Posts
We talk a lot about trust in this country. You can't have a good relationship without it. Yes, you can have a relationship without trust, but it won't be a very good one. A lot of us don't trust our government right now, so today I'd like to share with you my favorite quote from The Federalist Papers,written by three of our founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay, it says, "If men we're angels, there would be no need for government."
If you don't trust anything else, you can trust that statement. It's a fact. We need government.
We need school systems and police forces. The postal service is fast becoming obsolete, however. I'm not really going to miss one less day of bills and junk mail when they cut out mail delivery one day a week. Maybe there are some other places we could make adjustments to help offset the expenses of paying people to do all those other jobs.
We need government because we are not angels. People have beeen taking advantage of other people since the beginning of time. We're not born trustworthy, it's something we have to become.
People we don't trust, we don't usually want to vote for. People who sling mud in campaign commercials can't be trusted. They're gossips. Gossips can't be trusted. They can't keep a secret. They ruin reputations. They're mean. There's more to being trustworthy than just telling the truth.
By definition, gossip is what you do any time you say anything bad about anyone. It doesn't matter if it's true. It's still gossip. Rumors are not true. Gossip and rumors are not the same thing. Spreading rumors is a second form of gossip. There is more than one kind. People who gossip are using bad manners.
Barack Obama didn't sling a lot of mud. That made him the most trustworthy candidate for president we've seen in some time. His election proved that if you want people to get out and vote, then you have to give them someone they want to vote for.
We complain about all the campaign promises that politicians don't keep, but we do the same thing. We tell our kids we'll do things we don't ever get around to doing. We promise to fix things around the house that don't get fixed.
Perhaps we don't trust politicians because we can't trust ourselves. We can't be trusted. We gossip. We sling mud. We don't keep our word. If we want trustworthy politicians, then we have to be trustworthy people. It's okay that none of us were born trustworthy. It gives all of us something in common to aspire to.
Our government is made up of the people. Our government is run by the people. Our government works for the people. We are the people. Whatever is wrong with our government is wrong with us.
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via E-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Waste
As musch as spending money we don't have put us in this situation, being wasteful also put us here. Just about everyone accuses our government of being wasteful, and as I said earlier, a government cannot be any better than the quality of its' citizens.
Very few of us don't waste electricity. Anyone here ever leave a light turned on in an empty room? A televison nobody's watching? We waste water. We waste gasoline. We waste food. Some of us our running out of places to put our garbage. If we don't want our government to be as wasteful as we are, then we have to stop being wasteful.
Now, I'm not really all that big of an environmentalist, but I do have some concerns about how running out of places to put our garbage might effect my grandchildren. People who recycle are good citizens. Some of us would like to recycle but we don't have that option. We live in apartments or small towns, places that don't have easy access to recycling bins. I do hope President Obama considers spending "green" money to change that. I also hope my government recycles.
Being too lazy to recycle will result in a lot of people being needed to do their community service at their local dump. Dead Beat Dads perhaps. Dealing with trash may not be a national problem right now, but do we really ever want it to be? Those of us who are over the age of 21 have fully developed human brains that should be able to reason out the consequences of our actions.
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via E-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
Very few of us don't waste electricity. Anyone here ever leave a light turned on in an empty room? A televison nobody's watching? We waste water. We waste gasoline. We waste food. Some of us our running out of places to put our garbage. If we don't want our government to be as wasteful as we are, then we have to stop being wasteful.
Now, I'm not really all that big of an environmentalist, but I do have some concerns about how running out of places to put our garbage might effect my grandchildren. People who recycle are good citizens. Some of us would like to recycle but we don't have that option. We live in apartments or small towns, places that don't have easy access to recycling bins. I do hope President Obama considers spending "green" money to change that. I also hope my government recycles.
Being too lazy to recycle will result in a lot of people being needed to do their community service at their local dump. Dead Beat Dads perhaps. Dealing with trash may not be a national problem right now, but do we really ever want it to be? Those of us who are over the age of 21 have fully developed human brains that should be able to reason out the consequences of our actions.
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via E-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Neighbors
There seem to be two extremely opposite philosophies when it comes to determining the qualities of a good neighbor. One philosophy believes it is best to, "Mind Your Own Business." The other philosophy thinks good neighbors mind everybody else's business. So please, let me set the record straight.
Good neighbors don't gossip. By definition, a gossip is someone who,"habitually reveals personal or sensational facts, rumors, or reports of an intimate nature." Please notice that the word fact is used in the definition. It doesn't have to be a lie to be gossip.
Gossip adds to people's problems and pretty much everybody has enough problems. Gossip can ruin people's reputations and start arguments. When you gossip you are showing your bad manners. People who gossip cannot be trusted. If you are going to mind everybody else's business, then you cannot be the one that spreads gossip. You don't have to get arreseted to earn the right to remain silent. Good neighbors are helpful, not hurtful. Good neighbors are good citizens.
It is unfortunate that so many of us learn our manners by watching television.
I suppose being neighborly falls under the Department of Homeland Security as well as the State Department when we discuss being neighborly as a nation.
The drug wars going on at our borders with Mexico are not neighborly. It's rude and disrespectful to take your fight to somebody else's home. It might be time for us to employ our National Guard as bouncers at our borders. The Border Patrol isn't as effective as we would like them to be. Rather than hire more Border Patrol agents it might be a good idea to replace the Border Patrol with the National Guard. The name "National Guard" kind of implies they're the ones that are supposed to be guarding our nation. If we're going to keep sending them to other parts of the world, shouldn't they be called the "International Guard"?
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via E-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
Good neighbors don't gossip. By definition, a gossip is someone who,"habitually reveals personal or sensational facts, rumors, or reports of an intimate nature." Please notice that the word fact is used in the definition. It doesn't have to be a lie to be gossip.
Gossip adds to people's problems and pretty much everybody has enough problems. Gossip can ruin people's reputations and start arguments. When you gossip you are showing your bad manners. People who gossip cannot be trusted. If you are going to mind everybody else's business, then you cannot be the one that spreads gossip. You don't have to get arreseted to earn the right to remain silent. Good neighbors are helpful, not hurtful. Good neighbors are good citizens.
It is unfortunate that so many of us learn our manners by watching television.
I suppose being neighborly falls under the Department of Homeland Security as well as the State Department when we discuss being neighborly as a nation.
The drug wars going on at our borders with Mexico are not neighborly. It's rude and disrespectful to take your fight to somebody else's home. It might be time for us to employ our National Guard as bouncers at our borders. The Border Patrol isn't as effective as we would like them to be. Rather than hire more Border Patrol agents it might be a good idea to replace the Border Patrol with the National Guard. The name "National Guard" kind of implies they're the ones that are supposed to be guarding our nation. If we're going to keep sending them to other parts of the world, shouldn't they be called the "International Guard"?
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via E-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Preparedness
There is a philosophy in this country that promotes the motto, "Be Prepared." This is the philosophy that invented savings accounts. Unfortunately a lot of people just lost their savings. That does not necessarily mean that being prepared is a bad idea.
Being prepared involves a lot more than just money. There is a big difference between hoarding and being prepared. The difference is called organization. Hoarders are not usually well organized. Being prepared means having a plan. You have to be organized in order to be prepared.
At least one religious organization, that I know of, promotes what is called a 72 hour kit. The idea behind this kit is that at some point in time, you may need to leave your home in a hurry, usually due to weather conditions such as hurricanes and tornadoes. In case of evacuation it is good to have a backpack ready with three days of supplies that include food, clothes and toiletries.
Good citizens might want to prepare for such weather events. Good citizens that know about preparedness events at their local churches might want to spread the word.
