I am very disappointed with some of the talk I have been hearing about the administration backing away from a public option for health care. I did not join the Democratic Party to have it morph into the Republican Party.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said government alternatives to private health insurance are "not the essential element" of the administration's health care overhaul. The White House would be open to co-ops, she said.
I am not buying this.
Obama said the public option is needed to keep the private insurers honest. We need him to stand by his statements and not lose his nerve.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/221536-treading-near-greatness-a-tribute-to-walter-cronkite
Some people define "greatness" by the amount of money or power a person possesses. I rather define it by the amount of clarity you have at 99 years old.
Today, I met a great lady who gave birth to eight children. She served as a midwife during her younger days and she helped deliver more than 50 babies. She has made more than 100 original handmade quilts. And, she is still going strong.
I asked Mrs. Flora Jackson what was her favorite song and she said "Amazing Grace." She made a wise choice because when I looked at how firm her facial contour is, and how bright her eyes are, I did not see a woman approaching 100 years. I saw a beautiful, creative and wise woman.
I saw something more in Mrs. Flora Jackson. I saw a mathematician who expressed her mathematics through the art of quilting.
I asked her what her favorite subject was as a young student and she said, "Arithmetic." Her response made so much sense.
I looked at several quilts that Mrs. Jackson made. They were filled with reflections, rotations, and scaling. Her generation may not have learned the matrix theory about rotational matrices, but she saw the beauty in the transformations and she designed her quilts to give you a beautiful visual impression.
One quilt was made with triangles and square. The triangles were inscribed in a square. As you look at each triangle, you see that it is rotated 90 degrees. There were four triangles in each square, and each one was rotated 90 degrees to yield the position of the next one.
Mrs. Jackson represented this math idea in her quilts. However, her creative expression can be represented mathematically by a 2 by 2 matrix with the following components. Let x = 90 degrees. We would have a transformation,
cos x -sin x
sin x cos x
The determinant associated with this 2 by 2 matrix has a value of 1. In fact, the expansion is the Pythagorean identity. Such a matrix, when applied to a representation of a geometric figure would rotate the figure without stretching or shrinking it.
I know what you are saying, "Mrs. Jackson does not know what you are talking about." I would answer, "Mrs. Jackson does not need to know my language. Her language is expressed in the design of each and every one of her quilts."
What is needed is intergenerational communication to understand what Mrs. Jackson sees in this world, and what our generation sees, and does to make this a better world, encompassing more beauty, respect and appreciation for one another.
What I have learned in these many years of studying, learning and teaching mathematics is that Mrs. Flora Jackson has a great mind, a creative mind, and a powerful discipline to envision and design a quilt, cut and sew the quilt, and select beautiful colors to emphasize the mathematical design of her quilts.
I noticed that most of her quilts used polygons such as rhombi, rectangles, squares and triangles. Several of them have the rotation, shifting and scaling quality.
I am honoring the 99-year-old creative matriarch from Pittsview, Alabama. Indeed, she is a great lady, poised, dignified and beautiful.
She was born on October 15, 1909. She is alert and wise. I asked Mrs. Jackson, "What words of wisdom would you like to share with young people?"
She answered, "Tend to your business, and let everybody else's alone."
Her succinct response is respected. No doubt she has been blessed with longevity because she has focused on God's plan for her life.
One of Mrs. Flora Jackson's favorite scriptures is Psalm 119: 105: "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."
Mrs. Jackson's countenance was bright. Her wisdom is profound at her age. She selected the Psalm which is considered "a Bible within the Bible."
There are 22 stanzas in Psalm 119, and each stanza is named for a Hebrew aleph bet. Her focus was not narrow because the light and lamp which has guided her nearly 100 years has directed her to some of the most profound passages in the Bible.
I salute a great American, Mrs. Flora Jackson. Thank you, Mrs. Flora Jackson for being a giant on which future generations can stand on, and to see farther into a glorious future for America.
