Seniors In Crisis

      Yesterday, I spent an hour and a half in line at my local food shelf with a lovely lady named Nadia and heard her story, a story that is all too common among America's Senior Citizens today. Nadia is 73 years old and worked her entire life as a waitress before finally retiring at age 69 because her body just couldn't do the job anymore. Jobs like waiting tables don't provide 401K or pension plans, so Nadia now depends 100% on her Social Security benefits that are pretty minimal since waitressing jobs generally pay less than minimum wage.

     Nadia told me with tears in her eyes, how she had never been to a food shelf before and was embarrassed to be so desperate for food that she finally had to forget about pride and receive charity. She told me how after paying her mortgage payment, bills & prescription costs every month that she is left with only around $30 left over to purchase food each month and that she and her 2 cats have been living off Malt-O-Meal and dry toast for almost a year now. She told me that she ran out of Malt-O-Meal a day earlier and finally swallowed her pride for the sake of her starving kitties.

     When the food shelf finally opened up, I help Nadia get all of the information and phone numbers she needs to apply for food stamps, Energy Assistance and Medical assistance. She had no idea that she was even eligible for these programs and hopefully they will help make her life a little easier. We also discussed how she might be better off selling her house and moving into a subsidized Seniors Apartment.

     The thing is, Nadia's story is not uncommon anymore...millions of Seniors across America are struggling to make ends meet. Social Security payments are not enough for most Seniors to actually live on. More and more Seniors are needing to rely on help like food stamps and food shelves, even though they worked their entire adult lives. I meet Seniors like Nadia all the time, people who worked hard their whole lives only to end up struggling to survive during their so called Golden Years. Most would still be working if their bodies allowed or if there were jobs that would hire them.

     Cutting funding to Social Security, Medicare or the many Social Programs that our Seniors depend on just to barely survive to fund tax cuts for Millionaires and Billionaires is criminal in my opinion. Our Seniors are not lazy bums living off the system, they earned their Social Security & the Social Security program should be paying them a livable amount, not just barely paying them enough to subsist on. Something really needs to change in the United States if we the people allow our Seniors to struggle just so a handful of Millionaires and Billionaires can have gigantic tax breaks.

Waiting In Lines

I find myself spending an awful lot of my time lately, waiting in long lines...waiting in long lines full of other people just like me...people struggling just to stay alive.

People working minimum wage part-time jobs because employers don't want to provide benefits to full-time employees. Families consisting of 3 generations sharing too small apartments, because rents are so high it takes multiple incomes to put a roof over our heads. People who make too much income to get food stamps, but not enough income to actually afford food.

I share a small 3 bedroom unit in a Duplex with my youngest son, his spouse and my grand daughter. My son and my daughter in law both work part-time low wage jobs where their employers won't give them full-time hours because they don't want to give their employees full-time benefits. I get a small disability check each month and supplement it with what I earn writing from home. I get some public aid, Medicare and state medical assistance and a small amount of food stamps that isn't enough to feed me, let alone 4 people. My son & his spouse make too much income to qualify for any public aid, but not enough income to actually afford to live. We are what is sadly becoming the typical American family.

So...since they both work, I spend a lot of time watching my grand daughter & waiting in lines. Waiting in line at the neighborhood food shelf once a month. Waiting in line at various churches & community centers that give food to the needy. Waiting in line at the Energy Assistance office, the Salvation Army, the various free meals served at local churches and such. I spend a lot of time talking to other low income people in my area who are in the same sinking boat.

We share our stories that are all strikingly similar. The people standing in lines aren't lazy like the Republicans would like people to believe. Most of them had good paying jobs with benefits most of their lives...until the factories closed, or the company went out of business, or the job got outsourced to India, China, Mexico, etc...

Many got laid off for what was supposed to be temporary, but became permanent. Many lost their homes to foreclosure after their unemployment ran out. Most now work part-time minimum wage jobs that they are way over-qualified for. Many are senior citizens who never dreamed they would be spending their Golden Years standing in lines to keep from starving to death.

Empty Eyes

Empty Eyes

By: Bambi

Everywhere I go...

Everyone I see...

Empty eyes...

Staring back at me.

Riding on the bus...

Walking in the park...

Everybody struggling...

To get out of the dark.

Standing around in lines...

For loaves of day old bread...

Even working full-time...

Most folk just can't get ahead.

Everybody tired...

Everybody cries...

Looking for some hope...

Through very empty eyes.

Empty eyes everywhere...

We pretend not to see...

Everybody struggling...

Just like you and me.

Both Parties Are Not Alike

I keep hearing people saying that both parties are the same, because both the Republican and the Democratic Parties are corrupt. Yes, to some extent that is true...both parties are influenced by corporate interests, but that truly is where the similarities end.

Also, while the DFL is most definitely influenced by corporate interests, the GOP is owned by the Corporations, bought and paid for. There is in reality a gigantic difference between being influenced and owned.

Anyone who seriously believes that Corporate influence in a political party is all that matters is basically viewing politics in an extremely narrow minded way. Corporate influence in American politics is just one thin slice of the overall political pie and that is a severely limited way to judge an entire political party.

I'm a tail end baby boomer, born in 1964, I grew up in the era where JFK was the symbol of all that was right about the DFL. I am old enough to remember what the Democratic Party once was before it started leaning right and embracing more conservative values post Reagan. I have watched the DFL become the moderate Conservative party in the US as the GOP has become slowly but surely a far right religious extremist hate group that has no business even being in American politics anymore.

Today's Democratic Party is not the DFL of my youth, it no longer truly represents Liberal minded Americans...and yes, a new Liberal political party is desperately needed in the US...but seriously...anyone who thinks both the GOP & the DFL are opposite sides of the same coin has not been paying attention.

There is still a world of difference between the GOP and the DFL if you are a woman, LGBT, low income or a minority. The GOP is waging a war of oppression against everyone who isn't a rich white heterosexual male, and they are winning because they have convinced a generation of 20-somethings that both parties are exactly the same so there is no point in voting. They have spent the last 30 years dumbing down America through their corporate control of information and when mainstream media failed and the Occupy Movement rose up to try to educate and inform the Nation, the GOP seized on another way to hold on to their control...APATHY

The GOP had already seized control of the lunatic fringe with the Koch Brothers funded Tea Party...but the Occupy Movement threatened to educate and inform the children of Reaganomics, the youth that Fox News & the GOP had spent 30 years indoctrinating was suddenly on the precipice of becoming informed, joining forces with the Liberals and rising up against them. The GOP couldn't afford to let that happen.

But, how to nip it in the bud when America's youth yearned for revolution? It was actually quite simple and the GOP easily infiltrated the Occupy Movement and quickly spread the seeds of mistrust towards all politics...they played the Anarchy card and won big. They easily removed the possible threat of millions of young voters by getting them to believe that both political parties were equally evil and that voting was pointless. A political strategy that has worked countless times throughout history and America's disenfranchised youth were easy targets.

All politicians know that the easiest way to win an election is to convince the opposition not to vote...that their votes don't matter. Better yet, convince them that not voting is a form of protest and make them angry at everyone to ensure that they don't vote. Make them feel self-important, as if they know a secret and everyone else is blind. The GOP has succeeded in doing just this within the Occupy Movement by feeding their anger towards the Corporations to the point where they are blind to all other issues.

The Anarchy faction in Occupy has grown significantly over the winter...they are young and angry and are so focused of corporate corruption that they have a tunnel vision that leaves them blinded to all other issues except for how they relate to corporate corruption. Over the winter they have chased away many of the older and Liberal activist claiming the Liberals are trying to co-opt the Occupy Movement, all the while not even realizing they have become GOP puppets and that the Right Wing has effectively silenced them by convincing them not to vote.

There is currently a tug of war going on in the Occupy Movement between the Liberals and the Anarchists that threatens to derail the entire Movement...and all I can say is well played GOP...well played.

Socialism In America

I'm sick and tired of people acting like Socialism is a dirty word...that Socialism equates Communism or Fascism is utter ignorance...Every Government/Society employs an element of Socialism. The United States was designed to be both a Republic & a Social Democracy...that is Socialism at it's finest. Socialism does not infringe on Capitalism or a free markets when Socialism is employed properly in a society ~ When Socialism is at it's best...everyone prospers...not just the government, corporations, leaders, etc...the US used to be a proud Socialism Success story...the tax burden was distributed so that the very poorest, the children, the disabled, the elderly were taken care of...and the tax burden was decided on personal/business incomes...the more you earned the more you paid & when our tax structure was like that America was the greatest Nation on Earth, the land of opportunity...our bridges weren't collapsing, our teachers, public schools were the best in the World, our Military was strong & well funded...our Science was World class & we sent people into space....All while everyone prospered...the rich & corporations prospered quite well even while they paid more in taxes.

