Things That Keep Me Up Nights

High on my list of "things that keep me up at night" is corporate America.  I understand that not all corporations are the same, but the ones I'm talking about are transforming this country in the worst kind of ways.  

 

 (from Faithless Daughter page on Facebook.  Appreciate your sharing it on FB!)

 

 This reminder from a "real American" is my kick in the pants to corporate greed—and every other manifestation of  greed in the form of overuse—overindulgence without regard to our Earth Mother.   Yep, the trashing of our environment also keeps me up at night.  Did you hear the latest report from the consortium (my word, not sure what the group's designation  is) of scientists the other day?  Global warming is happening even more rapidly than they thought and it definitely is caused, for the most part, by carbon emissions—us.  Humans.  We can't reverse the damages, but we can't afford to waste time slowing this process down.  Inertia will NOT do at this point (and many points before now).  When will our President announce some major initiatives to slow down this catastrophic happening!?

 

Once this tendonitis is gone (I know.  I'm pretty tired of it myself!) and I can write at length without paying the price, I'll share more thoughts on corporations.  For now, this piece by Bill Moyers has to be good.  Because it's Moyers.   I'm going to do something I rarely do—share it before reading it myself. 

http://billmoyers.com/content/demand-an-end-to-corporate-tax-dodging/

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Here's another one that's keeping me awake and sickening me beyond words:   Columbia, SC was my home for nearly 30 years, and I love that "famously hot city."  I still spend a good bit of time there.   It's about to become famous for something far worse than the summer heat.  And it has to do with how the City is treating its homeless citizens.  Check out this article at Think Progress and let me know what you think.  I have one word at this point: horrifying.

 

www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fthinkprogress.org%2Fjustice%2F2013%2F08%2F20%2F2496741%2Fcolumbia-criminalize-homeless%2F&h=wAQHgqxoF&s=1 

 

 A friend who has devoted most of her adult life to easing the plight of the poor and homeless tells me the homeless have taken to wearing burlap "lapel pins" with the letter "H" written on them.   It doesn't take much imagination to recognize what the "H" stands for— you can almost hear the rattle of boxcars.  I get queasy thinking about it,  the inhumanity that's all over this "humanitarian" decision.  Geeeez, people,  Geeez ,City Council, how can YOU sleep?

 

So, if homeless human beings are "transported" to a site away from places where people can SEE them, then the shameful problem of homelessness no longer exists?  Taking them away from the city will keep the sight of them from annoying downtown inhabitants as they come and go from their cushy condos?  Of course if the name of the "place out of town" is pretty enough, we can all imagine it's a Club Med of some kind.  Good God!

Another friend points out that the homeless will be isolated because mass transit in Columbia is non-existent.  She says, "Why not call it what it is?  A leper colony."   

 

Security a factor?   Are you kidding?  Most homeless people are just trying to survive the day, the hour, the minute—to keep from dying of heat stroke or freezing to death, depending on the season.   They tend to travel light, unarmed.  Which is more than can be said for too big a segment of the gun-happy citizenry. 

So, let's ask ourselves "What would Jesus do?"  For starters, I'm pretty sure he'd be kicking some City Council ass.