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via E-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
Being prepared involves a lot more than just money. There is a big difference between hoarding and being prepared. The difference is called organization. Hoarders are not usually well organized. Being prepared means having a plan. You have to be organized in order to be prepared.
At least one religious organization, that I know of, promotes what is called a 72 hour kit. The idea behind this kit is that at some point in time, you may need to leave your home in a hurry, usually due to weather conditions such as hurricanes and tornadoes. In case of evacuation it is good to have a backpack ready with three days of supplies that include food, clothes and toiletries.
Good citizens might want to prepare for such weather events. Good citizens that know about preparedness events at their local churches might want to spread the word.
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via E-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Internal Revenue Service
Has anyone noticed how many people President Obama picked to be in his cabinet that have tax problems? I wonder how many of those people would have paid their back taxes if they weren't picked for cabinet posts. Now I don't believe the President deliberately picked people with tax problems. I think more people owe taxes than just the ones we hear about on the news.
It seems to me that the Internal Revenue Service is falling down on the job.This may be one area where we need to work on our cash flow. Good citizens pay their taxes. They don't necessarily like to pay their taxes, but they do it anyway. We should not put people in high government offices that are not good citizens. People who do not have their taxes in order should not be allowed to run for any government office.
Perhaps the Internal Revenue Service is in need of more people to collect taxes. No, being a tax collector isn't a job a lot of people want to do. Most people don't even want to think about seeing an increase in job availability at the IRS, but if our federal budget is based on income tax, then doesn't it stand to reason that the federal government is spending money they don't have if they don't collect it? Isn't spending money we don't have why were in this mess?
What would be the point of raising taxes on the wealthy if you aren't going to collect the taxes you're already owed? Which is not to say that the wealthy are the only ones that owe back taxes or that all the wealthy owe back taxes. A lot of companies owe back taxes too. The point is that it's not about bigger government or higher taxes. It's about making the government we already have more effective. It is highly unlikely we will ever be able to balance a budget that consists of spending money we don't actually get. Unless, of course, someone invents a new way of doing math.
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via E-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
It seems to me that the Internal Revenue Service is falling down on the job.This may be one area where we need to work on our cash flow. Good citizens pay their taxes. They don't necessarily like to pay their taxes, but they do it anyway. We should not put people in high government offices that are not good citizens. People who do not have their taxes in order should not be allowed to run for any government office.
Perhaps the Internal Revenue Service is in need of more people to collect taxes. No, being a tax collector isn't a job a lot of people want to do. Most people don't even want to think about seeing an increase in job availability at the IRS, but if our federal budget is based on income tax, then doesn't it stand to reason that the federal government is spending money they don't have if they don't collect it? Isn't spending money we don't have why were in this mess?
What would be the point of raising taxes on the wealthy if you aren't going to collect the taxes you're already owed? Which is not to say that the wealthy are the only ones that owe back taxes or that all the wealthy owe back taxes. A lot of companies owe back taxes too. The point is that it's not about bigger government or higher taxes. It's about making the government we already have more effective. It is highly unlikely we will ever be able to balance a budget that consists of spending money we don't actually get. Unless, of course, someone invents a new way of doing math.
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via E-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Foreign Policy
I admit I was an avid supporter of Hillary Clinton for President. I was disappointed she didn't get elected. I am, however, happy to see her as our new Secretary of State.
That being said, there's no excuse for giving a Russian dignitary a reset button with the word reset misspelled on it in Russian.
Yes, the job of Secretary of State is a daunting position. You have to deal with dignitaries from every other country and then deal with David Letterman at home. You can't catch a break. People are fighting everywhere and it's your job to try and help put some of the fires out. But every good secretary knows you have to pay attention to details or you will lose your job. That's embarrassing.
It is no excuse, however, not to give Hillary Clinton her first 100 days. She is new to this particular job. She has experience with the amount of travel involved, and she knows the players, but being a secretary is different from being the boss's wife. Give her time to get adjusted.
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via E-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
That being said, there's no excuse for giving a Russian dignitary a reset button with the word reset misspelled on it in Russian.
Yes, the job of Secretary of State is a daunting position. You have to deal with dignitaries from every other country and then deal with David Letterman at home. You can't catch a break. People are fighting everywhere and it's your job to try and help put some of the fires out. But every good secretary knows you have to pay attention to details or you will lose your job. That's embarrassing.
It is no excuse, however, not to give Hillary Clinton her first 100 days. She is new to this particular job. She has experience with the amount of travel involved, and she knows the players, but being a secretary is different from being the boss's wife. Give her time to get adjusted.
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via E-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
Women
Women of America, we are not off the hook. As far as citizenship goes, we dropped the ball big time. Without us, there would be no Dead Beat Dads! Without us, there would be no pregnant teenagers. We have to do better at choosing our mates.
You cannot tell what kind of father a man will be until he actually is a father. You can, however, figure out what kind of mate he will be by what kind of citizen he is. Good male citizens practice the fine art of self-control. They do not commit acts of violence on fellow citizens, male or female. Good male citizens take no for an answer. They might not like it, but they respect you enough not to even try to talk you into anything.
Unfortunately, not all acts of violence that take place in our country are commited by men. Women sometimes have difficulty taking no for an answer too.
Women need to have better self-control and more self-respect. Women need to learn about manners. There's a lot more to manners than how you eat at the table. By learning to practice good manners, you learn self-control.
Yes, I know, mothers cannot teach their children what they do not know. You may not even know you have bad manners. Lack of education shows up in a variety of places. The notion that all parents possess the necessary knowledge to teach their children good manners is a false assumption. People who have good manners know that it is bad manners to point out bad manners to other adults. Unfortunately, by using good manners, they're keeping a lot of important information to themselves. Thank goodness we have "Miss Manners," or we'd have no place to turn for help.
It doesn't matter if you wear pants, or your hair's cut short, or you have a more dominant nature, than a feminine one. The point is good manners are possessed by all ladies and gentlemen. Women who don't have good manners, do not get the respect they deserve. Along with good hygiene and clean living space, self-respect is a matter of manners. Unfortunately, they don't really teach classes on manners in school. Yet another argument in favor of citizenship classes. By definition, manners are the social cutoms of a society. If good manners disappear, will the society also disappear? It would seem we are on the path to finding out.
Parents are supposed to be the ones who teach their children manners. The society we have today shows what happens when a large amount of people did not have parents who were educated in this department. Oprah could devote an entire month of shows to this topic. People seem to pay attention to her. She could pick a Judith Martin book for her book club. Teachers could make Judith Martin books assigned reading in their English classes. After all, Judith Martin is an American author who needs to get at least as much exposure as Mark Twain.
It is the philosophy of this blog that good manners are the foundation of diplomacy, which in turn is the foundation of foreign policy. Good manners are how you show people that you have respect for yourself and respect for them as well.
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via E-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
You cannot tell what kind of father a man will be until he actually is a father. You can, however, figure out what kind of mate he will be by what kind of citizen he is. Good male citizens practice the fine art of self-control. They do not commit acts of violence on fellow citizens, male or female. Good male citizens take no for an answer. They might not like it, but they respect you enough not to even try to talk you into anything.
Unfortunately, not all acts of violence that take place in our country are commited by men. Women sometimes have difficulty taking no for an answer too.
Women need to have better self-control and more self-respect. Women need to learn about manners. There's a lot more to manners than how you eat at the table. By learning to practice good manners, you learn self-control.
Yes, I know, mothers cannot teach their children what they do not know. You may not even know you have bad manners. Lack of education shows up in a variety of places. The notion that all parents possess the necessary knowledge to teach their children good manners is a false assumption. People who have good manners know that it is bad manners to point out bad manners to other adults. Unfortunately, by using good manners, they're keeping a lot of important information to themselves. Thank goodness we have "Miss Manners," or we'd have no place to turn for help.