First I admit I'm a smoker. I made that choice many years ago to smoke. I made that choice like many people make unhealthy choices such as drinking or eating fatty foods, etc. There are lots of unhealthy things and in fact the world is just an unhealthy place in general. I don't personally care what people do since I am pro-choice when it comes to an individual deciding what they can live with, what they choose to live with. I don't and wouldn't walk up to a person eating McDonalds fatty food and telling them, "That's going to kill you." but I have had people feel that it is their right to walk up and tell me that about cigarettes (as if I didn't know that information and it isn't telecasted and plastered on the side of my cigarette pack). Maybe we should just put a warning lable on everything because everything is a hazard? Or maybe people should tend to their own nasty affairs and not give free advice as if it was their privilaged place and job. If everyone told everybody what they thought, what they should and shouldn't do there would be a world of offended people. Somehow society has planted the notion that it's okay to offend people who chose to smoke.
Now aside from that I am just going to throw this out as well. I do want and hope for universal health care BUT I have a bone to pick concerning the cigarette tax going to pay for other people's offsprings health care. What about people who NEVER have children, who make a conscious choice to not have them? Why should those people pay for someone elses choice or lack of choice in having children that they can't afford health care for? What about older adults who have grown adult children? Should they have to pay for someone elses childs health care? What bother's me is the inequity in the cigarette tax paying for someone elses child. What do smoker's get out of it. Forget social conscious since people are rude to smokers and lack the conscious to mind their business. Forget that everyone actually cares for every child because they don't.
There are plenty of unwanted children that people have spawned for multitudes of reasons. Plenty of churches support pro-life but NEVER support the unwed mothers financially over the years as they struggle financially to take care of the child. Society has no rules concerning how many babies people can randomly spawn and have the system pay out for them and believe me I have seen plenty of women in my area who know full well that by having that extra child they can raise their income through programs. You wanna talk about irresponsible behavior vs cigarette smoking. How is it that it's okay for people who cannot afford children to demand that society take care of their children rather than use BIRTH CONTROL. Every health department will hand out bag fulls of free condoms to those who can't afford them. I am offended that people can make the unhealthy choice of spawning babies like rabbits, who take no responsibility as to how they intend to pay for those children and it falls upon society to figure it out. I suggest that there should be a limit on how many children people can have based upon income and if they are currently recieving any type of government assistance for the current children they have they should be told that if they have more than those children that they will not recieve assistance for any further pregnancies.
I've heard the idea that raising cigarette tax may make people quit smoking. Well maybe if people knew that they weren't going to get further assistance for having extra babies they'd quit having them. I'm not so socially concerned that I am just dying to take care of other people's choice to have children that they cannot afford medical care for. Frankly I am offended when I made the personal choice to have ONE and only one child because I knew I couldn't afford more than that one but there were no rewards for that choice. Have you ever noticed that the right choices never reap reward? No one is paying for my bad habit, and I'm not asking for help to pay for it. I chose to smoke, I pay for those cigarettes and I know that I can die. In truth, there are moments that I am content to chose my poison I'm fine dying since I am going to die anyway. Even the job I have being a convenience store clerk puts me in danger of death from robbers who could shoot me down in a heartbeat. If I get in a car I could die. Realistically I'm headed that way and I personally don't care about the last ten years of my life since they will likely be a burden on society and my family since those years lack quality and generally demand a lot of health care.
Here's my question - What do I get out of paying that tax? As a person who no longer has any small children and won't have any small children, what is my gain? Don't give me the social goody two shoes talk because I frankly don't care about other people's children that they chose to have and chose to support. Oh and the notion that it will make people quit smoking is kind of inane because think about this, if they all quit smoking then where will the money come from to pay for all those children's health care. People should be thanking smokers for doing their part as American citizens and smoking their lungs out for all the little kiddies who don't have health care. We smokers should be recieving some kind of reward for doing our part and giving back or maybe when all the smokers quit the government will pick on your habit and make you pay out the ass to take care of someone elses problem child.
If it's not apparent to you, you're not paying attention. The republican agenda, and philosophy of most modern American conservatives, is based entirely in response to new deal democrats. Oooh they hate us sooo much. How dare we force hard working executives to give back to those free-loaders down on the line. That's why they pick the Sarah Palins when a women loses, and Michael Steele when a black man wins. And this response has created a party that is disgustingly disillusioned, and dangerous to a progressive future.
Modern conservative thought flies in the face of all established belief amongst the greatest thinkers in history, including the lord of the religion they claim to follow. Jesus, Buddha, Mohamed, and Confucius; all agree that the way to an enlightened society is to strive for something bigger than ourselves.
To believe their mindless babble a conservative must go to great lengths to justify their greed and heartlessness. Lindsay Graham hates earmarks but uses them frequently. Rush Limbaugh has been divorced twice but rails in defense of marriage's sanctity. Gay bashers are gay. And worthless bank executives foreclose on thousands of homes but coming running when the hammer's coming down on them.
They don't stand for personal responsibility. They just don't want to be responsible for YOU. They don't stand up for smaller government. They don't want government helping the poor. They think poor is by choice and they are certainly not giving up their hard-earned money to help out those bums on main street. And for all their professed patriotism, they sure do seem close to secession... again.
I fear your revolution, patriot. You revolt against the brotherhood of man. Your is a reformation against knowledge. Your cause is self-interest, and your enemy is the universal right to the pursuit of happiness.
To the conservative it is a sin for companies to sacrifice a little short term profit to provide a quality product at a decent price. That's disloyal to the shareholders. Teachers are only in it to put forth a liberal agenda. Artists create works for the money. And unions should shut up and take pay cuts when the companies going bad, but executives need us to stand up for their contracts when they run it into the ground. Oh, wait, most house republicans ended up voting to tax the contracts anyway.
The neocon transformers want us liberals to be their bogeyman. They want to scare you with stories of socialism. But we will not apologize for a literate society, a 70 year life span, a car in every garage, and highways from New York, to San Francisco, and even to Freedom, Ohio. We take pride in Universal Suffrage, and we relish in the scientific revolution. Liberal spending put a man on the moon and it will one day mine asteroids and explore deep space. And we will not back down from that.
Last night when I was working in the store this belligerent jerk came in to purchase cigarettes. Thing was that what he asked for and what he demanded I give him were two different items. I tried to clarify what he was asking for and he just escilated and got more demanding. I didn't cow down to him because although my job requires that I serve customers etc. I do not have to take abusive behavior from customers and be treated like human refuse. So anyway, then the man tries to infer that because he looks latin american that I am being prejudicial. WHAT??? I was dumbfounded because first of all he didn't look latin american at all, in fact he looked like a very rednecky white guy with a tan from doing outdoor labor. Second, I was insulted by the fact that this moron would make a sweeping generalization that because I was white that I was prejudice at all. I was never raised to be prejudice and in truth have latin american family members. My integrity is important to me so because I have the value and ethical sense to not be prejudice I was highly bothered that he was smearing me with that lable. I really try to be nice to customers but there are times when I have after they left just wanted to scream and/or have raised an eyebrow of contempt for the person. I felt a little of both toward the man because it was obvious that he was the person with prejudicial behavior and he was also a person who appeared to be used to women cowing down to him. Maybe he was just what I called him once he walked out of my store and out of earshot which was a belligerent jerk. Beyond that my night was extremely busy but productive.
I am so enamored with President Obama and the strides he is making already. I have been watching CNN this afternoon and caught his recently broadcasted speech. He mentioned the new website that has been instituted to keep transparancy http://transparency.gov/ as a means to let the american public know what is happening in the government as well as states that have linked to the site. Honestly, he is such an intellegent man and a man of integrity! I'm bothered by the fact that people seem to forget that Bush dropped this whole thing of the bailout bomb right at the end of his term as though he was going to leave a hellish place for the next president elect. I know that what has been happening with AIG has a lot of people angry at the current governmental decisions but don't forget that the Bush administration knew far ahead that these companies were spiraling out of control. They knew a lot more than they admitted and they did nothing to stop the economic meltdown but actually spent more of americas money. So for those who want to point fingers at the new Obama administration turn the finger back around at the Bush admin because this stuff didn't just happen in a couple of months, it took all the years that Bush was in the whitehouse for our economy to fall apart and though he knew it was he and his admin did nothing about it while Bush consistantly veto'd many things that people tried to do to shore up our economy. I know though that President Obama, the admin working under him, the reps in washington will not let american's down. I believe that these historic steps that Obama is taking will change things for the best!
