 A friend sent me this e-mail today. I thought, you know, it does kinda make sense. And it got me thinking about how difficult things are getting for our seniors. Social Security just went down, as the deduction for insurance just went up. And no rise in basic amount paid back to seniors for two years now, as it was determined that cost of living did not rise. Hah! Please tell me, other than for those who wanted to buy a house, exactly which numbers really declined? Cost of all foods is up, cost of medical, skyrocketed. Cost of meds on the horribly negotiated drug plan, crazy. More and more meds are not even covered for the pittance they were previously (no more enormous $15 off a $125 med, for example.)
So, even though this is exaggerated, and prisoners' lives are not in the least rosy, there is something to think about here. ----------------------------- This almost makes sense..... Jails and Nursing Homes Here's the way it should be: Let's put the seniors in jail and the criminals in nursing homes. This would correct two things in one motion: Seniors would have access to showers, hobbies and walks. They would receive unlimited free prescriptions, dental and medical treatment, wheel chairs, etc. They would receive money instead of having to pay it out. They would have constant video monitoring, so they would be helped instantly if they fell or needed assistance. Bedding would be washed twice a week and all clothing would be ironed and returned to them. A guard would check on them every 20 minutes. All meals and snacks would be brought to them. They would have family visits in a suite built for that purpose. They would have access to a library, weight/fitness room, spiritual counseling, a pool and education...and free admission to in-house concerts by nationally recognized entertainment artists. Simple clothing - ie., shoes, slippers, pj's - and legal aid would be free, upon request. There would be private, secure rooms provided for all with an outdoor exercise yard complete with gardens. Each senior would have a P.C., T.V., phone and radio in their room at no cost. They would receive daily phone calls. There would be a board of directors to hear any complaints and the ACLU would fight for their rights and protection. The guards would have a code of conduct to be strictly adhered to, with attorneys available, at no charge to protect the seniors and their families from abuse or neglect. As for the criminals: They would receive cold food. They would be left alone and unsupervised. They would receive showers once a week. They would live in tiny rooms, for which they would have to pay $5,000 per month. They would have no hope of ever getting out. Sounds like justice to me! -------------------------------- Many thanks for this to my friend, Nikki Federico. Incidentally, if you need a caterer who really knows how to set a mighty tasty table, with panache, do check her services. http://www.our-site.net/lacater/
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 This morning I hopped into my little car and zoomed to a memoir class I teach Thursday mornings. As always, I had the radio on, and tuned to 1150, which at this hour still broadcasts progressive shows. The host was talking with a caller about the first grey whale found dead in the Gulf. I became increasingly sickened as I listened -- the greys feed at the bottom of the sea, on squid. The squids have been contaminated with the dispersant being used on the oil. They in turn have become poisonous.
This is only the beginning of course. A friend active in the green movement, Carolyn Allen, http://californiagreensolutions.com, ventured a guesstimate about the large number of sea animals bound to die in the Gulf, and we discussed the fact that the spill is moving around the tip of Florida and will hit the Caribbean and Atlantic, claiming even more aquatic life. Carolyn informed me that there is already a dead zone in the Gulf from all the effluent coming from the Mississippi, etc. A fact that did not surprise me; I had just not come across it before. More than 30 years ago Jacques Cousteau said that 50% of the Pacific was dead, and of course there's the huge garbage island floating around in that body of water. Then the Navy got its sonar going, which has been demonstrated to kill whales. I went to a meeting where people were arguing against this unconscionable practice. The Navy reps said, among other things, "the whales can swim underneath the sonar." Sure...perhaps they'll read the billboards. This stuff travels throughout an entire ocean once released, its waves disorienting whales who then can't find feeding grounds, and if they are too close to the source of the sonar, it bursts their air sacs and they die an agonizing death. But the Navy insists the program is critical. Why? To track submarines, which no one is using anymore. Once upon a time there were subs stalking the U.S. and some way to track them made sense. But now, this is a program that has cost billions. To stop it would be to admit the perpetrators have been wasting money. So they continue to dump more in, and fight every time reason tries to prevail. It's not just the whales we are killing with all the shocking behavior. It's other sea dwellers. And what those backing all this insane stuff say is people count more, as do their sources of income. Don't these simpletons see that as we kill off the animals that live in the sea, we kill ourselves? After hearing about the first whale death this morning, I was on email and found a note about a Republican in Congress, Barton, who said to the CEO of BP, whom everyone expected to apologize, "[The 20 billion dollar reparations set forth by Obama] is a tragedy in the first proportion." Further, the note went on, "The Republican Study Committee, with its 114 members in the House, called it a 'shakedown.'" This tragedy should not be a political football. BP has done irreparable harm to living beings, not to mention to the livelihoods of many, many people, whom their CEO keeps referring to as "the little people." How damned condescending can you get? One ray of hope, Jean-Michel Cousteau has gathered resources and established programs to preserve a "clean area" in the Pacific, and he is also working with island peoples to create living styles that will preserve, not destroy the environment. You can find out more at this link: Jean-Michel Cousteau The link below is to the blog of Larry Ray, retired journalist who has lived much of his life on the Gulf, and who writes compellingly of what is going on there. Also with a note of hope. http://theragblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/larry-ray-tattered-leadership-and-toxic.html  When I was growing up, the "Made in America" labels and commercials always struck me as corny. In those days, a thousand years ago, I believed that items from outside the country were more unusual and appealing. However, a funny thing happened to me two summers ago. I had students from China staying with me. They understandably wanted to take home souvenirs ,,, products made in America. We scoured every kind of store we could think of, but kept finding labels saying even foodstuffs were from elsewhere, most often, China.