It doesn't matter if you wear pants, or your hair's cut short, or you have a more dominant nature, than a feminine one. The point is good manners are possessed by all ladies and gentlemen. Women who don't have good manners, do not get the respect they deserve. Along with good hygiene and clean living space, self-respect is a matter of manners. Unfortunately, they don't really teach classes on manners in school. Yet another argument in favor of citizenship classes. By definition, manners are the social cutoms of a society. If good manners disappear, will the society also disappear? It would seem we are on the path to finding out.
Parents are supposed to be the ones who teach their children manners. The society we have today shows what happens when a large amount of people did not have parents who were educated in this department. Oprah could devote an entire month of shows to this topic. People seem to pay attention to her. She could pick a Judith Martin book for her book club. Teachers could make Judith Martin books assigned reading in their English classes. After all, Judith Martin is an American author who needs to get at least as much exposure as Mark Twain.
It is the philosophy of this blog that good manners are the foundation of diplomacy, which in turn is the foundation of foreign policy. Good manners are how you show people that you have respect for yourself and respect for them as well.
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via E-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
Men
Our country has a large amount of good male citizens. Some men are even great citizens. It is, however, the men who are not good citizens that helped contribute to our country's current situation.
Dead Beat Dads are another major factor in the spending of money we don't have. They are primary contributors to the need for a national welfare system. They are all over this country.
Dead Beat Dads are not good citizens. Some men deliberately do not pay their child support and some men want to pay their child support but cannot afford it.
The amounts of child support set in court are fair, however, we might get more accomplished if non-payment of child support were not a go to jail offense. Our prisons are overcrowded. Non-payment of child support is not a violent offense.
We can't make people care about their kids, but we can encourage them to do so. We can commute their child support payments into community service and make them work it off. At least this way we would get something back for the state paid child support given to the mothers. It might also cut down on the need to hire more people to work in State Attorney General's offices to enforce child support orders.
If given this opportunity, some men may volunteer to work off their child support payments. You can't get blood out of a turnip. Just because the amount of child support is fair does not mean all men can afford to pay it. Remember all those male high school drop outs? Minimum wage jobs barely pay the rent.
The possibility of prison doesn't seem to be much of a deterrent for dead beat dads. If we have them do community service we might end up having some better citizens, although men who actually can afford to pay their child support should not have this option.
In addition, men who do their community service may actually end up staying in the same town as their children and using their visitation rights rather than running from the law. Which means we would not only have better citizens for our communities but fewer absentee fathers for our children.
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via E-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
Dead Beat Dads are another major factor in the spending of money we don't have. They are primary contributors to the need for a national welfare system. They are all over this country.
Dead Beat Dads are not good citizens. Some men deliberately do not pay their child support and some men want to pay their child support but cannot afford it.
The amounts of child support set in court are fair, however, we might get more accomplished if non-payment of child support were not a go to jail offense. Our prisons are overcrowded. Non-payment of child support is not a violent offense.
We can't make people care about their kids, but we can encourage them to do so. We can commute their child support payments into community service and make them work it off. At least this way we would get something back for the state paid child support given to the mothers. It might also cut down on the need to hire more people to work in State Attorney General's offices to enforce child support orders.
If given this opportunity, some men may volunteer to work off their child support payments. You can't get blood out of a turnip. Just because the amount of child support is fair does not mean all men can afford to pay it. Remember all those male high school drop outs? Minimum wage jobs barely pay the rent.
The possibility of prison doesn't seem to be much of a deterrent for dead beat dads. If we have them do community service we might end up having some better citizens, although men who actually can afford to pay their child support should not have this option.
In addition, men who do their community service may actually end up staying in the same town as their children and using their visitation rights rather than running from the law. Which means we would not only have better citizens for our communities but fewer absentee fathers for our children.
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via E-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Money
With citizenship comes responsibilities. Everything costs money and the money has to come from somewhere and nobody wants to pay more taxes. There are, however, things that could be taxed that aren't, like divorces. A lot of people complain about the high rate of divorce in this country, taxes might be one way to stop that. After all, high cigarette taxes will supposedly make people quit smoking. How about a wedding tax on weddings that don't take place in churches?
We could expand the "sin" tax and include rap music. I'm all for freedom of speech until it gets vulgar. Musicians that want to record and release vulgar lyrics could pay a tax for that privilege and people that buy that stuff could pay a higher sales tax as well.
There could be an R-rated movie tax, a Victoria's Secret tax, and a "sinful business" tax for Playboy and Hustler and other assorted magazines.
Do current luxury taxes include spa treatments or gym memberships or designer jeans? I know our collective government has to be more creative than they're letting on. If we spread the taxes out, then no one single group of taxpayers has to shoulder the tax burden. It also gives the American taxpayer the ability to choose which taxes he/she wants to pay.
Food and clothing items less than $20 should be tax exempt. We have to eat and we have to wear clothes. We don't necessarily have to wear designer clothes, but we do have to wear clothes and so do our children.
There should not be a "fat" tax anymore than there should be a gay tax, or a black tax, or any other kind of tax of that nature. Taxes should be on things, not on people. People pay the taxes,things do not.
All the money doesn't have to come from taxes. We could start imposing fines on people who don't vote. Now there's a cure for voter apathy. It won't necessarily be a go to jail offense, unless of course you don't pay the fine or do the community service. People who are too lazy to vote probably don't devote much of their time to community service voluntarily. They're the ones that are going to make our recovery process take longer. At $25 a ticket, not voting in local, state and federal elections might speed things up. It may not give us a 100% voter turnout rate, but at least people who don't vote will be contributing to the process. This may also be a way to cut down on incidents of voter fraud without making it harder for people to vote.
There is one more idea I have, but a lot of people may not like it. We have to have licenses to drive and licenses to fish and permits to own guns. It might not be a bad idea if we have to have a license or a permit of some kind to own a computer. It shouldn't be either difficult or expensive to get a computer license/permit. They could be sold wherever computers are sold for a modest fee of $10, but it should require a background check to buy a computer. Convicted pedophiles should not be allowed to own computers in this country.
It is time for us to start dealing with the Internet. No, we do not have the right to legislate how other countries choose to deal with this problem. That's why making porn sites all have the same dot name won't work. Not all porn sites are operated in this country. We can only lead by example. Children can and should have access to computers because of their tremendous educational value. It is the people who prey on children that should not be allowed the same privilege. I know there are those that will circumvent the system, but that doesn't mean we have to make it easy for them.
And while we're at it, we could solve the college drinking problem by raising the legal drinking age to 23. Teenagers who go straight from high school to college generally graduate by the time they're 22.
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via E-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
We could expand the "sin" tax and include rap music. I'm all for freedom of speech until it gets vulgar. Musicians that want to record and release vulgar lyrics could pay a tax for that privilege and people that buy that stuff could pay a higher sales tax as well.
There could be an R-rated movie tax, a Victoria's Secret tax, and a "sinful business" tax for Playboy and Hustler and other assorted magazines.
Do current luxury taxes include spa treatments or gym memberships or designer jeans? I know our collective government has to be more creative than they're letting on. If we spread the taxes out, then no one single group of taxpayers has to shoulder the tax burden. It also gives the American taxpayer the ability to choose which taxes he/she wants to pay.
Food and clothing items less than $20 should be tax exempt. We have to eat and we have to wear clothes. We don't necessarily have to wear designer clothes, but we do have to wear clothes and so do our children.
There should not be a "fat" tax anymore than there should be a gay tax, or a black tax, or any other kind of tax of that nature. Taxes should be on things, not on people. People pay the taxes,things do not.
