What is happening in this country???

[caseysmom]

Please don't delete this thread, its good to talk about it. I am sorry things have been going so bad for you, by our standards here you are having a hard time. So many others have no food, no shelter, I don't think the money spent helping them would go toward helping you anyway, we need more jobs for people like you that are willing to work, I don't know the answer to that but its not just money.

Unfortunately in a system like ours many abuse the countries prosperity and don't work at all, then folks that are willing to work can barely get by...its not the best system in the world but its better than many.

[lady_zana]

It's understandable to be very, very angry right now. My husband is going to be laid off in December. He works for Lexmark Tech Support and they are sending all that sort of service to India. Naturally, the reason is to save them more money because they won't have to pay the people in India the $12.50 an hour Mike makes now. Times are hard for us now; they'll be really hard then because neither Mike nor I may have a job. I've been unemployed since May - there is simply nothing in our area that is hiring right now.

I do think that the media makes a big deal out of things - when you have twenty-four hour news coverage, they have to play *something* and often it's the same story over and over. It's sort of like airplanes compared to cars: when an airplane crashes, though it happens less often than car accidents, the number of people hurt or dying is much higher so it gets more media coverage and sounds much worse.

I agree with you completely on not reelecting Congress people for over two terms. If they haven't done what they promised, or at least attempted to start trying to do what they have promised, they don't need to be in office any longer. A third, fourth, fifth....term will not have any better results than the first two. I think that needs to apply to local politicians as well, though. The only problem is, sometimes you can't vote against someone because there is simply no one to vote for. I live in a nice little place now - it's not large by any means but it's much larger than where I grew up. The town where I grew up has had the same mayor for twenty years, I guess, if not longer, because no one is running against him. You can't put someone in office if there's no one to put in office.

I know I'm lucky - it's obvious that I at least have a computer and the internet when some people don't have enough food - but I'm angry and fed up too that I can't get a job and I have to worry all the time about the bills. Still, I think things will get better soon. I know I have my parents and my in-laws I can turn too when times get hard and they'll help me as much as they can. It's just frustrating, I know, having to worry all the time.

[lizbud]

Here's a great article on this subject I found in the Chicago Tribune. Dang,
I wish I could express myself half as well as she does.


Had enough?
A laundry list of ideas on how to undo the damage done by the Bush White House

Molly Ivins, Creators Syndicate
Published October 20, 2005


AUSTIN, Texas -- You can only sit around wringing your hands and moaning about what a mess the Bushies have made of America for so long. Sooner or later, even the gloomiest doom-meisters are bound to get beaned by an acorn on the noggin, leading to the startling and productive thought, "So, what could we do that would make things better?"

For those mired in loathing the Bush administration, the program would start with a long, long list of things that need to be undone: repeal the bankruptcy bill, repeal the tax breaks for the rich, and fix the farm bill, the transportation bill, the energy bill, etc. Or you could start with a list of gentle suggestions, such as:

- Making a rude jerk with a bad temper ambassador to the United Nations, probably not a good idea

- Putting a veterinarian in charge of women's health policy, maybe not.

- Making someone with a background in Arabian horses the disaster-relief czar, possibly needs reconsideration.

- Invading a Middle Eastern country with no provocation, a country that posed no threat and had no connection to Sept. 11, 2001 ... hmmm, perhaps not a shrewdie.

You can even do a sort of Golden Oldies list, such as:

- How's about we start enforcing worker safety laws again?

- What say we have a go at stopping big corporations from poisoning the air and water just so they can make higher profits?

- Say, how about helping people whose lives have been ripped to shreds by natural disaster?

But that's still not stepping up to the plate to take a swing at the always-relevant question, "What the hell do we do now?" Yes, we should follow the First Rule of Holes and stop digging. True, we need to go back to doing a lot of things we used to before George W. Bush "won" that remarkable "election" in 2000. And we need to go back to not doing a lot of things we didn't do before the 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court vote. But that still won't get us out of the fix we're in now.

We need to step up and come up with solutions to the problems this man has created.

We need a plan to get out of Iraq. I think New York Times columnist Bob Herbert had a good idea when he suggested: 1) A serious proposal for withdrawal of American forces over a reasonable (reasonably short) period of time and 2) couple that with a broader national security plan that focuses on Al Qaeda-type terrorism and domestic security.

One of the many problems created by the invasion of Iraq is that it took our eyes off fighting terrorism and dragged us into this endless struggle between the Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds. We're supposed to be fighting terrorism, and the single most useful tool for that purpose is international cooperation. Which means there is a lot of rebuilding to be done.

The go-it-alone Bush foreign policy will require long, hard, serious repair work. We need a beefed-up State Department and a new emphasis on human rights, complete with an acknowledgement of our errors in this regard. We also need beefed-up intelligence; tracking terrorists and their money, and their plans, and their people, requires a combination of good intelligence work and good detective work.

That, in turn, requires a whole lot of smart Americans who are fluent in Arabic--needed at State, the CIA and the FBI, just for starters. Isn't it lucky we have them, right here at hand? Of course, we will also need some repair work done with the Arab-American community, since it has not exactly been treated with the full rights to which every American citizen is entitled. Perhaps we should start a Bureau of Damage Control.

Next, the economy is in need of repair. We're obviously spending ourselves into deep doo-doo as fast as we can, and if ever there was a time for the classic Democratic solution, this is it: Tax the rich! Democrats should swipe Poppy Bush's old slogan, "No new taxes," adding, "Only old taxes back again." Since Republicans decided they needed to make Democrats look like cheapskates in the pork-barrel spending department, there are lots of thrifty, prudent stuff Democrats can do to fix that--and think how surprised everyone will be to see them do it.

While we're at it, the last time the minimum wage was increased was 1997, and $5.15 an hour ain't what it used to be. Another big chunk of what's wrong with the economy can be solved by fixing another major problem at the same time: health care. In case you haven't noticed, major employers and high-wage industries are increasingly choosing to locate in Canada instead of the United States. And what have they got that we haven't--besides more snow and never getting excited? National health insurance.

Yep, that ol' devil "socialized medicine" against which the right wing has so long and so relentlessly inveighed is now the darling pet of huge corporations. Not only is it good for General Motors, folks, the rest of us need it desperately too. In case you haven't noticed, our health-care system is falling apart.

This dandy list of Good Ideas on How to Fix Things will be continued.

[Edwina's Secretary]

Don't you just love Molly Ivins? I have all her books. She is rarely in the LA paper so my parents send me copies of her column from Chicago.

I wonder if she ever sent GWB a birthday card saying he is "cool'?? And does anyone wonder WHY George hung on to the card?

[tatsxxx11]

Yes, we should follow the First Rule of Holes and stop digging

LOL! LOVE Mollie Ivins and her down home, folksy Texas style brand of political satire! She knows how to gently poke fun at the "other side" without offending while at the same time making us think a bit

As for the minimum wage bill, it just got voted down the other day!

[carole]

I am kinda in agreement with what PCB had to say, honestly I can understand where you are coming from on this issue Donna as well, but Pakistan is such a poor country, they have to have assistance from the USA and other prosperous countries, just for the record NZ is a small country with only 4 mill pop and we have donated to Pakistan and every disaster that is going, those of us who are more fortunate than others just have to do the responsible thing and help out those who aren't, and for those of you who know Donna well , she has a heart of gold, and she is just feeling dis-satisfied with what she see's going on and around her as we do from time to time IMO.

All of us are spoilt, we just cannot imagine living as these people do in real poverty, I was just watching the people in Russia and it appalled me to see their living conditions and the addiction to Vodka that is happening in this country, but yes that is another story.

Personally I am all for helping those who need it, I don't be-grudge my tax dollars benefiting those in genuine need.

[lvpets2002]

No Donna do not delete this thread due to is it all the truth that you have said.. I stand behind you 100% & you by no means are the only one that thinks this away.. What you did was just took the words out of my mouth & was brave enough to put in black & white.. Thank you for venting..

[moosmom]

Lizbud,

I have never heard of Mollie Ivans, but I think I love her!!! Thank you for sharing that article!

PCB,

I didn't mean to disrespect the Pakistanians. I was just trying to use them as an example, and a poor one at that. I guess it blew up in my face. I apologize.

Carole,

Thank you for giving me the benefit of the doubt. While I do have a tendency to speak my mind, it does sometimes piss people off and gets me into trouble. I guess this is one thread that did. But I was feeling kinda crappy and overwhelmed the other night over all that's been happening to me personally and around the world, I got carried away with my "opinion".

Maybe I should apply for the #1 job in these here United States God help us all!!!

[IRescue452]

What's happening, sociologically, is the same thing that happened when too many rats were housed together. Its called overpopulation. Eventually large societies crash in on themselves. Not many people realize where certain effects come from but most are from overpopulation. There's no way to fix it.
As for our country being the only one giving charity...hahahaha, many many other countries give money to us during disasters.