As much as the Right wing screams anti-socialism rhetoric...and tries to connect it with Communism & Fascism...the truth is that the right wing brand of Socialism is the one that most closely reflects both Fascism & Communism, since the Right Wing is all about oppressing & enslaving everyone that isn't a white heterosexual Christian male Millionaires & Billionaires.

Our founding fathers were very outspoken about not giving the government, the banks or the Industrialists more power than the people...that right there is Socialism at it's finest...at it's finest, Socialism encourages economic & business growth, gives the workers fair pay, benefits & safe working conditions, builds up our infrastructure, public works, schools, parks, science, etc...and provides for our weakest citizens at the same time...in a true Social Democracy everyone prospers & everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed & that is exactly what the United States was designed to be.

Capitalism works just fine in a properly emploted Social Democracy...Socialism & Capitalism are not enemies...in fact the most prosperous times in American history have been when there is an equal balance of Capitalism & Socialism. The concept that Socialism is against Capitalism is nothing more than Right Wing propaganda designed to scare weak minded & ignorant people...it is completely untrue...in actuality Socialism & Capitalism have co-incided beautifully for over 200 years in the United States...and anyone who says differently has no concept of what Socialism actually is.

 Socialism is a neutral concept that when it is employed properly makes the World a better place as it does in the United States since day one...in it's worse form it creates a caste system Society where the richest 1% rules over, oppresses & enslaves the poor...no matter what form it takes, Socialism is a part of every Society & government...The Right Wing wants us to become the bad kind of Socialistic Society where the rich enslave the poor...both that and the America where everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed & the Nation prospers are  different types of Socialism.

 The United States was designed as a Social Democracy, and when we regulate Industry, and tax everyone fairly, our Nation prospers. Our military, infrastructure & public programs grow and prosper. Our people, when given the right tools to succeed such as free quality educations, also prosper. We also then are prosperous enough to take care of our elderly, disabled & children and are better able to help lift the American workers out of poverty. That is American Socialism at it's very best.

Political Bullying ~ American Style

After 30 plus years of conservatives bullying the poor, women, gays, immigrants, people of color, non-Christians, etc...a legacy of fear has effectively silenced the American people.

Every day screaming heads bombard the masses with hate and fear through mainstream media, talk radio and the Internet. Fox News, and talk radio personalities like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck have set a standard of political bullying that has made people afraid to speak out against racism, sexism, bigotry...hate.

If we speak out against racism...we are playing the dreaded "race card." If we speak out against sexism, we are femi-nazis. If we speak out against corporate greed, we are Socialist Commies. If we support the separation of church and State, we are Godless Atheists. If we support Universal health care we are Liberal Socialists. If we speak out against rape or support women's reproductive rights, we are sluts. If we speak out against conservative politics we are Lefty Liberal Socialist that want a free ride on the Conservatives tax dollars.

They have some nasty name to call anyone who tries to stand up for themselves or others against oppression. They have bullied the American people into being afraid to speak up out of fear of being bullied some more.

They have turned the United States into Bizarro World...where White Supremacist are Civil Rights Activists and Peaceful Protesters are terrorists. Where wearing a hoodie and being black makes you "suspicious" and being poor is a crime. Where being stupid is Patriotic and being educated and intelligent makes you a snob. Where toting guns and carrying signs that read "God hates Fags" are peaceful protesters while unarmed women and children are maced by swat teams in full riot gear for supporting women's rights.

We are even seeing this political bullying in the OWS Movement that has become over run by Ron Paul followers that preach Anarchy and bully anyone with an opinion that differs from theirs by calling them "brainwashed sheeple". The Occupy Movement that once prided itself on being all-inclusive and non-partisan has fallen victim to a patriarchy of young white heterosexual males that identify with Anarchy and the Ron Paul version of Libertarianism.

While they claim to still be all-inclusive and non-partisan, they apparently have no problem with anti-Obama & anti-Democrat sentiment. They refuse to speak out against the GOP war against women, the poor, immigration, civil rights, etc...because they claim that would be divisive and partisan...yet they have no such compunction against trashing Obama and the DFL. Whenever anyone questions that, they are attacked and accused of trying to co-opt OWS with a Liberal Democrat agenda.

