Feed the Children

Well folks, it looks like it's going to be a long drawn out depression, some pundits say several years before we see the bottom, and I'm not talking about Pam Anderson or Brittney Spears.

The other day, a school district had 700 applicants for a janitor position, seven hundred people, willing to sweep, mop, dust and countless other duties that the custodian is responsible for. Many of these people applying are former lawyers and accountants and managers as well as retail clerks.

There is nothing wrong with being a custodian, but are our, the bankers and lawyers looking for work, resources truly being used to maximum effectiveness, probably not, but it's the sign of the times.  You need a pay check, and you'll do what you have to try and keep you standard of living close to what you are use to.

Our resources such as United way and meals on wheels and food banks are already feeling the strain from unemployment and underemployment.  More people than ever are reaching out for assistance from food banks and homeless shelters and other community organizations assisting those in need. 

We must take care of the next generation, we can not fail them again.  We have burdened them with the weight of the national debt and social security, let's not fail to give them the tools that they need to be successful.  Let's ensure that they have the proper nutrition to start the day and be ready to learn.  

Please look in your own community, if they have a back pack program in the schools, see what you can do to help, contact your employer and see if their charitable arm can help fund and grow the program or start one if you do not have a local program.  Conduct a food drive at your work for the children, challenge other local businesses.  Next week I'll offer more ideas, but for now, start to impact a child's life, make sure they have food.

Feed the Children, they are our most precious gift. 

Where do we start?

I don't know.  It's the chicken and egg dilemma.   What comes first, what must be address first? Do we address hunger and it's significant impact on the ability to learn or do we focus on improving our deplorable education system?

In my opinion we must first set the child up for success.  Children must have the proper nutrition and be ready and able to learn, regardless.  Children from poor families receive less than 70% of the needed major nutrients. Sounds like my diet you say.  Perhaps, but you and I are big boys and girls, the little ones, the most venerable ones face increased risk for serious and costly health problems like anemia and impaired cognitive development.

Gee, if they can't afford food, do you think they can afford to go to the doctor?  If they seek medical services they will generally seek services at the emergency room where, because of government rules and funding, they are required to treat you regardless of your ability to pay.

Okay, whip out your calculators, time for a math test.  What cost more, a pound each of apples, green beans, carrots and chicken or a trip to the emergency room?  ( Enter Jeopardy theme music)  What is apples, beans carrots and chicken Alex!  

Ding, Ding Ding!!!!!  We have a winner!

If you and I, the creations that the elite leaders of our country consider us, can figure it out, why can't they.

We need to start cleaning house in the state and federal governments and find people that understand that it is cheaper in the long run to address the problem in the early stages rather later.

Remember the old Fram oil filter commercial, you can pay me now( for a few bucks) or pay me later( lots of bucks for the new engine).  Shouldn't we be funding oil filters instead of new engines.  Makes sense to me.   

What have I done..

I've been away far to long.  On Friday as I'm looking at movie trailers, searching for interesting new movies, I come across Explicit ills.  Sounds kinky, so I watch.  So far from my perception, but truly pulls at my conscience and makes me ask, what have I done to make this world a better place?

In brief the movie is about poverty and why, as one of the riches nations we allow so many of our fellow human beings to suffer the humiliation and angst associated with poverty?  Why, we as a people, have turned our heads to the suffering in our own back yards and neighborhoods? Why can we give so generously to feed the starving in Africa and India, yet we allow the young and the elderly to suffer in squalor in our own country?

Please do not get me wrong, we need to be concerned for all people, but if we fail to help our neighbors, how can we fell good about helping those in other countries.

Poverty is a viscous cycle, once a family is in poverty, the future generations rarely leave.  It's about education, it's about family, it's about availabilty of food.

How can a young child focus on learning if his or her stomach is empty?  How can a young brain develop if it does not have proper nutrition?  How can a child develop properly in it's mother womb if the mother fails to receives proper pre natal care?

if the answer to the question, what have I done is little or nothing, then ask what can I do?