I just got off shift and ate a hot dog with everything. I was feeling especially after working all night but it's unusual for me to eat like this in the early morning hours. I caught a small clip on tv when I got home of President Obama saying something like, "American's don't have time to worry about AIG executives" and how we are so inundated with life that it isn't necessarily taking priority in our list of worries. How true! Though I strongly dislike what the higher ups in AIG did I have to say that most of the time my mind is on living and earning enough to live. In truth there are so many things that I am responsible for that I have to leave the problems with AIG up to the Government to deal with so I don't lose sight of my own efforts in my job. Tonight when I got on shift there was another strong note from the manager with tones of anger and I felt depressed. I know that my manager is under the strain of running the store and since the economy is bad that makes her job even harder and the pressure is on her. At the same time there is a part of me that has a desire to hear positive things, a word here or there praising the effort I put into the job rather than pointing out the one thing that was left unaccomplished. Too much negativity doesn't really get people motivated to do their job better or well. It just crushes a person and they may do things out of fear or whatever but they feel no pride in what they do and their energy drops due to the strain of aggressive pressures and a job centered on negativity. Studies have shown that negative feedback actually decreases productivity.
Inwardly I KNOW that I am doing an excellent job. I know that I have a very strong work ethic and that I take great care to complete my tasks and to do the well. Sometimes I do things that are not even in the list of things that are on my worksheet as tasks. If I see a need I take care of it without being told. So I guess this is why the negative environment and anger shunted on the people/shift I work is really making me frustrated. I can't make those I work with have the same ethic that I have. I can't make them work harder or faster. I can't make them do the things on the worksheet. Last night I actually ended up doing my tasks and then completing some of the other persons tasks because they weren't getting it done and it reflects back upon me anyway and the manager gets angry with everyone. I do love working and I do love my job but I don't love the negativity that is being generated of late. Although there have been a few other times and not to me personally but to a couple of other people the manager has said things bordering on abusive. I try to understand the pressure she is under but at the same time I want to say to her to please at least occasionally try to complement people when they do a job well. It would carry people a lot farther and I believe that productivity would increase.
As it stands now I hear many complaints from other employees and I see/hear of a massive amount of resentment and anger building. People aren't like work animals such as oxen. People need a certain amount of dignity, a certain amount of loyalty and comradery, they need to know that their efforts aren't in vain. When I got to work I got in and read the very pointed note to the two night shifts and literally felt squelched and in some ways as though nothing I do has worth or value, nothing I do is appreciated, etc. That's a bad way to start the shift. It really stunk and I just had to let it roll off my back and put my mind to the tasks that I had to do and just do my best regardless of the current environmental attitudes floating around the store. Work is kind of like a marriage. It can be a really good union when everyone is working together, when there is respect and mutual concern. It can be really bad when one person is dominating, controlling and angry a lot. Eventually the relation will fall out of love and someone will seek another love or they stay in the relationship miserable for the duration. Yeah, Obama is right. I really don't have time or energy to focus on a lot of things when my own life is complicated with work, family, bills, lack of money, lack of a car to drive and not enough income to get a car and worries about future things. I wondered recently after a family member died how I would afford my own funeral when I have no savings at all. There are no easy answers in life and if I do have anger at the executives of AIG I suppose it is knowing that they are gliding by with money to fix a multitude of issues while I can't even figure out how to make every end meet in my own life.
I should try and sleep now so I can't go back to work tonight with a fresh sense of purpose.
So I just got home from working overnight and thought I'd post since I'm trying to gear down before I go to sleep. I've been watching how angry people are over prices. Granted people never like pricing but they are especially touchy in the last months as the economy has taken it's downward spiral. I've been on food stamps before and can attest that they don't always go as far as anyone would like so I'm keenly aware how hard it is for people who come to the store and want their ebt cards to go farther than they generally do. It seems even more difficult for those few who had previously had good lives and good incomes to use them without some shame attached. I've lived simply for a long time so even though the economy effects me in some ways I'm already used to never quite having enough so in other ways it's just more of the same only a little harder to spread it out thinner. Everyone's hours have been cut back due to the economy but I am grateful anyway just to have my job and I appreciate that I do have it. Not too many months back I was bordering on homelessness as I looked frantically for a job and when I found it I have thrown myself fully into it and pray that my manager finds my efforts worth keeping me.
I don't complain about the hours I'm given and I don't demand specific days off. I may grouse privately when I'm away and sometimes at work the stress shows (my co-workers can see the visible shift from happy and relaxed to tense and sometimes worried). I worry about keeping my job, about making myself as necessary as possible, about whether my manager is pleased or displeased with my work. I stress sometimes when the workload is especially heavy and I'm tired and wonder if I can complete every task and if I don't complete them what it means. Work is work but right now most employers have the advantage because people are so desperate and I do know that some employers take advantage of their employees knowing that they are desperate enough to do anything to keep a job. Not saying my manager does this, but it is an observation in general. I do it to myself at times knowing that there are that many people standing in line that would gladly take my job. I'm stiff and sore and somewhat tired. I'm competing against people who are mostly younger than I am (almost fifty two). I mean, I still am in good enough shape and can do a lot, but I wish I were younger because the ware from physical labor takes its toll. How much does six gallons weigh anyway? My back is telling me that lifting boxes of six gallons feels like sixty this morning.
Anyway, I still do believe that Obama will succeed in turning things given time. Everything takes time but many American's don't have much patience and willingness to wait for anything. American's have been spoiled and have gotten to not knowing their wants from their needs. So I've drank my little glass of milk, snacked on a few goldfish crackers, and now I'm off to bed so I can get up and do it again tomorrow. Life seems endless some days, just endless and circular like I'm running in a little wheel like a hampster.
In the process of raising taxes on Cigarettes the government has likely single handedly put even more people out of work. The tobacco farmers, the truckers who ship it, the manufacturers, the reps who go to retail stores to set the displays, the retailers who rely upon the sales of cigarettes. All these people will find themselves displaced with nowhere to go if this stupid make up the loss by once again taxing cigarettes persists as the mode of fixing money problems in Washington. I'm somewhat amazed at the stupidity and well if they are going to start taxing unhealthy products there are plenty of them. Over and over it's been noted that Americans are among the fattests people worldwide and that obesity brings a myriad of health issues with it, but I don't see them raising taxes on fast foods and other unhealthy food products that will lead to high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes and other health issues and health care costs. I don't see them raising the taxes on alcohol which causes health problems as well as multiple car accidents causing injury or death as well as alcoholism which means health care costs. I don't see a lot of healthy looking representatives in Washington D.C. who look fit and lean. They look fat and as though their publicly paid for lunches at expensive restaruants that use highly fatty food products has worked a little too well. I don't think that American's should have to pay for any of their lunches by them pulling resources for "business meetings". They should have to pay their own way for their own lunches because why should I as an American have to pay for a Senator or Congressman to eat with unhealthy habits as they often do.
Oh come on, when does this kind of thing end and where does it end. We all know that the prohibition era didn't succeed but actually increased the volume of crime. I can tell you that the elevated cost in cigarettes will actually cause more crime in lower income areas as people will seek to obtain money to keep their habits. So this whole thing of how the Government planning to fix taxes for medical by raising the taxes on Cigarettes again has and will actually make more problems in the process. Stupidity seems to run rampant in D.C. once again. People will do their bad habits regardless but once you pick on one eventually someone will point out your bad habits as well and so the great game of equalizing will begin again. Which while we're on the subject of equality lets put religion in there as well. If one wants to be separated from the State then why try to envoke your beliefs upon those who do not believe, i.e. alcohol being sold later on Sunday's or not at all in some places on Sunday. There is no legal justification what so ever as to why Sunday morning is any different or has more potential for harm by purchasing alcohol at the same time as any other day. What happens on Sunday that doesn't happen any other day? Church! So the rest of the community that doesn't believe in Church or God are living under the inforced alcohol sales time that basically religious people have pushed for. Those same Churches that pay no taxes! Hey, how about we start getting a little back from the Churches who scream and shout for equal rights but don't pay into the system like every other community or individual or group.