All the money doesn't have to come from taxes. We could start imposing fines on people who don't vote. Now there's a cure for voter apathy. It won't necessarily be a go to jail offense, unless of course you don't pay the fine or do the community service. People who are too lazy to vote probably don't devote much of their time to community service voluntarily. They're the ones that are going to make our recovery process take longer. At $25 a ticket, not voting in local, state and federal elections might speed things up. It may not give us a 100% voter turnout rate, but at least people who don't vote will be contributing to the process. This may also be a way to cut down on incidents of voter fraud without making it harder for people to vote.
There is one more idea I have, but a lot of people may not like it. We have to have licenses to drive and licenses to fish and permits to own guns. It might not be a bad idea if we have to have a license or a permit of some kind to own a computer. It shouldn't be either difficult or expensive to get a computer license/permit. They could be sold wherever computers are sold for a modest fee of $10, but it should require a background check to buy a computer. Convicted pedophiles should not be allowed to own computers in this country.
It is time for us to start dealing with the Internet. No, we do not have the right to legislate how other countries choose to deal with this problem. That's why making porn sites all have the same dot name won't work. Not all porn sites are operated in this country. We can only lead by example. Children can and should have access to computers because of their tremendous educational value. It is the people who prey on children that should not be allowed the same privilege. I know there are those that will circumvent the system, but that doesn't mean we have to make it easy for them.
And while we're at it, we could solve the college drinking problem by raising the legal drinking age to 23. Teenagers who go straight from high school to college generally graduate by the time they're 22.
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via E-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
Communities
Communites are more than just churches and schools. Communities also include local government. Mayors need to step up to the plate and start organizing their communities. Sponsor a community clean-up day or a chili cook-off and start regeristering voters at every single event.
Connect the dots for your people. Teach them that self-respect means respecting not only their homes but their neighborhoods. Sponsor citizenship classes and self-respect seminars through your local library system. Parents cannot teach their children what they do not know.
And for crying out loud, acknowledge the homeless people in your community. We are in the midst of a national disaster. Pitch tents, park FEMA trailers, do whatever you have to do to put a roof over everybody's head while we sort this mess out. I know, that means you'll need to hire more emergency personnel. Job Alert!
Has anyone figured out yet that we actually do have plenty of jobs that need to be filled. We just don't have the money to pay people to do them. So far, in order to fix this mess, we need more teachers, teachers aides, construction workers, school bus drivers, INS employees, FDA inspectors, and now we've added Police Officers, Firemen and EMT's. More bailout money needs to go here. We won't solve the problems if we don't fill these jobs.
Let's get a move on people! The media needs something more to talk about than what Mrs. Obama wears every single day and what bad manners the English have, or is it the media that has bad manners? Who exactly is it that's complaining about those Christmas gifts? Get some perspective people.
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via E-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
Connect the dots for your people. Teach them that self-respect means respecting not only their homes but their neighborhoods. Sponsor citizenship classes and self-respect seminars through your local library system. Parents cannot teach their children what they do not know.
And for crying out loud, acknowledge the homeless people in your community. We are in the midst of a national disaster. Pitch tents, park FEMA trailers, do whatever you have to do to put a roof over everybody's head while we sort this mess out. I know, that means you'll need to hire more emergency personnel. Job Alert!
Has anyone figured out yet that we actually do have plenty of jobs that need to be filled. We just don't have the money to pay people to do them. So far, in order to fix this mess, we need more teachers, teachers aides, construction workers, school bus drivers, INS employees, FDA inspectors, and now we've added Police Officers, Firemen and EMT's. More bailout money needs to go here. We won't solve the problems if we don't fill these jobs.
Let's get a move on people! The media needs something more to talk about than what Mrs. Obama wears every single day and what bad manners the English have, or is it the media that has bad manners? Who exactly is it that's complaining about those Christmas gifts? Get some perspective people.
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via E-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
Healthcare
Healthy citizens make good citizens. Healthy citizens are able to work, to shop, to be active in their communities. It makes sense that we would want our citizens to be healthy. It makes sense that we want to take care of our children. Unfortunately there are way too many problems with the healthcare system we have because healthcare is not affordable for a vast majority of people. If it were affordable it wouldn't be an issue. The government is spending trillions of dollars in this department.
Unfortunately, all of the options on the table seem to skirt around one of the biggest healthcare expenses we have. The healthcare of illegal immigrants. Texas and California are hit particularly hard by this expense. The Department of Health and Human Services should have the numbers on approximately how much our government spends on the healthcare of people who shouldn't be here. Now, I'm not saying that if someone who is in this country illegally has a heart attack he shouldn't be rushed to the hospital. All lives have value. However, if an illegal alien seeks medical treatment they can't pay for, they should be deported. It's nothing personal. It's a matter of economic survival. We're not only spending money we don't have, we're allowing other people to help us do it!
In these tough economic times we have to take care of our people. We're out of work. We are losing our homes. We have neither the time nor the resources to keep playing footsie with our borders. We will never get the cost of healthcare to come down if we don't get a handle on illegal immigration.
We have to stop sending illegal immigrants mixed messages. We tell them we don't want them to come here illegally and then we take care of them when they get sick, educate their children and give them food stamps. I know there are those that say if we don't give illegal aliens healthcare they can't pay for, then when they get sick they won't seek medical care and that will promote the spread of disease, however, they do have televisions. We could give them fair warning that we're going to stop. Some of them might actually leave of their own free will. People who want to come here specifically for medical treatment can get visas to do that.
It is the philosophy of this blog that while bailouts and stimulus packages are all well and good they completely miss the mark. We need a stimulus/bailout package for our government, not our auto makers. Businesses will come and go. They always have. Hopefully our government will not.
It is our government that needs more people to fill more positions and more money to pay and insure them. It's not about bigger government. I have no idea why anyone would want a bigger government. We don't have enough people working in the positions we've already created. If we did the FDA would be doing a better job inspecting food and drugs. If the FDA had enough people to do their job properly we wouldn't have so many recalls from things that make people sick!
You can complain all you want, but if a company is only running on half the necessary amount of people to get their job done well, then it stands to reason they won't do a good job. Yet we expect no less from our government. And they're bailing everybody out but themselves. Which means the American people are bailing out everyone but themselves. There's very little point in passing new laws or creating new programs when we can't handle the ones we already have.
Healthcare is not a new issue. Immigration is not a new issue. Governement bailouts aren't even a new issue. Anybody remember Lee Iacocca? If we keep arguing partisan politics and policy, history has proven that we will get very little done.
When you think of "We The People, " think of us collectively as a home builder. That's what we are supposed to be doing, building our home. America is our home. President Obama is our new architect. We hire a new architect every few years. But we are the ones paying to build this house. It needs to be built according to our specifications. A lot of people seem to think the house has already been finished and is badly in need of repair, but I'm not sure that's true.
I think our founding fathers laid a strong and sturdy foundation. Our industrious citizens of the past left us their framework. And in the 60's we dropped the ball. That's when we needed to stop and fix the government we already had and we didn't. So yes, those of us that were here in the 60's shoulder the bulk of the responsibility for our country's current problems. We have no excuse. To fix our healthcare problems, we have to fix everything else or we'll just be putting a band-aid on a gunshot wound.
Illegal drug abuse and alcoholism contribute to our governments healthcare expenses too, not just illegal immigrants. If anyone thinks we're winning the war on drugs, they're not watching. What do drug overdoses and rehab cost our government? I'm not saying rehab should not exist. In a perfect world, it wouldn't be needed. I am simply pointing out that lower healthcare costs long term can only be achieved by increasing spending in other needed areas. We can't lower health care costs today. The best we can do today is get help to those who need it now and start taking steps to insure we won't need to spend as much in the future.
