have to go inside yourself and find.  Honestly, when a person says they are sorry for something they’ve done to you, that you can say truly hurt your feelings deep, that apology only means so much.  “Sorry” alone holds only so much weight.  You may even say “It’s cool man” or “Don’t worry about it girl” but deep down, you just want it to be over, and move on.  You got your apology, and that’s pretty much all you’re gonna get, so why drag it on if this person is really your friend you know?

     If this apology comes with this friend wanting to explain and talk, by all means do so.  This will save you from having to look inside yourself and really try to forgive this person.  Things have to be cleared up before you can completely move on, and a “Sorry” alone, is not going to do it.  Fact is, they could be just saying sorry to shut you up.  Talking things out (Even if you have to initiate it) will almost always clear things up and make it possible to move completely on, a lot faster than just holding on to it and just being bitter until this person chooses to talk to you, if they ever do at all…

     The reason for this Blog, is because I’ve been going through some things hitting me from all angles that have really tested my ability to trust and forgive.  We all make mistakes, and that I understand, but I promise you, this is the single HARDEST thing I’ve ever had to do oractically on my own.  I’ve had issues with that my entire life until this point, and I never knew it until recently.  I’ve been really snapping at people, and not talking to people, and cussing people out, and being real combative with just about everybody.  I always saw forgiveness as a trait of being (for a lack of better words) a bitch!  I just couldn’t give the upper hand to anybody at all.  If I forgive you for doing me dirty, that meant that you won!  I’m 30 now, and it’s time to let that go.  If people are immature enough to think they won a mind game with you because you forgave them, they have no clue how much they’ve actually lost!  While they are thinking about how they got you, and they won, and really wasting brain power on something that’s stupid, you’re not thinking about it at all.  Don’t get me wrong; there are things that are harder to forgive than others (Murder, infidelity, theft, face to face lies etc.), so I can understand you holding on for little while, but don’t let it consume you to the point where it runs your life, and everybody around you, pays for what some jerkoff did to you 10 years ago.  Even if the jerkoff is you Mother, Wife, Husband, Brother, Father etc. and you have to see them on a regular.  

     People always say, don’t worry about it, because there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel.  Sometimes that light is a train!  However, the sooner you realize that train you see is you, you’ll never be able to forgive anybody for anything.  How can you forgive, if you can’t seem to get out of your own way?  You are your worst enemy…Learn to forgive.  You won’t forget, and you might even relapse from time to time…but learn to forgive.  Wether you believe in God or not, it’ll ease your mind, body and soul!  I’ll holla!!!!!!!

Lakers and Rockets

10 eastern time tonight on TNT, marks the beginning of the Western Conference Semi-Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers (65-17) and the Houston Rockets (53-29). 

Based just on regular season records, who would be your choice to win this 7 game series?  The logical choice would be the Lakers of course.  However, one must not simply focus on records alone.  It’s a lot more complicated than that.

How many times have they played this year? 4…

What were the outcomes? 4-0 Laker sweep.  Out of the 4, only two…yes I said 2, were close, and they both were in H-Town.  1st game in LA, the Lakers won by 29 points.  What the hell right?!  Yea, I know.  2nd game in H-Town, the Lakers won by only 5 this time.  3rd game in H-Town, the Lakers won by 6.  The final regular season meeting between these two teams, had the Lakers winning by 12 in LA.  Houston seems to only be competitive on their home floor, be it in a losing effort or not.  Now judging just off that, who would be your choice to win the 7 game series?  The logical choice would the Lakers of course…BUT one must not simply focus on records and regular season sweeps.  It’s still more complicated than that.  Some would argue that the absence of Tracy McGrady is the cause of the 4 game sweep.  Some would also argue that one of the games in Houston, Artest didn’t play.  Some would also even argue, that the Rockets fell apart in the 4th quarter of all games mentioned, just enough to cost them those games.  Mt. Mutumbo is down as well right now.  Lots of variables, but the end result was always the same, regardless of how you try to spin it…

How many NBA Finals appearances have these two teams had in this decade?

Houston – 0  /  Lakers – 5

The Rockets make it out of the 1st round in the playoffs, for the first time in 12 years, this year.  Based just off that…who would be your choice to win this 7 game series?  Of course the lakers would be the obvious choice.  However one can not just focus on records, regular season sweeps, and experience alone.  It’s much more complicated than that.