What about the millions that go into paying for women with children. Women who don't and haven't used protection to keep from getting pregnant multiple times but will get money for their irresponsible behavioral habits. Why not limit the amount paid into these programs? Why not limit the amount of children that will be covered by programs such as these? Any responsible parent won't have more children than they can afford so why is society allowing women to have multiple pregnancies that they can't afford and paying for it? If people knew that they wouldn't get help they would likely use protection in order not to feel the burden of responsibility in paying for what they can't afford but if people think they are covered they will continue to perpetuate the same habit. I knew of a girl in my apartment complex who was a druggie that kept having children in order to get money and it happens a lot that way. I knew of some women who were working and on food stamps but they used all their excess money to go out with their boy friends to gamble on dog fights. Why is it that they seem to afford food but have money to pay in on an illegal dog fight? So when the Government charges working people more and more with taxes and yet lets people slide who abuse the system it makes me livid with hateful anger.
Okay, I know that there are valid situations where people do really need supplemental help but there should be limits set especially where some situations could be helped such as multiple pregnancies. Birth control is free at any clinic for the lower income groups, and the health department gives out free condoms to those who cannot afford them so there really isn't an excuse. See how it goes? There is no end to these kinds of thing and the Government needs to find better ways to fix the financial problems we have because it hasn't worked and it's not working. People in Washington D.C. is out of touch and they need to get out there and research. Not in the wealthy communities but in the middle and lower income communities to find out what problems are there and where they could be fixed. Wait, visit the wealthy communities too and find out what excess needs to be cut and tax them for once in their greedy lives like the rest of America. I'm working hard long hours and I resent more tax hikes seeing as my income is not more than about a thousand fifty monthly.
I've been watching the unemployment happening in Florida and I am excessively concerned for the people who have lost jobs. What bothers me is how much the republican party is willing to stall on things that can help people. Maybe it's just me but one would wonder how they can try not to help people and believe that anyone would elect them as officials when their term is up and they want to do it again. I can't understand how they can not want to help people who are suffering terribly losing their life long homes or jobs that they've had for years. I've been holding my own and continuing to work and I feel blessed to have my job. I think there are things that could have less focus placed on them such as taxing cigarettes. That kind of issue is not priority in my opinion when there are things that are much more needful. Taxing cigarettes won't really make the economy that much more stable. Getting people working will, taxing the rich that have been not putting into the system will, things like this etc. I dunno but it seems that there are things that could be done which haven't been addressed yet, but the republican party is stalling and it makes me really angry considering that the eight years they held office is what put America in the position where it is today. *shakes head* This country is a sad country and if I were young I wouldn't want to bring a child into being right now seeing how bad things are.
Written by: Taylor Bertino
1954 was the year that segregation in public places finally saw its rightful demise. The ruling didn’t have an immediate affect over the entire nation, but it did lay the groundwork for others to follow and build upon. More than fifty years after the landmark legal battle dubbed “Brown vs. Board of Ed” the school system still remains largely flawed and separated by class and amount of wealth rather than separation of race.
The forced separation that took place up until the mid 1950s was deemed illegal but was replaced by another kind of separation that is forced upon people in a different perhaps not so clear manner and form. Across the nation schools systems vary largely from region to region and state to state, but one thing that remains enormously constant is the horrible reality and that is the poor rural areas or poor inner city areas have a greatly different school system than that of a suburban town or wealthy community.
