The Least Among Us Shine a Light

I got this note from Mazy....

"A friend shared a story I love about our mutual friend and mentor Rev. William Sloane Coffin, Jr. some years ago. It was Christmas Eve and the pews at New York City’s Riverside Church were packed. The Christmas pageant was underway and had come to the point at which the innkeeper was to turn away Mary and Joseph with the resounding line, “There’s no room at the inn!”

Never mind that no figure of the innkeeper actually appears in scripture. We’ve all imagined him delivering the message of “no room” to the baby Jesus’s parents. And it seemed the perfect part for Tim, an earnest youth of the congregation who had Down Syndrome. Only one line to remember: “There’s no room at the inn!” He had practiced it again and again with his parents and with the pageant director. He seemed to have mastered it.

So Tim stood at the altar, bathrobe costume firmly belted over his broad stomach, as Mary and Joseph made their way down the center aisle. They approached him, said their lines as rehearsed and waited for his reply. Tim’s parents, the pageant director, and the whole congregation almost leaned forward as if willing Tim to remember his line.

“There’s no room at the inn!” Tim boomed out, just as rehearsed. But then, as Mary and Joseph turned on cue to travel further, Tim suddenly yelled, “Wait!” They turned back startled, along with the congregation, and looked at Tim in surprise.

“You can stay at my house!” he called.

I am told William Coffin strode to the pulpit, said, “Amen,” and sat down. It was the best sermon he never preached."

A Nation of Minions and Monsters

Last month another gunman slaughtered twenty-six people in a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. I woke that morning to the awful news and all morning while I took care of my 13 month old granddaughter I day dreamed...of the grandparents whose grandchildren are never coming home again. No dream. This was true, gut wrenching true. So I dreamed on...how awful is the president of the NRA, how does he sleep at night, would I throw him in a cage if I could, would silencing him let children live?

And then I came to my senses. One person isn't that powerful, not in our cradle of democracy. One person does not have "one ring to rule them all...and in the darkness bind them." This is not Russia, China, or Saudi Arabia, much less Tolkien's Middle Earth. We are not a people of minions led by a Monster. Lately I feel as though we are being led by a minion. But my biggest disappointment is not the leader of our nation or the leader of the NRA or the white supremacist groups that are rearing their shaven heads. 

My biggest disappointment is the silent majority who have not yet lost a child or grandchild or sister or mother or dear friend to a leaden volley, who continue to elect legislators who will not pass serious gun laws. There are some who have lost family to gun violence and who still love the second amendment, and I respect them. I think they are nuts, but I respect their right to be nuts. But 75% of Americans do not own guns, and I am skeptical that even a quarter of these non-gun owners put a high premium on the right to bear automatic weapons. Yet there is no outcry against these weapons. Who is mad? The demented soul who fired the gun or the silent masses who have no problem selling him the gun?

No, silencing the head of the NRA, whoever the hell he is, will not cure the madness that afflicts us. We are a monstrous people, we are a land of monsters. We enslaved Africans, robbed Native Americans, imprisoned Asians, murdered countless people of color, worked factory folks to the bone until unions took hold, all in the name of supremacy, privilege (white of course), capitalism, survival of the fittest. And now we prefer to honor an archaic amendment rather than create an environment in which our children can grow up safely. We call the gunslingers insane, but we are the monsters.

Don Lemon on guns

Last Sunday another madman killed 26 people in church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. I was groping for words to discuss yet another mass shooting, the why, the how. I heard Don Lemon's remarks Monday night and I want to share them:

"Please pay attention. If you are doing something, I really want your attention this evening, and with an open mind. How many more times are we going to have to do this? Mourn with people we don't know, but meet under the most horrific circumstances, their loved ones' lives snuffed out in an instant for no good reason. How many times are we going to look up at the TV and see and hear people grieving, sobbing their hearts out in front of the world, for the whole world to see. And before you even know the full story, the responses from our leaders are sadly as familiar as the details of the shootings. Cases in point. 

Paul Ryan: 'Reports out of Texas are devastating. The people of Sutherland Springs need our parayers right now.' 
Vice President Pence: 'Karen and I send prayers to vctims and their families in Texas...' 
John Cornyn: 'Truly heartbreaking news in Sutherland Springs. Please say a prayer for First Baptist congregation, first responders and the community there.' 
Joe Manchin, who tried and failed to pass bipartisan anti-gun measures after the Sandy Hook massacre, said this: 'Gayle and I are heartbroken to learn of the shooting in Sutherland Springs, TX. Sending prayers from West Virginia.' 
Ted Cruz: 'Keeping all harmed in Sutherland Springs in our prayers and grateful for our brave first responders on the scene.' 

