Starving Children in … Idaho?

We Are The 99%

Aaron Schmidt, an 18-year-old student from South Dakota, hopped on a bus and joined the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York City. Eventually, his family tracked him down and he has returned to his hometown in Wisconsin, where he is working on having the governor tarred and feathered …

… which hardly matters, except that his is an interesting story. If I was still a young, single man, I’d be out on the East Coast, too—and from there, I’d travel the globe. As it is, I’ll stay here and create my own worlds and report on someone else’s adventures … which honestly suits me fine, since I suffer from a chronic case of bloat and sloth.

Hmmm … scientists have discovered new evidence that suggests that human beings began fishing approximately 1.9 million years ago; they were expert deep-sea fisherman 42,000 years ago … all of which is rather astounding since everyone knows that the universe is only 6,000 years old.

Right. I’m just going through the headlines, sucking on a gumload of snuff and drinking cheap beer. My wife and her friend are playing cards while they listen to scrub rock—and as much as I’d like to win some money from them, I’m addicted to the news stream.

For instance, more evictions are planned for OWS encampments in places such as Los Angeles and Philadelphia, although the officials in those cities are not using the same heavy-handed, confrontational tactics as their counterparts in Oakland, New York, and the like.

"I burned my bra and they maced me for it," said one protester

I know it’s only been a couple of months, but I can’t help but feel that perhaps it’s time to take this thing to the next level, whatever that is. Many supporters of the movement have denounced OWS’s efforts as a waste of time and the kind of crap that only hippies or crusty jugglers would pull—but there is a point. Rather than merely demonstrating and organizing rallies on the weekends, the occupiers are showing their commitment and resolve—and by doing that, they are garnering attention and gaining support.

But still, we have yet to see a clear plan of action. There are fundamental flaws in our system; however, there is no reason to throw out the baby with the bath water. The United States and its Constitution are not the problem; the Bill of Rights—the American Dream, as it were—has been hijacked and ignored by opportunistic thugs, a situation that can be remedied by restoring power to the people through the electoral process.

So … OWS needs to come to grip with the old adage that one must change the system from within. “The time has come,” the Walrus said, “to begin lining up honest candidates for the 2012 elections”—and that is what needs to happen next. I have already endorsed Roseanne Barr for president—and if not her, then maybe Jesse Ventura.

Star Trek: the old & the new (Coming in May, 2013)

I recently complained to my wife that it seems like we’ve been waiting an awfully long time for the new Star Trek movie to come out. Well, Paramount Pictures has finally said that it will premiere on May 17, 2013 … in 3D.

Poor old Herman Cain just can’t catch a break these days. Another woman has come forward, this one alleging that she had a 13-year-long affair with the candidate. Ginger White says that her fling with Cain ended only months ago; Cain, for his money, denies it. What’s interesting though, is that for the first time, Herman Cain is talking about dropping out of the race to spare his wife and family any further embarrassment.

And speaking of embarrassment, according to an article on MSNBC’s website, many of the 46 million Americans who depend on food stamps are so desperate that they line up at Wal-Mart in the middle of the night to shop for groceries, shivering and hungry, watching the clock until their benefits arrive.

Becca Reeder and her husband, T.J. Fowler, are one of the families shopping before the sun rises.

When NBC News visited their home six days before the first of the month, they had no milk in their refrigerator.  Among the few things left were water, bacon grease for the dog’s food, a little bit of apple juice, cheese and tortillas.

The couple and their 2-year-old son, Miles, live in Nampa, Idaho, about a 30-minute drive from Boise. Reeder and Fowler married in September. She recently had to pawn her wedding ring to help support the family.

“As long as I got my family, I’m good,” she said.

The newlyweds are both certified nursing assistants but have been unable to find work in their field.  Fowler is commuting an hour and a half round trip to a part-time job flipping burgers at a fast-food restaurant and Reeder is not working.

They never imagined they would need food stamps to get by.

The NYPD has a new ad campaign

Well … no shit. But according to a lot of people that I’ve talked to, Reeder and Fowler (and everyone like them) are just lazy. Shoot, Herman Cain said so. Here’s what’s interesting: all of those job-creating tax breaks for the rich have somehow driven up unemployment in Idaho from 2% to 9.1% in the last two years.

Kathy Gardner, director of Idaho Hunger Relief Task Force, said this: “We know that Idahoans are in a desperate situation. They are watering down baby formula. Parents are cutting back on what they’re eating so that their children can have food. We know that families are getting up in the middle of the night to get to the store.”

Jessica Postma and fiancé James Dougherty often go without food or just eat rice toward the end of the month, so that the five children in their blended family of seven can have more balanced meals.

When NBC News first met the couple, Postma was working as a supervisor at a call center making $13.50 an hour. She recently lost that job.  She has found a new job where she will make less money.  Dougherty has a background in banking and sales training. He’d been out of work for two months when he recently found a job taking customer service calls from home for a tech company. That job pays him $8.50 an hour.

The article goes on to describe how Postma couldn’t afford a ten-dollar book for her child at the school’s book fair. That same kind of thing has happened to me more times than I care to remember … and I’ll guarantee you this: the crooks on Wall Street can’t fathom how that feels.

I have to wonder: what do these people think of the Occupy Wall Street movement?

Here’s another good article to read: “Fed lent banks nearly $8 trillion during crisis, report shows” … or maybe this one: “US, Europe risk another recession, report warns”

You know what? Fuck this. I’m gonna go watch TV.

Here’s your wisdom:

Tags: 2012, Aaron Schmidt, Bad Day, Becca Reeder, beer, California, drinking, food stamps, Ginger White, Herman Cain, Idaho, Idaho Hunger Relief Task Force, James Dougherty, Jesse Ventura, Jessica Postma, John T. Schmitz, Kathy Gardner, Kurt Cobain, Los Angeles, minnesota, MSNBC, New York City, Nirvana, NYPD, Oakland, Occupy Wall Street, OWS, Paramount Pictures, Peter Joseph, Philadelphia, police brutality, presidential race, REM, Roseanne Barr, RT America, Russia Today, Scott Walker, Secret LAboratory, snuff, South Dakota, Star Trek, T.J. Fowler, The "Priest" They Called Him, the American Dream, The Bill of Rights, the Zeitgeist Movement, TZM, videos, Wal-Mart, We Are The 99%, William S. Burroughs, Wisconsin, youtube

This entry was posted on November 28, 2011 at 9:58 pm and is filed under Editor's Column, National Affairs, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.