People of wealthier areas can afford to be pay more in taxes than those people of rural or inner city areas can afford and the are taxes required by law for schools to keep their programs well founded and buildings maintained. These schools also have opportunities to receive additional grants for high performance in students and teachers or other exceptional performances. In school systems with a larger budget teachers are often more than qualified for their applying positions, and with salaries higher than that of the norm and there is a larger pool of applicants to draw from. Than there is the simple fact that inner city areas can not afford high taxes often times people rent rather than own and it is simply due the reason of a tight budget that only allows for what is at hand resulting in less in taxes for the school system. The inner city schools are often over populated and under founded. These schools also have a hard time drawing in teachers because of the lower pay than competing schools and the environment in which they would have to teach in has a sharp contrast to that of another school. In most cases in these communities if a parent could send their child to a better school than the public one provided the parents would jump at the opportunity but the costs of doing that are often times ridiculous.
For those that live in the inner city communities but can afford to send their child to a private school that is a right they posses. The problem does not lie in the private school systems either and their existence does nothing to fringe upon the public school system. The problem with the private school systems lies in the government founding being given to private businesses, in this case private schools. The founding that is being given comes from the public but yet it is not accessible by the public; to sum things up people pay for something that they can use meanwhile what is provided to them is greatly under founded. This same problem lies in rural areas as well but perhaps in different variations.
Charter schools are another interesting part of the American school system. In the 2006-2007 school year there was just under 4,000 charter schools in 40 states that served more than one million students. These schools are founded with public money but also by charity organizations and private donors. These schools have to meet certain criteria in exchange for not having to abide by certain rules and regulations. The students of these schools must go through an application process in order to be accepted. The public funding of these schools is only at best a temporary solution. Often times these very schools are founded by teachers, community organizers and activists frustrated with the public school system in their local community but the heart of the issue lies in the public school in that community. The immense amount of money required to retool the school district in some of these communities is passed on from super attendant to super attendant, mayor-to-mayor and generation-to-generation. The charter schools are often out preformed by public schools in the surrounding area but the charter schools often times due take upon the children that are deemed “at risk”, low-income or minority students. The reason for this is sometimes attributed to public school environment and the manner in which that individual child learns.
The separation that has taken place since the abolishment of segregation has been a slow yet steady one that has only come in to full view the past decade or two. The schools that have the most problems are in communities of poverty over wealth. Places like Milwaukee, New York City, Chicago and Los Angles are just a few of the cities that face a growing problem with the performance of their students and the funding needed for their school district. The wealthier people living in those same cities send the children to private schools because they can afford to. Parents in poverty are forced to send their child to the school provided in their community despite any protest that might arise in doing so. While this a tough problem to deal with the problem doesn’t lie in the ability for a wealthy parents to send their children to a different school; that is a choice that is their own and should not be impeded upon. While the argument can be made that the growing separation between the rich and rest of the classes has an effect on the overall situation. The problem lies in their insurmountable difference in the education being provided inside that poor inner city and poor rural area schools. Public schools are not the problem; outside all of those cities there are suburban public schools that are like comparing apples and oranges when compared with the inner city schools and poor rural schools. Again in these suburban towns and wealthier communities the high taxes are accepted because of the people’s ability to afford the increase and sustain a reasonable living.
CNN is now reporting that the senate talks about the loans to the auto-makers have crumbled and now more than likely the bill will not pass despite the bill moving right through the house. The big three auto makers are worthy of this loan but must make drastic changes in order to survive as a company. A lot depends upon these car manufactures and without them Detroit, Michigan and other cities and states like it will be hit extremely hard. Michigan already has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country and has experienced tough times for quite sometime now.
Although, problems are just opportunities in disguise and now is a chance for President Bush to right some wrong he might have done in his time at White House. In the coming days if this bill truly does die it would be rather interesting to gage President Bush's reaction to what develops on Capital Hill. The President has an extraordinary opportunity to really led the way for President Elect Obama as the transition dwindles down to it's final days by getting legislation passed to aid the car manufactures and set up the next administration as easily and best as possible.
Violence only breeds more violence, and that can be seen blatantly in Israel, Palestine and the occupied territories. There is a great need to understand the history of the violence in order to grasp a true understanding out what is taking place in those lands today.