The hypocrisy of these self-proclaimed Anarchist is not lost on those of us that once held hope that the Occupy Movement would be a catalyst for positive change in the United States. That OWS would truly represent the 99% of us who are being oppressed by the 1%. Unfortunately, as OWS becomes more anti-Obama & anti-Democrat everyday, it no longer represents the 99% since women, gays, Democrats, Liberals, people of color, etc... are all a part of the melting pot that truly is the 99%.

By disenfranchising anyone who isn't an Anarchist or Ron Paul follower, OWS is no longer non-partisan or all-inclusive. By bullying anyone who disagrees with their Anarchy political agenda, OWS has made itself no better than any other political group and is an excellent example of how political bullying continues to keep the American people silenced.

In a nutshell, the people being silenced in America are as they have always been...women, minorities, the LGBT Community, anyone with Liberal political viewpoints.

Homeless In America

Thanks to the housing crisis, the economy, the unemployment rate, etc...in the United States in the past few years, more and more people are ending up homeless.

I ended up homeless after leaving an abusive marriage almost 2 years ago and only recently started getting back on my feet again. I lived in an RV for almost a year and was surprised to find than nearly half of all the people I met on the road were also homeless due to job loss, foreclosure, etc... Many of the people I met who had been displaced and had ended up in campers had children.

My experience with being homeless these last 2 years has shown me that there is a whole invisible homeless population that most people aren't even aware of. We all think of the homeless as street people, runaway teens, bums, etc...but those people only comprise a portion of the total homeless population in America.

A large number of homeless families live in shelters, RVs, their cars, tents or squatting with family or friends until they wear out their welcome. We don't see this homeless population, they are invisible, but they do exist.

During the time I was homeless I lived out of my car, stayed with family members, lived in an RV and even exchanged childcare for a free room to sleep in. The hardest part about being homeless is the constant worry about security. Never knowing where your next meal is coming from, or how long before you wear out your welcome someplace and get asked to leave. Hoping you can find another place to stay before that happens.

I lived out of plastic bins that never got completely unpacked, hoarded food for emergencies and lived in a constant state of depression. As someone who is disabled and as chronic health issues as well as Autism, I have a very limited disability income that just isn't enough to afford to rent even a studio apartment in Minnesota where I live. Rent for even a tiny studio apartment would eat up my entire monthly income and the waiting lists in Minnesota for low income or public housing is years long.

Luckily, I recently moved into a 3 bedroom duplex with my youngest son, his spouse & my grand daughter. I still am paying more than I can really afford for rent, but it is worth it to have some stability in my life again.

Still, I struggle financially. Yesterday my beater car broke down, so now it's in the shop, but I have no idea how I will afford to get it fixed. After years of working good paying jobs with benefits and living in a house in a good neighborhood, my transition into poverty hasn't been easy. Thankfully my kids were adults by the time I lost my job and fell into hard times. I can't even imagine how hard it is for parents with small children who end up homeless.

There is a stigma to being poor and/or homeless in America. People tend to blame you for the events beyond your control that caused you to end up in financial crisis. The government safety nets that used to help people, no longer exist and the few that are left require you to jump through hoops, humiliate & degrade yourself just to get barely enough help to stay poor, but not even close to enough help to climb back out of poverty.

50% of the population of the United States is currently low income or living in poverty with no real hope to ever climb out of it. When will we as a Nation stop blaming the poor for being poor and start actually helping each other succeed?

Ann Romney Needs To Apologize To American Mothers

So, Ann Romney wants Americans to know that she understands our struggles since she is a stay at home Mom of 5, with multiple mansions, 2 Cadillacs, maids, nannies, and an unlimited supply of money.

I say boo fucking hoo! No Ann...you have no concept of the struggles of most American Moms. When was the last time Ann Romney tried to take her 5 children on public transportation to grocery shop or run errands? When was the last time Ann Romney skipped a meal to make sure her kids were fed? When was the last time Ann Romney worked a 12 hour shift for minimum wage, then went home, cooked dinner, cleaned the house, did the laundry & then fell into bed exhausted for 4 hours of sleep before heading back to work again?

Ann Romney has no concept of what struggles the average American Mom faces every day. 50% of all Americans are either low income or sub-existing in poverty. We don't have the option of being stay at home Moms, we have to work or become homeless. We have to leave our pride at the door and jump through the bureaucratic hoops to get food stamps, free lunch programs, visit food shelves. We pray our 20 year old car that leaks oil won't break down, or that no one in the house gets sick or hurt...because we are always just one financial disaster from being homeless.