Thoughts and prayers, thoughts and prayers, thoughts and prayers. 

Don't get me wrong, prayers are important, they really are. But can we just be honest for a moment? 

This isn't about religion. It's not about politics. Democrats do it too. President Obama has responded similarly in other shootings...I'm not anti-thoughts-and-prayers, by any means. I grew up in the very religious deep South, a Baptist who went to a Catholic school where we prayed at least four times a day, plus mass on Fridays and church on Sundays, sometimes twice, so spare me the anti-religion tweats. You can keep them. I won't even read them. I don't care. 

These god fearing Christians were in church. They were already praying. Thoughts and prayer did not stop an oversight from the justice system, which enabled a guy who attacked his step-son and assaulted his wife, from getting a gun. 

Thoughts and prayers didn't stop a troubled person from buying assault grade weapons that took the lives of 26 people in an instant. 

And please don't get me wrong. This is not at all about the second amendment, or taking guns out of the hands of responsible gun owners. I am a firm believer in the second amendment. I'll say that again. I am a firm believer in the second amendment. I grew up with hunters, family members, friends, all around me, Louisiana, it's all about hunting. 

I also think responsible adults should be able to protect their homes, their property, and themselves.

But think about this: how many guns, and of what caliber, does one person need? Does a civilian really need an arsenal? Does a civilian really need body armour? Those are good questions that we should all be asking. Maybe you think they should [have an aresenal], but we should at least be asking those questions. Those are the questions our leaders should be debating. 

Our leaders should be leading, not following, not afraid to be honest with their constituents, even when it is unpopular...especially when, really, it is the constituents' lives that are at stake.

Leaders stand up to lobbyists.

Yes, thoughts and prayers are important, so tonight I hope you will join me in praying that our leaders will actually do something of substance and action this time, that precludes another thoughts-and-prayers moment.

Remember this: faith, without works, is dead.

Now let's begin."

Kneel and Heal and be Thankful

Our Black athletes have started taking a knee during the national anthem. President Trump and his (white) followers claim the flag is being insulted, our nation is being insulted, these athletes should be fired. 

President Trump and his followers don't wake up in the morning, check the mirror to verify they are still Black, and remember the mantra, "know where you are at all times, smile at the cop, don't act belligerent, ignore the racial slur....". You think I'm crazy. There's no such mantra! Ask your Black friends. Seriously. Ask them. If you don't have any, find a white friend who has some Black friends and have her ask them. Seriously. Ask them. If you really can't find a Black person to talk to, catch one of Don Lemon's CNN broadcasts. He's a level headed, fair minded Black newsman who tries to include many sides to a question, but who keeps people honest too. If you try to tell him that racism is over in America, he'll call you on it.

No one is trying to insult the flag or our soldiers. They are ever so gently pricking our conscience. Are you really insulted by the kneeling during our Star Spangled Banner? Really? 

And how insulted are you by the 4,000 Blacks lynched between 1875 and 1965? Are those affronts too far in the past for you? 

Is racism really over? Two years, three months and 15 days ago, on June 17, 2015, a white supremacist slaughtered nine parishioners in a prayer service at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Do you find that insulting? 

Fifty-two days ago a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia resulted in another death and a national discussion of white supremacy, as the President of the United States was slow to denounce it. 

I am far more insulted by people ignoring injustice, yea even condoning it, than I am by people calling it out, calling it out I might add in an incredibly respectful manner. So when I see an athlete question by kneeling the greatness of this country, greatness the Star Spangled Banner is meant to praise, my first question is not where are his manners? My first question is what healing does his kneeling require. Only when I can find no national illness in need of healing, will I ask about his manners.

We are a great nation, but we are not immune to sickness. The first step in any illness is to recognize the disease. Racism is a disease and America has it. Our Black athletes have started the healing. Don't squander their effort. Rather, give thanks for their courage.

