PEOPLE TALKING WAR

http://http//www.mg.co.za/article/2008-06-25-guards-say-us-to-face-tragedy-if-it-hits-iran




The above link is to an article in The Guardian. I shudder at the thought of nations talking of war with Iran. I read an article the other day that described the EU tightening sanctions against Iran. At the begining of Bush's Presidency I supported him in the drum beats to war with Iraq. Of course, I believed what the government told me about WMD in Iraq, and they had me convinced that it was a good idea.




But this idea of going to war with Iran is crazy. Haven't we lost enough children in the war with Iraq? Must we make war upon every country that we disagree with? Look at the ticker on the right side of my blog. This is the number of Iraqis dead, that is dead-never coming back. Never. Babies whose lives are over because the US government was hell bent on taking down Saddam. George Bush in particular, but the VP is to blame, Powell, Rice, Wolfowitz...just to name a few.





And now Bush is talking war with Iran, using some 0f the same rhetoric he used to go to war with Iraq. Making comments like, "the choice is theirs" and the like. Treating a sovereign nation as though they were children. I think it would be a terrible mistake if we launched a war against Iran currently, and the thought of getting into a ground war with Iran is out there as well.





We have to think about the issues at home rather than continue to feed the ravenous war machine that the "war on terror" has created. The war profiteers are champing at the bit to get into Iran, it would mean billions more for their companies. Billions more funded by the Federal government. Money that could be better spent on education, health and the welfare of the people.





It is time to put and end to this madness.


Surely George Bush doesn't have enough time left in his term to actually get us into a full war with Iran.

I BEEN TO CHURCH TODAY

My son and I went to Highland Christian Center on 76th & Glisan in Portland. The Rev. Dr. G.W. Hardy is the senior pastor. The pastor touched on a number of subjects, you just should have been there. There was a lot of love, great music fiery preaching...

They honored the individuals that graduated this season.

Sen. Gordon Smith, (R) Oregon was there. I'm not pulling for him.

It was good. We'll definitely be back.

Image courtesy of highlandministries.org

KATRINA AID ARRIVES IN NEW ORLEANS

How long has it been since Katrina? According to CNN, trucks began to arrive in N.O. with aid that has been locked in a warehouse for two years. This is another sign of the United States being a failed state as described by Noam Chomsky.

This is just one of the many reasons I am not voting Republican this time. Every citizen of the US should read Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine.

I bought it just after it came out and I am on my second read of the book. Ms. Klein does an exceptional job at researching Milton Friedman's economics, and the linking of his Chicago School of Economics to individuals such as Pinochet of Chile, Ronald Reagan, Bush's 1&2 and others.

The free marketers used the disaster after Katrina while the populace was still in shock to wipe out social programs and privatize a number of different things such as the school system. This was also used in the aftermath of the Tsunami of 2004. The fishing villages that had been on the beaches for generations are now in the hands of a few hoteliers and the people that made their living fishing are now ejected off of their land and their land given to another.

Sound familiar?

Let's face it: Kanye West was right. George Bush does not like Black people. The poor Black people of the Lower Ninth Ward in N.O. will never see their homes rebuilt. They are not welcome there any longer, and this was a perfect opportunity to commandeer their land and hand it over to someone else.

It is time for change in the US. The trickle down economics of the Reagan era DO NOT WORK. I agree with John Keynes. There can be a balance of social programs, and private ventures. In fact there has to be. Let's face it. There are people out there that need a helping hand up, yet the federal and state legistatures for the past 28 years has made a concerted effort to oppress the oppressed even more. The cutting of social programs, the laughable focus on education-primary, secondary, and higher-and the specific targeting of the people of color (individuals can deny that it is racially motivated but it is) the turning of backs on the urban centers of the US has done nothing but create a bigger gap between the haves and have nots. I believe it is time to make that gap smaller.

The Federal government must make higher education a priority. The US must provide free higher education for all individuals that want to take advantage of it. We must provide housing for the poor, food for the hungry, clothes for the naked. We must provide health care for all, that is medical, dental, vision. It is time to stop the elite corporations and corporate America from running this country. It is time to stop Corporate welfare.

The American society vilifies the individual that needs subsidized yet the Feds pump billions of dollars worth of subsidies into massive corporations while these corps make record profit.

Did you know in the State of Washington the income cap for a family of three to receive food stamps is a mere $1861? This may seem like a lot to someone outside of the US in some countries, however, it is a pittance here. I am going on a crusade to change the attitude of people in the Untied States regarding taking care of our fellow man. For children to go hungry in the US is outrageous. For men and women to go hungry or be homeless is shameful. I know I have my work cut out for me when I hear people as young as 24 say things like: "The homeless are homeless because they're lazy." What a joke. Most homeless people are people that suffer from mental illness, that can be treated if the US had a reasonable medical system that was not based on profit, but was based on care. Which brings me to another statement.

People employed by insurance companies that deny services to a customer that pays premiums for health coverage that results in the death or permanent disability of the individual or individual covered by the policy issued b that company must be brought up on criminal charges. Have you ever seen Michael Moore's Sicko? There is a scene in which a woman while testifying before Congress is describing how, as a physician, she stamped "DENIED" on perhaps hundreds of claims that resulted in peoples' deaths. Why is this woman not being held accountable for these peoples' deaths? If I knowingly withheld medical treatment from my child while having the financial means to provide for my child and my baby died, I would be charged with a crime. The same ought to apply to individuals that work for Aetna, or Kaiser, Or Blue Cross, etc. Start holding the companies accountable and charging the individuals, that deny, better yet charge the CEO with murder and this will stop.