Here’s were it gets interesting…

When you look at the teams comparisons, they aren’t to far off…

Pts per game: Lakers-107/Rockets-98

Field Goal %: Lakers-47%/Rockets-45%

Free Throw %: Lakers-77%/Rockets-80% (These can decide games)

3 Point %: Lakers-36%/Rockets-38%

Rbds per game: Lakers-44/Rockets-43

Steals per game: Lakers-9/Rockets-7

Blocks per game: Lakers-4/Rockets-5

Not to far off are they?  You can argue that they are pretty evenly matched, but there are talks of a possible Laker sweep, or ending this series in 5 games. 

Kobe averaged 28.3 points in the Houston meetings this year.  More than any player on either side.  He also has had more playoff experience at his age, than the most seasoned Rocket, who played an awesome 18 years in this league. (Dikembe Mutumbo)  Kobe can not be stopped, but he can be contained by sending multiple players at the same time at him.  However, these past few years, Kobe’s Assist avg has risen, hence making him a more complete player all around.  Boson did a very good job on him last year in the Finals.  By sending Kobe fresh defenders in a constant rotation, in conjunction with massive amounts of double teams, and on occasion triple teaming him as well…he was almost helpless.  His team mates were not producing, which gave him no other choice but to do it himself.  This is what made the double and triple teaming so effective.  If you’re double teamed, another player is left open, so when you dump that ball off to that open player, and they can’t deliver, what are you options now?  The Lakers have to deliver off the ball, when Kobe draws the defense.  This is key to every win.  Kobe’s 2008 Finals avg were respectable, but not Kobe like to say the least.  If Houston is to have a chance, smothering Kobe is the key.  The problem is they only have Artest and Battier to throw at him.  They would be crazy to double team with them both, so it has to be one at a time with other Rockets knowing to fill holes.  This is where experience comes in.  I just don’t feel they have the resources to contain Kobe as long as they need, to steal a game or two.

The Rocket guards are the weak links in this matchup…The Laker SG’s are 2nd in the league in points scored per game, to the Rockets SG’s being 24th.  The Rockets points do not come from their back court, but from their front court.  So it should be interesting to see how the coaches decide to work their teams.  My choice, are the Lakers in 5….

What’s Up Peoples?!

Well…Here we are.  The start of another work week.  Is it just me, or does this become redundant as hell after awhile?  Of course it’s not just me. 

We all know that we have to work to make a living I’m sure?  Right?  As a result of that knowledge, we sometimes end up having an end result of wondering why?  You get down on life and ask, why does life have to be this way?  Why is it that if what you do is honest work, you have to work twice as hard to make a decent living…of course short of you being an athlete or in the National spotlight, life can be quite hard for you at times.  Not to mention the 100′s of people who you see drive up and down the street in the new 2009 Mercedes 500 S Class, and you know they don’t have a 9-5 or even their own business for that matter.  Is it wrong to judge a book by it’s cover?  Hell yea it is…but come on?!?!?!  You’ve seen and know of the people I speak!  These people get glorified on TV, music video’s, and around the local areas as the dudes that got everything, and made it without so much as a GED!  Our kids see this and assume it’s o.k. when it’s really not!  However how can we blame our kids for looking for the easy road to salvation, when all they see, are their parents having a rough time dealing with the things we deal with everyday?!  They don’t want to live that way, and at a very young age, look to see what they can do to make their lives unlike yours!  They find themselves searching for a route to take that will help them and you.  No, you don’t have to be crazy poor, or really struggling for your next dime, for your kids to start looking for that BBD. (Bigger Better Deal)  They will start looking for it, the day they want to go to Magic Mountian with their friends, and you say no, because you don’t have the money right now.  Is that you’re fault you don’t?  You are working 2 jobs to help support your family…Is it your fault?  You do everything else you can for these kids.  Is it your fault?  Everything they have, from clothes to deodorant came from you.  Is it your fault?  They don’t go hungry one night, because of you.  Is it your fault?  Of course it’s not your fault!  All we can do as parents is show our kids that we work for a living, and life may not be peaches and cream everyday, but you do what you have to do as a family to keep all of our heads above water.  Wether you’re rich or poor, the values you teach your kids from jump street, are the values they will keep forever, and carry into their adult lives…So let’s go on and start this new, redundant work week ladies and gentelman… )