Wouldn't it be nice if we could take the money we're spending on healthcare for people who shouldn't be here and put that money into our Veterans healthcare expenses. They have medical facilities that are as badly in need of repair as some of our schools. Oops, here's another job alert!
We have work to do. We're just not getting the jobs done.
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via E-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
Unfortunately, all of the options on the table seem to skirt around one of the biggest healthcare expenses we have. The healthcare of illegal immigrants. Texas and California are hit particularly hard by this expense. The Department of Health and Human Services should have the numbers on approximately how much our government spends on the healthcare of people who shouldn't be here. Now, I'm not saying that if someone who is in this country illegally has a heart attack he shouldn't be rushed to the hospital. All lives have value. However, if an illegal alien seeks medical treatment they can't pay for, they should be deported. It's nothing personal. It's a matter of economic survival. We're not only spending money we don't have, we're allowing other people to help us do it!
In these tough economic times we have to take care of our people. We're out of work. We are losing our homes. We have neither the time nor the resources to keep playing footsie with our borders. We will never get the cost of healthcare to come down if we don't get a handle on illegal immigration.
We have to stop sending illegal immigrants mixed messages. We tell them we don't want them to come here illegally and then we take care of them when they get sick, educate their children and give them food stamps. I know there are those that say if we don't give illegal aliens healthcare they can't pay for, then when they get sick they won't seek medical care and that will promote the spread of disease, however, they do have televisions. We could give them fair warning that we're going to stop. Some of them might actually leave of their own free will. People who want to come here specifically for medical treatment can get visas to do that.
It is the philosophy of this blog that while bailouts and stimulus packages are all well and good they completely miss the mark. We need a stimulus/bailout package for our government, not our auto makers. Businesses will come and go. They always have. Hopefully our government will not.
It is our government that needs more people to fill more positions and more money to pay and insure them. It's not about bigger government. I have no idea why anyone would want a bigger government. We don't have enough people working in the positions we've already created. If we did the FDA would be doing a better job inspecting food and drugs. If the FDA had enough people to do their job properly we wouldn't have so many recalls from things that make people sick!
You can complain all you want, but if a company is only running on half the necessary amount of people to get their job done well, then it stands to reason they won't do a good job. Yet we expect no less from our government. And they're bailing everybody out but themselves. Which means the American people are bailing out everyone but themselves. There's very little point in passing new laws or creating new programs when we can't handle the ones we already have.
Healthcare is not a new issue. Immigration is not a new issue. Governement bailouts aren't even a new issue. Anybody remember Lee Iacocca? If we keep arguing partisan politics and policy, history has proven that we will get very little done.
When you think of "We The People, " think of us collectively as a home builder. That's what we are supposed to be doing, building our home. America is our home. President Obama is our new architect. We hire a new architect every few years. But we are the ones paying to build this house. It needs to be built according to our specifications. A lot of people seem to think the house has already been finished and is badly in need of repair, but I'm not sure that's true.
I think our founding fathers laid a strong and sturdy foundation. Our industrious citizens of the past left us their framework. And in the 60's we dropped the ball. That's when we needed to stop and fix the government we already had and we didn't. So yes, those of us that were here in the 60's shoulder the bulk of the responsibility for our country's current problems. We have no excuse. To fix our healthcare problems, we have to fix everything else or we'll just be putting a band-aid on a gunshot wound.
Illegal drug abuse and alcoholism contribute to our governments healthcare expenses too, not just illegal immigrants. If anyone thinks we're winning the war on drugs, they're not watching. What do drug overdoses and rehab cost our government? I'm not saying rehab should not exist. In a perfect world, it wouldn't be needed. I am simply pointing out that lower healthcare costs long term can only be achieved by increasing spending in other needed areas. We can't lower health care costs today. The best we can do today is get help to those who need it now and start taking steps to insure we won't need to spend as much in the future.
Wouldn't it be nice if we could take the money we're spending on healthcare for people who shouldn't be here and put that money into our Veterans healthcare expenses. They have medical facilities that are as badly in need of repair as some of our schools. Oops, here's another job alert!
We have work to do. We're just not getting the jobs done.
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via E-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Churches
While it is necessary for there to be a separation of church and state in some areas, it does not necessarily follow that there must be separation of church and state in all areas. Churches are a part of our communities. Good citizens practice their religion.
That being said, there is a definite need for church participation in our recovery process. Churches can and should provide their communities with more social activities. Everybody is looking for cheap entertainment and churches need to be on the map. Churches would be the perfect place to move teenage social activities associated with high school to if we ever separate the boys from the girls. Teenagers behave so much better at church than they do at school and teachers won't have to chaperone.
If you are not at this moment a member of a particular church, you may not have known that religious affiliation is connected to good citizenship.
It is the philosophy of this blog not to promote any particular religion, but rather encourage its followers to investigate any religion they so choose. It is always wise to make an informed decision. You don't have to join any church to be a good citizen, but you do have to practice what you profess to be. Not all spiritual traditions include going to church.
Yes, the Bill of Rights does guarantee, "freedom of religion," which is not the same thing as freedom from religion. You are free to practice any religion you so choose, but you have to make a choice in order to be a good citizen. Good citizens do not let people die for rights they are not going to use.
Churches should be the second place we learn about self-respect. They should take more responsibility for sex education in their communities. It is getting too expensive for the schools to keep doing it. Beyond the teaching of Biology, schools shouldn't have to deal with the dispersing of condoms. An all girls school certainly wouldn't. Churches need to actively help people connect the dots from self-respect to sexual activity and the importance of self-respect. There are not enough hours in the current school day for teachers to teach both self-respect and citizenship. Our current society is what you end up with when you have schools that teach the mechanics of sex without the morals and churches that teach the morals without the mechanics. Somebody needs to start teaching the two subjects together. Oh right, that's the parents job. Except, parents cannot teach their children what they do not know!
Churches and schools need to work together in their communities. They should not be enemies nor should they be completely separated. Schools cannot promote any particular religion or church, which does not mean schools cannot promote social activites of all religions and churches. If churches want to provide flyers to send home with school children or place in a school office or waiting area that should be do-able. Parents can't take their kids to family days or movie nights if they don't know they're available. It is not out of the question to believe that more church sponsored community entertainment might lead to more church membership.
A country's government can only be as good as the quality of its citizens.
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via E-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
That being said, there is a definite need for church participation in our recovery process. Churches can and should provide their communities with more social activities. Everybody is looking for cheap entertainment and churches need to be on the map. Churches would be the perfect place to move teenage social activities associated with high school to if we ever separate the boys from the girls. Teenagers behave so much better at church than they do at school and teachers won't have to chaperone.
If you are not at this moment a member of a particular church, you may not have known that religious affiliation is connected to good citizenship.
It is the philosophy of this blog not to promote any particular religion, but rather encourage its followers to investigate any religion they so choose. It is always wise to make an informed decision. You don't have to join any church to be a good citizen, but you do have to practice what you profess to be. Not all spiritual traditions include going to church.
Yes, the Bill of Rights does guarantee, "freedom of religion," which is not the same thing as freedom from religion. You are free to practice any religion you so choose, but you have to make a choice in order to be a good citizen. Good citizens do not let people die for rights they are not going to use.
Churches should be the second place we learn about self-respect. They should take more responsibility for sex education in their communities. It is getting too expensive for the schools to keep doing it. Beyond the teaching of Biology, schools shouldn't have to deal with the dispersing of condoms. An all girls school certainly wouldn't. Churches need to actively help people connect the dots from self-respect to sexual activity and the importance of self-respect. There are not enough hours in the current school day for teachers to teach both self-respect and citizenship. Our current society is what you end up with when you have schools that teach the mechanics of sex without the morals and churches that teach the morals without the mechanics. Somebody needs to start teaching the two subjects together. Oh right, that's the parents job. Except, parents cannot teach their children what they do not know!