Then I talked to one of the other hosts in this program, who happened to be Chinese. He told me the only store where his visitors were finding products made in America were from….a store in L.A.'s Chinatown. Since that time, I have found that I cannot any longer buy nozzles for my garden hose that were made in America, if I shop at my usual haunt, Orchard Supply. The only ones they stock now are either from mainland China or Taiwan, and each and every one of them carries a "Cancer Warning" on the label. Alarming, to say the least. Then, get this. Sears, my old and lovable client, yet, now produces at least some of their famous Craftsman tools outside the U.S. And, while consumers still rate them high – second, according to a Wikipedia article -- it looks as if the lifetime warranty has been lifted on some of these tools for a few years now. Then today this piece below came through my e-mail inbox from a friend. It not only talks about finding items that actually are made in America, it shows that they might even cost substantially less than products made outside the U.S. I was thrilled to read this. Now, not that I am against foreign nations' successes, with the awful decline in our economy, I feel it's important to support as many people with jobs as possible in the United States. Not only that, we have been on course to make almost no actual product in the U.S. for some time now. OK, so evolution moved us to an information society. Not a bad thing – the ability to be ahead of the curve was a U.S. strength for years, and technology is exploding. But now, we're followers in this field often. With investment in R&D difficult to obtain, and science in the toilet, along with education, throughout the Bush years, we have a true crisis on our hands. Uneducated young people, who have been trained not to think, but to take tests. Who will find going to college not only a challenge mentally, but also financially. And costs go up as states' budgets are not helped by the Fed, so badly strapped as well. The move to become a country that makes its money by shifting money has been at least as alarming as these trends, and destructive. Can we the people do anything? This article points to small steps that can help us become more self-reliant. Of course there's much more to do. But it's overwhelming. This seems to be a doable beginning. Me? I'm going over to Ace Hardware later today. Here's the article....by Renee' Dezember A physics teacher in high school, once told the students that while one grasshopper on the railroad tracks wouldn't slow a train very much, a billion of them would. With that thought in mind, read the following, obviously written by an American .. Good idea .. . . one light bulb at a time . . . . Check this out. I can verify this because I was in Lowe's the other day for some reason and just for the heck of it I was looking at the hose attachments. They were all made in China . The next day I was in Ace Hardware and just for the heck of it I checked the hose attachments there. They were made in USA . Start looking .. In our current economic situation, every little thing we buy or do affects someone else - even their job. So, after reading this email, let's do it! My friends like Hershey's candy. I noticed, though, that it is marked made in Mexico now. I do not buy it any more. Toothpaste- Colgate is made in Mexico ... Crest, USA. You have to read the labels on everything .. This past weekend I was at Kroger. I needed 60 W light bulbs and Bounce dryer sheets. I was in the light bulb aisle, and right next to the GE brand I normally buy was an off-brand labeled, "Everyday Value." I picked up both types of bulbs and compared the stats - they were the same except for the price.. The GE bulbs were more money than the Everyday Value brand but the thing that surprised me the most was the fact that GE was made in MEXICO and the Everyday Value brand was made in - get ready for this - the USA in a company in Cleveland, Ohio. So throw out the myth that you cannot find products you use every day that are made right here.. So on to another aisle - Bounce Dryer Sheets....yep, you guessed it, Bounce cost more money and is made in Canada. The Everyday Value brand was less money and MADE IN THE USA! I did laundry yesterday and the dryer sheets performed just like the Bounce Free I have been using for years and at almost half the price! My challenge to you is to start reading the labels when you shop for everyday things and see what you can find that is made in the USA - the job you save may be your own or your neighbors! If you accept the challenge, pass this on to others in your address book so we can all start buying American, one light bulb at a time! Stop buying from overseas companies! We should have awakened a decade ago) Let's get with the program.....help our fellow Americans keep their jobs and create more jobs here in the USA I passed this on ........ what are you going to do??????? One Light Bulb at a Time |
By Ina
Hi, and glad to see you! My blog features memoir and fiction writing tips for you out there aiming to create enchanting memoirs and flights of fancy of your own; new "Pawprints," those close encounters of the furry kind, by moi; and topical comments as they bang on my head to be written. Plus: videos featuring talented authors I'm privileged to work with, reading live, Coming...your life stories, here. Got one you want to share? Use our form to be considered. Archives
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