Guns, madmen, and voters

Last night, October 1, 2017, a madman in Las Vegas killed at least 58 people and wounded hundreds before killing himself. He used some sort of automatic weapon. Why are these weapons available? Why are they legal? Their only purpose is to kill lots of people fast. Why do we permit civilians to purchase these weapons.
The second amendment guarantees our right to bear arms. As silly as that is in today's world, it need not include any weapon more powerful than a single shot rifle or a six shooter. Most who disagree have not had a mother, father, brother, sister or friend killed by a madman.
On December 14, 2012, another madman killed 20 elementary school children and 6 teachers and staff before killing himself. Close your eyes, picture sending your child off to second grade, and then imagine the phone call.
On an average day in America 93 Americans die from gun violence. Almost 12,000 Americans die from guns each year....not overseas, not in war, but here at home. That is almost double the number of Americans who died in Iraq and Afghanistan over fifteen years. Let me be more clear. Since 911 Iraqi and Afghanistan fighters have killed 6,831 American soldiers (I just googled it). Since 911 Americans have killed about 192,000 Americans with guns right here at home.
While 80-90 percent Americans want stricter gun control laws, only about 55 percent of Americans want a ban on assault weapons and high capacity ammunition clips. You would think this is a no-brainer. Assault weapons are bad for your health....like cigarettes, booze and drugs. Ah, but there is a key difference. Cigarettes, booze and drugs only kill the ones using cigarettes, booze, and drugs. Guns kill the other guy. Maybe the madmen aren't the shooters so much as the voters.

Capitalism, Poverty, and Government in America in 2017

Capitalism is alive and well in America in 2017.  Unemployment is in the four percent range, which we saw last in late 1999, early 2000, and before that from the end of World War II until the early 1970's. 

Jobs are out there today. Yet poverty has hovered between 10 and 15 percent of the population since 1965. For the last fifty years we have had a large group of people, today numbering about 43 million, unable to enjoy the fruits of our economic system.

Poverty is not a new problem. It is probably as old as human civilizations. Poverty is not capitalism's problem. Poverty is government's problem. 

Capitalism provides us a system to create wonderful tools. Capitalism motivates people to work their fingers to the bone to realize their personal dreams. It is a dreamer's marketplace and it is designed to meet the needs of dreamers, protecting their products, encouraging them to think big and take risks, which coincidentally benefits us all. 

Capitalism is not the ideal tool for full employment. Frequently it does create high employment and frequently the monetary benefits flowing from capitalism are shared with not just the dreamers but the majority of us. But we can't expect capitalism to always meet the needs of full employment. Capitalism is best suited for creating great products, not jobs for everyone. Government can and should fill that gap.

Where jobs are lacking, government can put people to work. Where housing is missing, government can provide food and shelter. Our society as a whole is rich and vibrant. Given this environment, government can find the resources to employ those of us on the fringe. There are many ways to tackle this problem, including a guaranteed income for all taxpayers or a national job corps that trains and employs any who sign up. 

The federal government is the ideal tool for full employment and decent housing and health care for all our citizens. Only the federal government can create money. The federal budget is unlike any other budget, personal, state, business or otherwise. All budgets but the federal must be balanced. Expenses must equal income or the budget and enterprise will fail. Not so with the federal budget. If there is not enough money flowing in the economy, if folks do not have jobs or cannot afford food, housing, education, or medical treatments, the government can step in and create money to fill those needs. Whether it solves the problem through jobs or guaranteed income or stipends or free health service is immaterial. The government is paying to provide the service. 

If the government can print money and solve all of our problems, why hasn't it been doing so, why isn't everyone behind this? There are two reasons, one practical and one cultural. The practical issue is inflation and the cultural issue is survival-of-the-fittest.

If the government prints money with abandon, inflation will occur, prices will rise exponentially, and the economy will fail. So how much money can we create before inflation sets in? We don't know. But we have the tools to address the issue. We can monitor prices, and when they rise, we can impose taxes, taking money out of the economy. Removing money will cure inflation, plain and simple. All economists know this. It's not an issue being debated or contested.

We already have lots of experience printing money, adding dollars to the economy. Whenever we have a war, we add gobs of money to the economy. No one complains because our lives seem threatened. Which is worse, inflation or being defeated by some enemy? No contest. No debate. We do whatever is necessary to arm ourselves and fight the foe. 

If life and liberty are not at stake, though, we suddenly have scruples about creating money to fix a problem, and herein lies the cultural issue. Those of us who succeeded in our economy, through hard work, a little luck, and perhaps a little chicanery, aren't very keen on helping the poor slob who isn't as smart or is clearly a boozer or is just plain lazy. We are not so much a communal society as a pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstrap society. "Socialism" is a dirty word and "communism" is downright blasphemy. We would sooner hear a racist give a speech than a communist! (Actually we have applauded racism for a good many years, but that's another discussion.)

