This is a great episode of the Bill Moyers Show from April 2010. So, what would Martin Luther King think about our society more than 40 years after his death? We must remember why Martin Luther King was in Memphis. He was starting the Poor People’s Campaign. It is time for us to pick up where King left off. We need a Poor People’s Campaign.
American companies have reported record profits for the third quarter of 2010.
“The nation’s workers may be struggling, but American companies just had their best quarter ever. American businesses brought in $1.66 trillion at an annual rate in the third quarter, according to a Commerce Department report released Tuesday. That is the highest figure recorded since the government began keeping track over 60 years ago, at least in nominal or non-inflation-adjusted terms. Corporate profits have been going gangbusters for a while. Since their cyclical low in the fourth quarter of 2008, profits have grown for seven consecutive quarters, at some of the fastest rates in history. This breakneck pace can be partly attributed to strong productivity growth — which means companies have been able to make more with less — as well as the fact that some of the profits of American companies come from abroad.”
What do you think these profits mean for working people?
Layoffs?
Wage cuts?
Benefit cuts?
More temporary workers instead of full-time positions?
Who should we blame for the hard times facing the American worker?
Muslims?
Obama?
Immigrants?
What a country this is right now.
(Blogger’s Note–I live in Houston.)
Doing so would—In the view of the far-right— have the double-barreled effect of possibly saving money—If only in the short-term and at great human cost—and finding yet another way to stick it to Washington.
(Below–Double-barreled rifle. Photo by Commander Zulu. )
It is estimated that 3.6 million Texans use Medicaid and CHIP.
Here is the Texas Medicaid web page. Here is CHIP web page.
A state program would possibly be established to replace participation in federal programs.
Yet since leaving these programs would end the federal match, Texans would suffer.
Does anyone think that Texas would set up a program that would really help people?
Of course, the goal here is to save money and make a point that Texas can do whatever it wants no matter who it hurts.
Whether this would save money for cities and counties is another question. Who would care for people who need help?
Texas leads the nation in the percentage of people without health insurance.
This is what Texas has become. This is what our friends, family and neighbors who voted Republican asked for at the ballot box.
Maybe not every person who voted Republican understood what they were going to get, but these are the facts.
In the hard slog ahead, those of us who don’t want to live in a barbaric place are just going to have to do our best to spread the word.
Spreading the word involves communicating to those we know what is going on. This has to be a constant effort. Many people just pay attention at election time. People need to be aware of the facts before the heat of an election.
It would also be good if those who most need the help would better meet the personal responsibility of voting in every election.
We need to do better. P wrote this comment to my blog and it is heartbreaking -
Beaumont,Tx. I have had heath problems for the last 10 years yet I have managed to hardly ever miss work. Because of my health I have only managed to get a little more than minimum wage. My wife and I barely manage on a monthly basis as it is (no insurance). Anyone who has ever had to buy meds with no ins. can surely relate to that. In the two months prior to mandantory evacuation for both Gustav and Ike … I had a heart attack and quad. bypass. We were totally broke and stuck in Paris Tx. when they finally started letting people come back to Beaumont. Thankfully a very nice person wired us some money to get home. Other than that person’s generosity we have received (1) debit card from Texas workforce with a whopping $5 dollars on it.
It is incredibly difficult to understand how some people can be so insensitive. There REALLY ARE people who REALLY need help. And yes I understand that there ARE people who just take advantage of and abuse the things that were meant to help the persons that REALLY need help.
I sure don’t know the answer ….. I guess if I did I would have a great job and maybe wouldn’t be writing this.
I just feel that no matter what I do or have done in life I couldn’t even buy a break if I had the money.
Just please be aware that there are SOME really GOOD people in this world …. and SOME of them REALLY NEED HELP.
My good friend, Timothy Johnson, Ph.D., was recently honored by the Buncombe County Republican party. