Where will it end?

Seeing what I did of the rally in Washington followed by the defeat of the Farm Bill by those who thought it didn't punish people for being poor enough, that's what I had to ask myself.
To listen to the speakers at the rally, you would think people not only chose to be poor, but aggressively demanded it.
This picture they draw of an imaginary group of people spending every waking hour figuring out how to waste their lives and scam and steal from all the hard workers
is false, unethical and dangerous.
Contrary to what Margaret Thatcher thought, we DO live in a society. History has shown us time and time again that we ARE all in this together and society cannot really advance properly if we leave some people behind.
Part of this is unseen, as in who knows what inventions or advances those who are not given the chance might have come up with? But part of it is merely unrecognized, as in what victims of crime might have been saved if the criminal was given a different path in time?
You may not see how it affects your life, but the effect is there, nevertheless.
Somehow we MUST get past this false dichotomy. There are not, not in the way it is getting presented, good and bad people. There are people who get breaks and people who don't, there are people who respond to situations differently, maybe better and worse, but ultimately, we are all human beings and God has put us all here for a reason. We need to look at each other with compassion and try to figure out what that reason is.
If instead we allow a small but vocal group to divide us and create distrust and hate, things will get worse.
The ending of this is in our hands.

Get real

So the Republicans have done it again. Job legislation, or anything else that might help someone languishes while they pass unconstitutional, doomed anti-choice legislation.
One might think this is principled if such strategy was ever conducted by anyone else in similar situations, but in fact, it is a blatant effort at shoring up the insane right wing base they need to get elected, since they have lost any other voters.
Instead this is the most overtly self-interested group of legislators following the bidding of the most overtly controlling group of supporters.
True Christianity has been left behind long ago by these fanatics, replaced by an overriding need to control the lives of others in the name of religion.
In this way they are matched by the anti-religionists, attempting to control others for their own cause.
It seems almost impossible for humans to believe in or care about something without trying to force everyone else to feel the same.
Meanwhile, the important issues where they are unable to or uninterested in having control over others sit off to the side while those for whom they are vital issues continue to suffer.

Welcome to the 21st century

I am one of what seems to be the majority of Americans who is not outraged at the government 'spying' on my communications. IMO, the Boston bombing proves that surveillance helps to at least catch criminals and terrorists, if not always prevent their actions. Frankly, I don't see privacy in this sense as such a big deal. Just the keeping of this information doesn't bother me.
What does concern me is what might be done with the information at some later time. President Obama has established some safeguards, filing for warrants where Bush refused to and keeping Congress informed. This is important. It's true that future presidents could fail to do this, or even go farther in the misuse of this information.
For that reason, we need to establish limits on these programs. This is the responsibility of our legislative body. And this can be done without dismantling the necessary information gathering to keep us safe.
Another thing that concerns me is the obviously overbroad issuance of security clearances. Serious reforms need to be made in this area.
I have heard many make the claim that the American people need to make the decisions of what kind of security programs we have. Oddly, I hear no one say that if the American people know about all the security programs we have, everyone in the world will have the ability to know as well. What's the point of a security program if everyone knows about it? The global nature of information and communication today mandates that the American people NOT know about some, perhaps many, programs. I understand that and I am fine with it.
As long as it is overseen by all three branches of the government and not misused.

Walmart from all sides

I've seen the new Walmart commercials, including the one with a man that says "When people look at me, I hope they see someone building a better life" and I want to finish the sentence "on the backs of the underpaid and abused Walmart workers." Because that IS what's happening.
I know there are people who need to shop at Walmart, even though these commercials are trying to appeal to better off shoppers, but the fact remains that the 'savings' the shoppers are getting come right out of the hides of the workers and the suppliers workers. This is no way to run an economy. The people at the top of Walmart take home $20 million plus. Those at the bottom $15K. They are not, as the people in the ad, putting aside a little for braces or college, they are praying they can keep feeding their family.
Many of them can't without government aid.
And then we have a Congressman quoting the bible about those who won't work not eating - OK, let's start with making sure all those who DO work can eat! Even that would be better than what we have now!
Walmart has stepped up for the environment, building green stores and carrying organic produce.
Smithfield stepped up for animal rights, guaranteeing the pigs humane working conditions.
Both companies did this BEFORE they would give their workers decent conditions.
Why is it that any other, every other concession will be made before simply treating your workers as human beings with the God given right to a decent life? Not anything special, not luxury, just a decent comfortable life.
And why do the American people continue to allow this?