I welcome the debate and I respect my neighbor who insists that the unsuccessful should be left alone to succeed or perish. Though lacking in compassion, it is an open and honest argument. What I don't welcome is the politician who claims to care for all his citizens, but doesn't want to spend the money to do the job. He says, "I care for you all and my solution will help you." He's dishonest. His solution without money will not help you. He should say, "I care for you, but I don't have any money to help you, so you're on your own." That's an honest position.

Whatever the path, caring for all of our citizens should be central to today's national discussion. Addressing poverty in today's economy is doable, is compassionate and is one more reason we are a beacon in the world. Our democracy and our diversity already shine a light on our way of life. Our drive and enterprise and laws attract the best and brightest from all over the world. Our sense of fairness and our concern for the disadvantaged should also describe our ethos and reflect our success.

Honesty, Mr. President, Could Earn You a Second Term

Dear President Trump,
Kudos to you for unequivocally lambasting White Supremacists in your speech to the nation a few nights ago. You sounded sincere and you are certainly supporting the ethos of our founding fathers....all men are created equal....though they didn't really mean ALL men. Those people, whom we hold in such high esteem, those people who created a nation that has become the most powerful, and in some years the most revered, in the world, those people wise as they were, could not confront and exorcise a human failing that is only one degree less evil than genocide, slavery. Yet we honor these men.

We honor our founding fathers because they accomplished an amazing task, they fought for independence from what was then the most powerful nation in the world, they won, and they crafted a nation that not only survives changes in administrations, it survived a civil war.

But we don't honor our founding fathers for their one glaring fault, for ignoring the human beings among them not included in "all men are created equal".

And there's the rub. We didn't really survive the Civil War, did we. We did not emerge whole or wiser. We didn't survive the Civil War the way Germany survived the Holocaust or South Africa survived Apartheid. Germans and white South Africans acknowledged and acknowledge their past was wrong, it was unconscionable, it was not something to be remembered in any way but with sorrow, shame, and sadness.

A great part of our nation does not remember slavery with sorrow, shame, and sadness. That is why white supremacists are emboldened.

It is time, Mr. President, to speak the truth, the truth that American leaders have never apologized to African Americans in our society, never apologized for enslaving their grandparents and great grandparents, never apologized for treating African Americans post-Civil War like second class citizens. We celebrate Martin Luther King's birthday, but we don't cringe with embarrassment when discussing our history of slavery. Why one hundred years after African Americans were "freed", there were multitudes of laws on the books denying them freedom, freedom to eat where they wished, freedom to drink from a water fountain, freedom to go to any school, live in any neighborhood, freedom to vote.

And African Americans are not the only victims in our "great" society. We don't acknowledge any degree of sorrow for robbing the Native Americans of their homelands less than 300 years ago. We don't remember by saying never-again the incarceration of our Japanese citizens during World War II or the exclusion of our Chinese citizen's families in the 1900's. And we sanitize our textbooks regarding these stains in our history. If we mention them at all, it is in passing, barely footnotes in our story.

Acknowledging our shortcomings is far more difficult than proclaiming our strengths. Humility is hard, but it can earn respect deeper than any strutting or braggadocio. Greatness resonates with people. People gravitate towards greatness, We feel it in our bones. Claiming superiority over the other guy may provoke a cheer, but it doesn't dig deep in your gut the way an inclusive message does. Caring about all of our people will resonate with each of us in a way that "us versus them" can never match.

Mr. President, we are so far from "great". We could become "great again" by acknowledging our history. Mr. President, you could turn the political climate on its head, you could stun the press, you could guarantee yourself a two-term presidency if you simply acknowledged the truth in our history.

Honesty goes a long way towards winning an election

Let's be honest about the difference between democrats and republicans. Then let's have an election and see if the results are close.

Democrats believe there is a critical role in society for government.
Democrats believe government should be robust.

Republicans believe government should be minimal.
Republicans believe government should stay out of people's hair,
and it's always a good argument to say don't give the government your hard-earned money.

For starters, how refreshing would it be for candidates to agree on that much, owning their own party's position.

Digging into the details gets muddier.

Democrats claim to be the working person's party, the party that cares if you have a job and a decent wage. But democrats aren't honest about trade. They argue that free trade brings lower prices (good for the working person), but they don't highlight what happens to hundreds of people thrown out of work when the factories move to countries with lower wages.

Don't blame democrats, or companies, for pursuing efficiency. Companies don't exist to employ people; they exist to make great products. If companies can make greater products overseas, they should.  Capitalists' strength is  making the best product for the cheapest price. They have every right to claim that strength.

Business cannot claim, however, that capitalism is the only or the best way to create jobs. Today's economy is proof. Supposedly we have low unemployment. That is up for debate. What is not debated at all is our record homelessness and our rates of poverty. If capitalism doesn't create enough decent  jobs, government needs to step in. Democrats can croon about the global economy and free trade only when they also figure out how to guarantee jobs for everyone.

Republicans don't claim that government should be in the business of creating jobs. Strangely, though,  republicans aren't honest about wanting a minimalist government. They don't believe people will support them if they come right out and say we don't need this or that program. So they cut spending for programs and then proclaim that the programs don't work.

I'm a democrat. I believe that in a vibrant economy the government plays a vital role, smoothing the rough edges of capitalism. If you don't think capitalism has rough edges, explain the rationale for one person making $12 an hour and another making $1,200 an hour. No amount of hard work or expertise can justify earning as much in a single year as many people earn in a life time. There's no justification for it, but that's the way life is, and it's not going to change. That's one 'rough edge of capitalism.' Companies can make great products and pollute the dickens out of the air and water. Their shareholders profit and their workers and communities suffer. That's another rough edge.

We should use government to smooth the rough edges, to upbraid the polluters, to identify the disparities in the work place, and provide a helping hand for the least among us. I'm not interested in limiting the high salary. But I am interested in making sure the low salary is enough to live on. If the market place, the holy city of capitalism, cannot provide decent food and shelter for the clerk, the laborer, the secretary or errand boy, then government should step up to the plate and get busy.

Business thrives in America because we are a nation of laws. These laws protect all people, but people with property profit most from the laws. If you own stock, the laws tax you less than if your wages come from a nine to five job. If you have a lot of money, the laws make it easy for you to make more money without even working. If you have a couple of million dollars and half a brain, you can live your life, long or short, with no job at all. Laws, and some common sense, make life pretty comfortable for the well-to-do.

It's time to write some laws specifically designed to support the unemployed and the under-employed.

Here's one: create an Army of Workers. We'll call it the US WARMY (Workers  ARMY). Anyone can enlist. You get ten year tours of duty, and you can re-enlist. You don't fight, you work. The WARMY will house you, feed your family, educate your kids, look after your health, train you and send you anywhere it pleases. You don't get to own your own house, but you will be gainfully employed and a member of a service looked at with pride, if our current Armed Services are any example.
BOOM.
Joblessness, homelessness, shoddy education all tackled with one program. That's a platform a democrat can be proud to hang her hat on. That's a program worth debating, worth ironing out the kinks. That's a program worth paying for.

How about health insurance. Let's cut the crap, cancel Obamacare (at least President Obama's heart was in the right place), and create Bernie Sanders' MedicareForAll plan. This one's even easier than the WARMY. Medicare already exists. The whole plan is already humming, fiscally solvent and providing world class care. I don't hear many over 65 complaining about health premiums. Oddly government health insurance was supported by President Teddy Roosevelt over a hundred years ago, but there were forces opposed, including, incredibly, labor unions, which did not want the government interfering with union benefits (tax-deferred health insurance payments). The history of universal health insurance is full of surprises! The last surprise could be that it is cheaper and easier to implement than 90% of our politicians will admit. Go figure.

Mid term elections are around the corner, and democrats may make inroads because President Trump knows no bounds when it comes to tweeting himself in the foot. But if they do win an election because of the President's incompetence, they will surely lose the next election if they don't show front and center their own competence.

It is time to be honest with the voters. Homelessness and poverty exist in great numbers. Health insurance is wildly unfair for non-corporate workers who aren't themselves in poverty (yet). These are big problems, but they are far from insurmountable.

But surmounting a big problem costs big money, you say. We have to worry about the national debt.
Is that right? Why didn't we have to worry about the national debt when fighting the Iraq war.
Why was money no issue when preparing for Saddam Hussein, but it's a debilitating issue when preparing for full employment?
"No money" is always the excuse when you really mean "not my problem".
I have a (really good) job, I have a (really good) home, I have (really good) health insurance, so don't even think about using my (hard earned) money to pay for your problem.

The truth is that we probably have enough money to fix our problems if we choose to tax the well-off a little more and let the government issue bonds (i.e. increase our national debt) a little more. I say "probably" because I don't know for sure. I don't know for sure because if you ask ten economists to answer this question, you will get ten different answers.