Churches and schools need to work together in their communities. They should not be enemies nor should they be completely separated. Schools cannot promote any particular religion or church, which does not mean schools cannot promote social activites of all religions and churches. If churches want to provide flyers to send home with school children or place in a school office or waiting area that should be do-able. Parents can't take their kids to family days or movie nights if they don't know they're available. It is not out of the question to believe that more church sponsored community entertainment might lead to more church membership.
A country's government can only be as good as the quality of its citizens.
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via E-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
Immigration
Illegal aliens are bad citizens often trying to be very good. It is wrong to enter the United States of America illegally. If that were not true, then there would not be a law against it. Good citizens do not break the law. We are flattered that you admire our country so much that you want to live here too. That's why we have a process in place to help you do that legally.
That being said, our naturalization process is a joke. It can take anywhere from five months to four years to complete the process. This is an area that definitely needs more government paper pushers. Yes, people should meet the requirements we set as our standards of an American citizen. Yes, we should do a better job of turning people away at the door. It's not right to keep people waiting that long when they could be seeking citizenship in their second choice country.
Just because some days it seems like we're everyone's number one stop on the immigration highway does not mean we are the only choice available. It might help the situation if we mentioned that to them. Has anybody ever thought about advertising? There are televisions in foreign countries.
And then there's the little matter of the $595 test fee. It would be difficult at this point in time for home grown citizens to come up with that amount of money for a test. It's not right to expect poorer people from countries in a lot worse economic conditions than ours to do it. If we approach the test as a sort of admission tax and based the test fee on a sliding scale according to income, it would be much more in line with the goals we are trying to accomplish than our current methods of operation.
For those who argue on behalf of migrant farm workers, there are two sides to that argument. On the one hand, if cheap labor wasn't available minimum wage might help convince legal American citizens to do the work, teenagers perhaps. On the other hand, 90 day work visas could be issued on a seasonal basis to those who want to come here, do the work and then go back to their families, legally.
It is the philosophy of this blog that illegal immigration should not be rewarded, however, we do not have to act like bullies on a playground refusing to let other kids play on our turf.
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via e- Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
That being said, our naturalization process is a joke. It can take anywhere from five months to four years to complete the process. This is an area that definitely needs more government paper pushers. Yes, people should meet the requirements we set as our standards of an American citizen. Yes, we should do a better job of turning people away at the door. It's not right to keep people waiting that long when they could be seeking citizenship in their second choice country.
Just because some days it seems like we're everyone's number one stop on the immigration highway does not mean we are the only choice available. It might help the situation if we mentioned that to them. Has anybody ever thought about advertising? There are televisions in foreign countries.
And then there's the little matter of the $595 test fee. It would be difficult at this point in time for home grown citizens to come up with that amount of money for a test. It's not right to expect poorer people from countries in a lot worse economic conditions than ours to do it. If we approach the test as a sort of admission tax and based the test fee on a sliding scale according to income, it would be much more in line with the goals we are trying to accomplish than our current methods of operation.
For those who argue on behalf of migrant farm workers, there are two sides to that argument. On the one hand, if cheap labor wasn't available minimum wage might help convince legal American citizens to do the work, teenagers perhaps. On the other hand, 90 day work visas could be issued on a seasonal basis to those who want to come here, do the work and then go back to their families, legally.
It is the philosophy of this blog that illegal immigration should not be rewarded, however, we do not have to act like bullies on a playground refusing to let other kids play on our turf.
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via e- Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
Citizenship
On every public elementary school report card there is a grade for citizenship. There is not, however, an actual class taught on the subject. Most citizenship grades are based on behavior. Children who behave well are good citizens and children who behave badly are poor citizens.
The first five years of life, we learn how to be good citizens from our parents. The foundation of citizenship is self-respect. The basics of self-respect, for those of you who need a refresher course, are good grooming habits and clean living space.
Think about it. Every time anyone buys shampoo or dish soap they are spending money. Spending money stimulates the economy. Spending money is not bad. Spending money you don't have is bad. Therefore, taking baths and cleaning your house helps our country.
Not all parents have the same religious beliefs or morals and ethics, yet I believe we can all agree that taking baths and cleaning our own living space are the foundation we have in common, no matter what our other beliefs.
Here is where we need to start restructuring our educational curriculum. People with no self-respect make poor citizens. Parents cannot teach their children what they do not know. We need to start connecting the dots for our children. Elementary school educations need to include citizenship classes that teach the connection between things like good hygiene and citizenship. It'a all well and good to teach children The Golden Rule, but in certain cases it's also good to teach them to do the things they want other people to do as well, like bathing and cleaning up after themselves.
We may not be able to keep every student from dropping out of high school, but we should certainly see to it that they know how to meet basic life skill requirements before they do. That means we have to teach them before they get to high school. It makes very little sense to expect people to be good citizens if you don't teach them what a good citizen is and why they should want to be one.
There are a multitude of ways to go about accomplishing this goal. We could make school days longer. Of course, if we did that though, we might solve a lot of parents daycare problems. Daycare is a big expense that necessitates the spending of money a lot of people don't have. Remember that pregnant teenage drop out and her boyfriend? They don't make a lot of money and in order to either work or go to school they must have daycare.
Some schools are currently funding student daycare programs which help keep people in school, but that takes money away from hiring more teachers. Perhaps it would be cheaper to separate the boys and girls and educate them on how to be good citizens. Then we could add the subject of citizenship to our standardized tests.
The Department of Education should be able to find out which way would be most cost effective. It remains to be seen whether or not they actually put citizenship classes on their agenda any time soon.
It is the philosophy of this blog that while President Obama is indeed our fearless leader, there's a lot of work for his cabinet to do. It would be nice if the news media paid attention to what all the departments do in the first 100 days and report on that too. Knowing the names of the players and their positions is not enough. We need to hold these "Secretary's" to a higher standard of scrutiny from the American people than what they have previously enjoyed. Reporting what they're up to is at least as important as reporting that a woman called 911 three times to report that McDonald's was out of chicken nuggets.
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via e-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
The first five years of life, we learn how to be good citizens from our parents. The foundation of citizenship is self-respect. The basics of self-respect, for those of you who need a refresher course, are good grooming habits and clean living space.
Think about it. Every time anyone buys shampoo or dish soap they are spending money. Spending money stimulates the economy. Spending money is not bad. Spending money you don't have is bad. Therefore, taking baths and cleaning your house helps our country.
Not all parents have the same religious beliefs or morals and ethics, yet I believe we can all agree that taking baths and cleaning our own living space are the foundation we have in common, no matter what our other beliefs.
Here is where we need to start restructuring our educational curriculum. People with no self-respect make poor citizens. Parents cannot teach their children what they do not know. We need to start connecting the dots for our children. Elementary school educations need to include citizenship classes that teach the connection between things like good hygiene and citizenship. It'a all well and good to teach children The Golden Rule, but in certain cases it's also good to teach them to do the things they want other people to do as well, like bathing and cleaning up after themselves.
We may not be able to keep every student from dropping out of high school, but we should certainly see to it that they know how to meet basic life skill requirements before they do. That means we have to teach them before they get to high school. It makes very little sense to expect people to be good citizens if you don't teach them what a good citizen is and why they should want to be one.
There are a multitude of ways to go about accomplishing this goal. We could make school days longer. Of course, if we did that though, we might solve a lot of parents daycare problems. Daycare is a big expense that necessitates the spending of money a lot of people don't have. Remember that pregnant teenage drop out and her boyfriend? They don't make a lot of money and in order to either work or go to school they must have daycare.