I will work to ensure that insurance companies are held accountable for their actions.

It is time to think about each other, to tap into a desire to build each other up instead of tearing one another down, and it is time for the self-centeredness and the "I'm gonna get mine" attitude in the US to change.

Peace to you and let's work together for change.

Images courtesy of ebooknetworking.com and sicko-movie.com

MEETING WITH DEB WALLACE, WASHINGTON STATE

I had a meeting (I described it below) with the Representative from the 17th Legislative district. It went very well. She was a very articulate woman that seemed genuinely interested in the problems facing my family. I brought my son Jakob, and her assistant assisted me in watching him while we talked. She has some genuine concerns regarding education and the struggle that people go through to get an education in the US. I'm glad I went to meet with her, I look forward to meeting her again as well as her meeting Kelli, and we'll see what the future holds. Thanks, Deb for listening, I know major change is coming to the US, and you helped me to solidify my direction in this world.

NEWS ALERT! CHILDREN DON'T NEED MILK AFTER AGE FIVE!!!

I just got off the phone with a representative from WIC. WIC is a US Gov't program for women, infants, and children to receive food subsidies such as cereal, milk, cheese and the like. The cut off age is five. When I expressed my disbelief regarding the cutoff age, the lady I spoke with, to her credit, was extremely apologetic and explained the cutoff age was Federally mandated.



Oh these Federal elected officials...This is one more example pf the problems I am having with the United States Government. Let me throw some numbers at you...



332,258,064 $ per day spent in Iraq

13,844,084 $ per hour spent in Iraq

230,734 $ per minute spent in Iraq

3,845 $ per second spent in Iraq

These numbers are courtesy of Democratic Caucus Senate Journal...



I am becoming increasingly outraged at the treatment of the citizens of this country as well as the fiscal mismanagement of our nation. We are throwing millions of dollars at corporations such as Exxon Mobile through corporate welfare and we are slashing and burning subsidies to the low income individuals and families.

The gov't just doesn't get it. My child needs milk. My child needs clothes. His momma needs an education. His daddy needs a job that is secure and pays well. He needs health care as well.

And Bush vetoed the SCHIP program. For those of you that don't know, the SCHIP program is a state health insurance program, and the democrats wanted to expand it. Bush thought it sounded too much like socialized medicine. So what is wrong with helping each other out and making sure your fellow man is taken care of? Did Jesus Himself not say to do just that?

I just got off work and I'm going to publish what I have now, typos and all because the autosave feature is not working. I have some more thought that I must get down tomorrow...Peace and mush love to all, there will come a time that things will improve in our country, I will not allow myself to believe that all of America is represented by the conservatives....

I have an appointment with state rep Deb Wallace coming up and I have a whole host of questions to discuss with her.



As a family, we are facing some serious difficulties. Admittedly, I have made some poor choices in the past. Hooking up with a now ex wife, for example. However, making poor decisions is hardly a reason to keep a family in poverty.



As I understand it, the State of Washington will offer child care assistance to families when all of the adults are working. They will help if the adults are pursing a higher education. Sound good? Keep reading.



I contacted the state department of human services and spoke with an individual who shall remain nameless. She indicated that if Kelli was enrolled in a vocational school then she could be "forced" (her word) into employment because vo-techs are usually involved with employers. As Kelli is enrolled in Portland State pursing a double major in Psych and Biology the "State does not support education". Huh?



In its current state, the government of the State of Washington does not encourage, support or advocate individuals pursuing a higher education. Clearly this is designed to keep people poor.



FOOD STAMPS: The State has a cap of $1861 on a family of three. In other words, a family of three can only make a gross monthly income of $1861 before they are disqualified for food stamps. Milton Friedman would love this. The cost of fuel to get to work and school is about $40 a week. The light bill is $100. Internet service (which is completely necessary for education) is $40/month. Cable is $40/month. Food is at least $100/week. Water, (why do we pay for water anyway??? This is the subject of a soon upcoming blog) is $60, $60 a month.

The state has to realize that individuals as a whole don't want to live on subsidies from the government, however, when the wealth is concentrated with such a small minority of people it creates real problems for the rest of us. College education is absolutely necessary in the US to get a good paying job. The bachelor degree has become the new high school diploma. Good paying blue collar jobs in manufacturing are largely a thing of the past in the US as a direct result of a free market economy.

I am not against a market economy, however, doing all for profit that may include destroying families in the US and exploiting families in other countries solely for the gain of American companies and profits is just plain wrong. Even Halliburton doesn't have its corporate headquarters in the US. It just makes money off the backs of others and then ships it elsewhere. Such as the continent of Africa. The Western powers have kept it poor and destitute by exploiting its people and resources and shipping all of the gains to the West. Like Talib Kweli says "every dollar leaves the neighborhood as soon as we make it." Everyone should watch "Blood Diamonds" both the movie with DiCaprio as well as the documentary.

I gotta go to work.

Image courtesy of levpac.org