The powerful and the politicians and the economists know full well that the federal government can create money (issue bonds) out of thin air, and as long as inflation is held in check, no harm is done. The federal government is not like your personal budget or your town's budget or your state's budget. Those budgets must balance income with expenses, always. The federal government, however, can create income when it wants to cover more expenses. Put simply it just prints more money. This works. The extra expenses get paid for. The downside is that inflation MAY occur. Prices MAY go up. When inflation occurs, the government can create higher taxes or cut back on spending, and prices will go down (because people have less money to spend). Inflation has been under 6% since 1983 and under 4% since 1992. We have some big problems today, but inflation is not one of them. Neither is our national debt.

If we want to win elections, it's time to stop lying about make-believe problems, it's time to tell the truth about real problems, and it's time to be gutsy with daring solutions. Stop criticizing the other party and start presenting viable plans. When voters hear politicians spouting honest rhetoric, elections will stop being close.

Nix Norquist

Grover Norquist is the leader of those who oppose all tax increases as a matter of principle. This is a mean spirited policy that cripples government as it attempts to perform its vital role of softening the excesses of capitalism. Capitalism may be the best economic system that people have developed, but few would deny that it produces gross inequities between those who are massively successful and those who are marginally successful and those who are simply impoverished within the system. Government is the tool a decent society can use to address these inequities. Mr. Norquist really doesn't care about any but the massively successful people in society, so he is quite happy to promote his limited taxation policies. These policies really affect the rich the most, though Mr. Norquist will encourage you to believe they affect us all equally.

It's the Economy Stupid, and It's Not Simple, but It's Worth Trying

People need jobs. We all know that. The private sector...small business, big business, mom-and-pop business....creates jobs. We know that too. And the private sector works well, better than a government, at creating good business. That's the beauty of our capitalist system. Good businesses survive, bad ones don't. The job of capitalism is to create good business. The job of capitalism is not to create full employment.

Government needs to help capitalism out when we don't have enough jobs for all the people. And government needs to help people out when businesses try to call it a day with low wages or pollution or monopolies or any number of other poor business practices.

It IS the economy, though contrary to the campaign slogan Clinton used against Bush in '92, we're not stupid for not understanding it. Economics is not simple, even to economists.They disagree more than they agree. However one thing is clear: if the economy is to work well, business has to thrive and the government has to be a watch dog.

There is a vital role for government in this big picture. The role is simply described, though the execution is anything but simple. The role is easy....make sure there are enough jobs to go around, and make sure these jobs provide folks with a livable wage and a decent work environment. Doesn't seem unreasonable or outrageous. And it doesn't seem out of wack to lean on the government to pursue this role and leave it to business to make the best product possible.

The devil, of course, is in the details, and the details can be complex.
How much is a minimum wage? Is it the same in all parts of the country? We want to be sure people have adequate shelter and enough food to eat. What does that entail in a winter climate, a summer climate, in the city, in the rural heartlands?

Right out of the gate we can hear from those who have made it in our society, why the hell do I have to worry about the lazy bum who doesn't have a job, or a home, or enough to eat? Again, the answer is simple and the solution is not. You have to worry about the lazy bum who doesn't have a job, or a home, or enough to eat, because it's quite possible she's not lazy, it's quite possible she got screwed by the same system that works so well for you. And, finally, it's quite possible that you could be the next lazy bum, and you KNOW you aren't lazy. Seriously. I'm not being sarcastic. You aren't lazy, and in this world's economy, you could be out on the street tomorrow, and in debt next year, if not next month. (If you're the 1%, I'm not talking to you. You're lucky in this lifetime, by birth, genes, environment, circumstance, at least one of those factors. Not to take away from your hard work and drive, you're still lucky, and it doesn't take a very big imagination to appreciate that.)

So even without being religious and taking to heart that we are indeed our brothers' keepers, we can acknowledge with even the smallest amount of compassion that we should create a world in which everyone shares in the basic necessities, in which everyone has a job, a home, and food.

That's the simple part, agreeing that everyone deserves a decent job.
Creating an economy that provides those jobs....that's the hard part.

Three strikes you're out has got to go

Three strikes and you're out has got to go. Debby Irving, in her book "Waking Up White," spoke of a black classmate who had gone to Winchester schools with Debby. Her classmate said, "My mother trained us well. She told us, 'This is where the good schools are (Winchester), and if you want to make the most of it, you need to stay away from drugs.' You know what else she told us? 'White kids who do drugs go to college; black kids go to jail.'"
There are so many things to fix. Sending kids to jail for drugs. Sending one race of kids but not another race. Some things we may never fix. But we can make one small fix in our lousy prison system and that is get away from "three strikes you're out". It is a racist policy.