Some schools are currently funding student daycare programs which help keep people in school, but that takes money away from hiring more teachers. Perhaps it would be cheaper to separate the boys and girls and educate them on how to be good citizens. Then we could add the subject of citizenship to our standardized tests.
The Department of Education should be able to find out which way would be most cost effective. It remains to be seen whether or not they actually put citizenship classes on their agenda any time soon.
It is the philosophy of this blog that while President Obama is indeed our fearless leader, there's a lot of work for his cabinet to do. It would be nice if the news media paid attention to what all the departments do in the first 100 days and report on that too. Knowing the names of the players and their positions is not enough. We need to hold these "Secretary's" to a higher standard of scrutiny from the American people than what they have previously enjoyed. Reporting what they're up to is at least as important as reporting that a woman called 911 three times to report that McDonald's was out of chicken nuggets.
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via e-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
Education
Getting people to vote is all well and good, but it also leads to the second major problem that caused this situation, lack of education. Not all eligible voters finish high school.
Our high school drop out rate is too high. Our educational system needs to be restructured. I agree with President Obama that all schools should be in good repair and it is our responsibility to make sure that they are, but we also need more teachers and teacher aides. This should be a primary area for stimulating the job market with more than just construction type work.
While we are repairing our schools we might consider using separate high schools for boys and girls. Yes, it is necessary to teach children social graces, however, when social activity starts leading to sexual activity it is time to separate the sexes, educationally speaking. If we take away the primary breeding ground for teenage boy/girl relationships, then it should necessarily follow that in doing so we will lower the incidents of teenage pregnancy that perpetuate the high rate of high school drop outs. When you take away the primary distraction opposite sexes provide for each other we should also end up with students who have higher grades. Students who are more successful in their studies will also be less likely to drop out. School is not the place for a social life, it's the place for an education.
Yes, separate high schools will create a few minor logistics problems. We'll need to buy more buses and hire more drivers, which creates a few more jobs, but that's a rather small price to pay to lower the rate of high school drop outs and teen pregnancy. We may also have to build a few more high schools because some towns only have one high school and if we did this they would need two. Is that such a bad thing? More schools mean more teachers.
You may not think that this segment of our population is an area that needs immediate attention, however, you're wrong. High school drop outs and pregnant teenagers are where the habits of spending money you don't have begin. Spending money we didn't have is one of the things that got us into this mess and that was caused by lack of education.
You don't really think millions of people went to banks and said," we want to buy homes we know we can't afford, show us how it's done." Yes, it's true that ignorance is no excuse for the law, however, as a society it is our responsibility to make sure our citizens are well educated enough to know whether or not they can afford to buy a house. We dropped the ball.
I know there are those who believe the answer to this problem is not education, but bankers that don't lend money to people they know can't pay it back. Okay, we could do that. Which means that we won't be able to sell many of those empty houses any time soon. And that's okay. Bankers shouldn't loan money to people they know can't pay it back. Why don't you want to spend money on education? Because that's what your argument is saying. You'd rather not spend money on education and let bankers shoulder the responsibility for people spending money they don't have. If you really believe bankers are the ones that got us into this mess, then what makes you think they won't find another way to let this happen again? The cure for ignorance is education. I'm not sure there is a cure for greed. Bankers certainly didn't encourage people to get into huge amounts of debt out of the goodness of their hearts.
It is the philosophy of this blog that as much as the roof of this house does need to be repaired quickly, before the next storm comes, fixing the roof will not help the foundation problems.
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via e-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
Our high school drop out rate is too high. Our educational system needs to be restructured. I agree with President Obama that all schools should be in good repair and it is our responsibility to make sure that they are, but we also need more teachers and teacher aides. This should be a primary area for stimulating the job market with more than just construction type work.
While we are repairing our schools we might consider using separate high schools for boys and girls. Yes, it is necessary to teach children social graces, however, when social activity starts leading to sexual activity it is time to separate the sexes, educationally speaking. If we take away the primary breeding ground for teenage boy/girl relationships, then it should necessarily follow that in doing so we will lower the incidents of teenage pregnancy that perpetuate the high rate of high school drop outs. When you take away the primary distraction opposite sexes provide for each other we should also end up with students who have higher grades. Students who are more successful in their studies will also be less likely to drop out. School is not the place for a social life, it's the place for an education.
Yes, separate high schools will create a few minor logistics problems. We'll need to buy more buses and hire more drivers, which creates a few more jobs, but that's a rather small price to pay to lower the rate of high school drop outs and teen pregnancy. We may also have to build a few more high schools because some towns only have one high school and if we did this they would need two. Is that such a bad thing? More schools mean more teachers.
You may not think that this segment of our population is an area that needs immediate attention, however, you're wrong. High school drop outs and pregnant teenagers are where the habits of spending money you don't have begin. Spending money we didn't have is one of the things that got us into this mess and that was caused by lack of education.
You don't really think millions of people went to banks and said," we want to buy homes we know we can't afford, show us how it's done." Yes, it's true that ignorance is no excuse for the law, however, as a society it is our responsibility to make sure our citizens are well educated enough to know whether or not they can afford to buy a house. We dropped the ball.
I know there are those who believe the answer to this problem is not education, but bankers that don't lend money to people they know can't pay it back. Okay, we could do that. Which means that we won't be able to sell many of those empty houses any time soon. And that's okay. Bankers shouldn't loan money to people they know can't pay it back. Why don't you want to spend money on education? Because that's what your argument is saying. You'd rather not spend money on education and let bankers shoulder the responsibility for people spending money they don't have. If you really believe bankers are the ones that got us into this mess, then what makes you think they won't find another way to let this happen again? The cure for ignorance is education. I'm not sure there is a cure for greed. Bankers certainly didn't encourage people to get into huge amounts of debt out of the goodness of their hearts.
It is the philosophy of this blog that as much as the roof of this house does need to be repaired quickly, before the next storm comes, fixing the roof will not help the foundation problems.
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via e-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
The First 100 Days
Good manners are essential in armchair politics. People are much more inclined to listen to what you have to say if you say it nicely. Resorting to name calling and getting involved in an argument rarely solves anything. You have to keep in mind that the object of armchair politics is to solve the problems, not create more problems.
It is customary in polite society to give a first time, incoming President the common courtesy of 100 days in office before passing judgement. Experience has shown that jumping to conclusions usually hurts one's feet. Yes, there is a lot at stake here, but panic and hysteria usually don't solve much either.
While I did not vote for Barack Obama, I am going to give him his first 100 days. So far, he has stepped up to the plate. He does seem to be giving it his best shot. I may not agree with his politics, but I certainly cannot fault his performance. He is trying to fix what he can, the best way he knows how, with what he has available to him. Can you say the same? Are you stepping up to the plate? Are you giving it your best shot? Are you trying to fix what you can, the best way you know how, with what you have available to you?
People who complain about the problems but don't do much to help fix them need to take a step back. Your responsibilites as a good citizen don't end with voting. If you didn't vote, then go and register to vote now. It's never to late. That would be a contribution to solving the problems. If you voted, then you have a right to complain, but you also have a responsibility to be part of the solution.
Right now, things are bad all over. Charities are being hit particularly hard. Find a local charity and help them. Maybe you can't give money but you could donate your time somewhere. Help your community, your friends, your neighbors. Be creative. Bathe dogs at the pound. Do something to help. We all got ourselves into this. It will take all of us working together to get ourselves out. The more people that don't do their part, the longer it will take to recover. Those who don't want to do their part are part of the problem.
A government of the people, by the people and for the people can't work without the people!