Changes

As I ended my last entry, I wrote of accountability and holding each other to our words.  Then last night I heard that our new change is really more of the same.

I'm talking about our President Elect and his promise for change, but guess what, it is really more of the same.  Same political lifers that continue to suck the life out of our country and our self esteem.  They suck the tax payers, that's you and me, dry.

You and I and every other business/group/organization that I know of has a budget that they must meet or they cease operations.  Yet these elected officials that we fail to hold accountable continue to spend, spend, spend.

Most of us are having to cut expenses in the current economy.  We have traded off our SUV for a Prius, we have eliminated HBO and Cinemax, we have gone back to dial up rather than broadband and we have lowered the thermostat and put on more layers of clothes and blankets on the bed, in order to cut our expenses.

Just once in my life, I would love to see our elected officials stop and say, Hey we really don't need this, hey, we can cut this back and save money, our money.  Hey, let's be like every other business/group/organization and have a balanced budget.  But I realize that because we do not hold these people accountable, I will only witness what I desire when hell freezes over or when Christ comes for the second time, by then it's too late and perhaps both will happen because of their greed and mismanagement.

People, we must stand up and hold all of our elected officials accountable to US!  We are the board of directors, if we are not seeing a return on our investment, the the management team is not handling the funds in a prudent manner then we need to let them know.

Don't fall for the old " I wanted to do that, but the other party wouldn't let it happen" BS!  We elected them to work together for the benefit of the whole not a few.  Remember, citizens elect these folks, not multinational companies.  We need to get the lobby's out of politics so that our representatives can represent US, not the industries of the world.

Mr. Obama says he is an agent of change, let's hold him to that.  But how is it change if the same old same old is in power.  If he truly wants change then he needs to clean house of the insiders and start by pushing his party's control of Congress too pass a balanced budget amendment.  That is true change!  But CNN nor Fox has reported the freezing of Hell or the second coming, so I guess change won't happen.  Only SHIT happens, and we are being SHIT on every-time we fail to hold these corrupt bastards accountable.

President Elect Obama, we have given you the opportunity to radically change the government, please keep your word and prove to me and others that politicians can be trusted and that we won't just get more of the same.  

Only time will tell.

The Changing World

As our economy collapses, and our government changes, much as been running through my mind.  Wondering who I truly am and what makes me tick.  I have experienced much in my short time on this earth.

As a child of the 60's, I was around during the destruction of our nation which included the Watts riots, Kent State, the senseless killings of JFK, RFK and MLK, Vietnam and the riots at the Democratic convention in Chicago.

I grew up in a house with a father in the military.  During the early 60's he spent many nights away from home, sitting in his plane, armed with nuclear weapons, with orders to drop them on Moscow, should the need arise during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

When he wasn't flying planes for the military he was either 3 stories underground or deep within a mountain of solid granite, working in highly restricted areas.  Although he has been retired form the military for over 30 years, we do not know what he did in the military, other than fly planes.  I fully respect his integrity for maintaining his secrets and while it would be interesting to know, I know that I nor our family will ever realize what part he may have played in some of our countries greatest or worst moments.

All of this plays a part of who I am and what I stand for.  My entire life I have identified my self as a conservative, not flaming, but a moderate, center of the road conservative.  

As I grow older and have learned to look deeper at life and the world around me, I find myself confused by what the "conservatives" of today stand for and what they are doing to our country.  With that said, I also look at the "liberal" side of the stone as well.  

Both the liberals and conservatives are destroying our country and I'm tired of sitting by and allowing them to ruin our great county.  We have ceded complete authority to them, then we bitch and complain and re-elect them four years later.

When will we get back to the days of personal accountability, responsibility?  We will never improve our country or way of life until we hold ourselves accountable for the choices that we make in choosing the people that we elect to run our government.

We are Americans first and foremost and we have to get past this Democrat and Republican, conservative/liberal crap and do what is right for this country.  It doesn't matter if you were born in the US of A or live here now, you are an American period, not African American, or Mexican American or Cuban American or even Canadian American.  We are Americans!

Let's start to act like Americans!