Recently things have gotten much worse implying that serious attention needs to be devoted to the crisis before it sparks a larger controversy. Making the situation even more complex is the fact that when discussing Israel and Palestine the nation of Iran needs to be addressed as well.
Iran and Israel have been escalating what seems to be a "cold war" of sorts but, like every "cold war" there is an enormous chance that a true war will develop and this situation is no different. Recently Israel has ran war games simulating an attack on Iran and just a week ago Israel's leaders said they are prepared to attack Iran with or without United States support. Iran has also fueled the fire by testing several missiles and by their constant progression towards nuclear weapons. Iran's leaders have also called for the destruction of the Israeli state and their is wide speculation that Iran has been funding extremist groups in Palestine and the occupied territories.
Just last week Israel had a blockade on the Gaza strip punishing a whole population by the actions of a few. Journalists were only allowed back into the occupied territories a few days ago. Although recently Israeli police evicted Jewish families ,in the city of Hebron, from their home because it was illegally bought. The fifteen families are part of the settler movement that is ,an extreme right wing group, increasing encroaching on Palestinian land. Jewish extremists opened up fire on palestinians after an altercation as a result of the evictions served to the fifteen families. The Israeli high court order the evictions showing some signs that the government will be taking a harder stance towards extremist in their own country as well. There is an endless list of violence the breeding more violence in this region and something needs to be done soon.
The shooting death of a 15 year old boy, Alexandros Grigoropoulos, by Greek police has sparked a wave of violence in Athens that hasn't been seen a long time. This is the forth day of protests and riots in Greece and the government seems to have very few options on how to quell the violence. This current situation in the country has a very likely chance of ending in the same way the riots did during the 1970s.
The riots in Greece are just another example of the turmoil all across the globe, people are taking very real and drastic measures to get a response from their government. There were riots in Bangkok, Thailand just a few weeks ago, also riots in Spain between Moroccans and African Immigrants. Not to mention the constant clashes in Israel, Palestine and the occupied territories.
The war in Afghanistan can not be won by simply injecting more troops in the country and i believe many top officials would agree that it's a different sort war being fought. However it is clear that the troop levels need to be increased to provide reinforcements for some strategic outposts while readjusting the overall manner in which the war is being waged.
Two separate wars are being conducted and neither of them are having a positive effect for the people and government of Afghanistan. One being the war against the drugs the second being a war against Al Qaeda and other tribes. Both need to be realigned to arrive to a point where the Afghani people will be able to rule their own nation.
Civilian casualties have been a prolific result of the war being waged and that has played into the hands of Al Qaeda. Most of the civilian casualties have been a result of bomb campaigns committed by the United States or killings attributed to terrorists. The war becomes more complex given hostile nations surrounding Afghanistan that have been on the tip of the foreign policy's spear during the President Bush's administration and much of the other presidents. Troop levels are a small adjustment when looking at the overall picture and how the needs to be readjusted but troop levels is a thing that might need a slight increase especially if key allies are going to be pulling out.
Cleaning up Washington is a enormous task to take on. By cleaning up of course i mean getting rid of the people the drowned out the voter's voice and swindle deals with Congressmen to vote one way or another on particular bills as well as doing other favors.
For far to long there has existed a type politics that simply went around every election cycle making promises and than forgetting about the people that count. This issue goes further than lobbyist although those people do play a significant role in corrupting politicians. Often times individuals that hold office have stakes in companies that are effected by the way a bill passes sometimes creating serious conflicts of interest and this is only a really crude example. Many people have benefited from the current wars being fought and the politicians that are making a few extra dollars aren't exactly the people a person would think of. Further more a lot of politicians are still benefiting in huge amounts during this rough economic crisis taking place. There is a reason why most people don't trust politicians and the fear didn't come at birth it was learned proving a number things.
Real action needs to come from the Obama Administration when he is sworn in but more importantly real action needs to come from supporters of all political parties in calibration with grass roots networks and other organizations. The ethics reform the needs to take place is drastic and there will be harsh criticism from all over the political spectrum but the voters must push for reform or else our voices will never truly be heard.
Barack Obama will win.
This is the day that Barack Obama wins!