I am outraged that Ann Romney has insulted American Mothers by claiming she understands our struggles when she obviously has no concept of what our struggles even are. I raised 3 sons as a single working mother and my reality wasn't even close to Ann Romney's reality. Ann Romney has health insurance, reliable vehicles, enough food and money to never have to worry about the plethora of worries that plague a typical American mother.

Why The Occupy Movement Failed

The name of it says it all...Occupy
Nothing good ever happens from an invasion style occupation...occupations start wars, oppress people...

I personally agree with the original reasoning behind the OWS Movement, that we the 99% of US citizens are being oppressed by the 1% of the population that controls the top corporations, banks & often our legislation through their ability to fund massive lobbying efforts with their billions of dollars.

I had great hopes for the OWS Movement when it first began, that it would evolve & grow into a loud united voice for the people. That it would get more people talking about and involved in their local and National political process. That finally, the people would start fighting back against the Religious Right Extremist Hate Group that the GOP/Teapublican Party has become in the United States.

Let's get real here...to me and to many, that is who the 1% is. The Millionaire and Billionaire GOP politicians that also just happen to be stock holders or even owners of these Mega-Corporations and are writing, proposing & passing laws, bills, legislation that favors corporations over people. But, the OWS Movement made the same fatal mistake as the Coffee Party before it. Occupy tried to be all-inclusive and non-partisan, which in theory sounds good, but in reality just doesn't work when you try to include your oppressor in your fight against the oppressor.

At first, it starts with inviting disenfranchised conservatives into the conversation, and seems like a good idea. The whole let's overlook our differences for the common cause is in many ways a great way to accomplish real change, if you can agree on a common cause to fight against. Unfortunately for the OWS Movement, the only common cause everyone could agree with was a very washed out and generic version of corporate influence of government is bad. In OWS's attempt to remain non-partisan, it has been ignoring the gigantic elephant in the room for months now...as OWS continues to lose more and more supporters everyday because it refuses to admit that being non-partisan is a complete failure.

Add to that failure, the Ron Paul wild card and the young white males that have been so easily duped into following Paul with his false promises of legalized Marijuana, an end to the FED and the words Liberty & Constitution drilled into their formative minds until they are willing to overlook the complete insanity of the Ron Paul. The OWS Movement has become over run by Paul's cult-like devotees commonly referred to as "Paulbots" or "Paultards".

And while the above examples are all pieces of the puzzle of why the OWS Movement has failed, in the end the major contributing factor of why OWS is a failure is still in the movement's name...Occupy. If OWS had just organized, hosted rallies, marches, protest events, etc...and then gone home at night, it could have grown into a movement with the ability to change the world...but instead OWS came and occupied public parks and plazas. They camped out in major cities, setting up hobo camps that often attracted the homeless population and criminals. Women were raped and assaulted in some of these camps, giving other women reason to be afraid to participate in OWS activities.

The Occupy Movement came to be thought of as an eyesore. People just trying to get to work had to find alternative routes to avoid smelly camps. At night many of these camps became dangerous places where people just hung out getting drunk or doing drugs.

It quickly became obvious that the OWS Movement for all it's promise of unity in it's beginning, really didn't represent the 99% at all. Thousands of Occupy groups sprang up across the US, but in the overall scheme of things most people do not believe that OWS represents them. Mostly, people think OWS is an eyesore, an embarrassment to their city.

OWS in it's effort to stay non-partisan & all inclusive has in reality excluded most people who actually do care about creating real change in the United States. OWS has alienated women in just about every way possible from not caring about providing porta-pottys at OWS camps to not speaking out against the GOP's war against women.

OWS served a purpose, it got people talking...opened up a discussion and showed us that we the people of the United States of America can be heard and can make a difference. Now it is time for us to take what we have learned from OWS and start using those lessons to organize and affect real change through political action.

We also must remember the mistakes that OWS made and learn from those as well. OWS hasn't been a complete failure, they have become excellent advocates for people facing foreclosure & have helped many struggling families save their homes. I have hopes that the OWS Movement will continue it's fight against corporate greed and it's fight against corruption in the banking Industry. So, while OWS has failed in becoming the great political movement so many of us were hoping for, it does still serve a purpose in helping struggling families keep their homes.