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via e-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
It is customary in polite society to give a first time, incoming President the common courtesy of 100 days in office before passing judgement. Experience has shown that jumping to conclusions usually hurts one's feet. Yes, there is a lot at stake here, but panic and hysteria usually don't solve much either.
While I did not vote for Barack Obama, I am going to give him his first 100 days. So far, he has stepped up to the plate. He does seem to be giving it his best shot. I may not agree with his politics, but I certainly cannot fault his performance. He is trying to fix what he can, the best way he knows how, with what he has available to him. Can you say the same? Are you stepping up to the plate? Are you giving it your best shot? Are you trying to fix what you can, the best way you know how, with what you have available to you?
People who complain about the problems but don't do much to help fix them need to take a step back. Your responsibilites as a good citizen don't end with voting. If you didn't vote, then go and register to vote now. It's never to late. That would be a contribution to solving the problems. If you voted, then you have a right to complain, but you also have a responsibility to be part of the solution.
Right now, things are bad all over. Charities are being hit particularly hard. Find a local charity and help them. Maybe you can't give money but you could donate your time somewhere. Help your community, your friends, your neighbors. Be creative. Bathe dogs at the pound. Do something to help. We all got ourselves into this. It will take all of us working together to get ourselves out. The more people that don't do their part, the longer it will take to recover. Those who don't want to do their part are part of the problem.
A government of the people, by the people and for the people can't work without the people!
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via e-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
Voting
Just because you have to be 18 to play Armchair Politics does not necessarily mean that people under the age of 18 should not be represented.
Rule #2- Vote!
People who do not vote do not have the right to play. Again, that does not mean that their views should not be represented, especially if they're elderly or ill, however, if you forfeit your right to vote through your own involvement in criminal activities, be those activities incarceration or immigration makes no difference, you can't vote, you can't play. You may, however, submit any solutions you may have to the proper elected officials and take credit for doing so. People who are too lazy to vote should not be represented. They don't care enough about themselves to show up. They don't care enough about their country to show up. They don't care enough about their community to show up. They don't have a right to complain! Some rights must be earned.
It is the philosophy of this blog that being a good citizen requires exercising your right to vote.
This right is a privilege for which the American Revolution was fought. This privilege has been taken for granted by far too many people for far too long and the current political problems in this country are a result.
As bitter as this pill may be to swallow, when complaining about the economy, the stimulus package, the bailouts, et al, keep in mind that the bulk of the blame for our situation belongs to us. We did this to ourselves. Think about it. What has voter turnout been for the past 50 years? This situation did not happen over night.
The first step to solving the problems in this country long term is getting rid of voter apathy.
Barack Obama made some strides in this department.
Candidates being responsible for getting out the vote is what reduces elections to popularity contests. A law should be passed that makes registering to vote complusive, like the draft. 18 year old boys still have to register for a draft we don't use, but they are not similarly compelled to register to vote and neither are 18 year old girls. Seems like it wouldn't take much money to fix this problem. While some people might still not be compelled to actually vote it would certainly give us a more accurate account of how many people are eligible to vote and don't. If 18 year old citizens of this country do not want to vote, then maybe the voting age should be changed to 21. It seems rather wasteful that men have died for a right we are too thoughtless to use. Shame on us!
This problem may well take the next four years to fix, but we should certainly take at least one step toward fixing it this year.
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via e-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
Rule #2- Vote!
People who do not vote do not have the right to play. Again, that does not mean that their views should not be represented, especially if they're elderly or ill, however, if you forfeit your right to vote through your own involvement in criminal activities, be those activities incarceration or immigration makes no difference, you can't vote, you can't play. You may, however, submit any solutions you may have to the proper elected officials and take credit for doing so. People who are too lazy to vote should not be represented. They don't care enough about themselves to show up. They don't care enough about their country to show up. They don't care enough about their community to show up. They don't have a right to complain! Some rights must be earned.
It is the philosophy of this blog that being a good citizen requires exercising your right to vote.
This right is a privilege for which the American Revolution was fought. This privilege has been taken for granted by far too many people for far too long and the current political problems in this country are a result.
As bitter as this pill may be to swallow, when complaining about the economy, the stimulus package, the bailouts, et al, keep in mind that the bulk of the blame for our situation belongs to us. We did this to ourselves. Think about it. What has voter turnout been for the past 50 years? This situation did not happen over night.
The first step to solving the problems in this country long term is getting rid of voter apathy.
Barack Obama made some strides in this department.
Candidates being responsible for getting out the vote is what reduces elections to popularity contests. A law should be passed that makes registering to vote complusive, like the draft. 18 year old boys still have to register for a draft we don't use, but they are not similarly compelled to register to vote and neither are 18 year old girls. Seems like it wouldn't take much money to fix this problem. While some people might still not be compelled to actually vote it would certainly give us a more accurate account of how many people are eligible to vote and don't. If 18 year old citizens of this country do not want to vote, then maybe the voting age should be changed to 21. It seems rather wasteful that men have died for a right we are too thoughtless to use. Shame on us!
This problem may well take the next four years to fix, but we should certainly take at least one step toward fixing it this year.
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via e-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
Be A Good Listener
Armchair politics is one of the great American pastimes. Unlike armchair quarterbacks though, armchair politicians are always in season. Although I am not entirely certain I was present when the game was invented, someone seems to have asked the American people, "What would you do if you were President?" At least, I think that's what happened because everyone acts as if they have the answer. If they didn't at least have an answer, then they shouldn't be complaining. Complaining doesn't do anybody any good. It's a waste of energy. Patience is a virtue, complaining is not. People who complain without having a solution in mind are people who don't play armchair politics by the rules. Perhaps they don't know the rules.
Rule #1- Be A Good Listener
To play armchair politics it is wise to listen before speaking. When your path is crossed by someone spouting political complaints, ask them what their solution is to the problem. How they answer this question will give you clues as to how to proceed. If they don't have a solution, then their complaints should be ignored. They don't care enough about the problem to discuss it intelligently. They don't know enough about the problem to have their opinion. Their opinion actually belongs to someone else they admire, most likely a media spokesperson of some sort.
It is also wise to pay attention to their questions. Are they asking you any questions? If they are not asking you about your views, then they are not interested in what you think. There is no point in getting into a debate with someone who doesn't care what you think. They have already made up their minds. Listen to their solutions. Maybe they've thought of something you haven't.
It is the philosophy of this blog that armchair politics, when played properly, might be a useful tool to solving some of the current political problems. It is unrealistic to think everyone will agree on any or all issues. We may, however, through being good listeners, become more understanding. In large part, politics is about learning the fine art of compromise.
To follow the story this blog tells you must read the entries in the order in which they were written.
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via E-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
Rule #1- Be A Good Listener
To play armchair politics it is wise to listen before speaking. When your path is crossed by someone spouting political complaints, ask them what their solution is to the problem. How they answer this question will give you clues as to how to proceed. If they don't have a solution, then their complaints should be ignored. They don't care enough about the problem to discuss it intelligently. They don't know enough about the problem to have their opinion. Their opinion actually belongs to someone else they admire, most likely a media spokesperson of some sort.
It is also wise to pay attention to their questions. Are they asking you any questions? If they are not asking you about your views, then they are not interested in what you think. There is no point in getting into a debate with someone who doesn't care what you think. They have already made up their minds. Listen to their solutions. Maybe they've thought of something you haven't.
It is the philosophy of this blog that armchair politics, when played properly, might be a useful tool to solving some of the current political problems. It is unrealistic to think everyone will agree on any or all issues. We may, however, through being good listeners, become more understanding. In large part, politics is about learning the fine art of compromise.
To follow the story this blog tells you must read the entries in the order in which they were written.
Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato
This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via E-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
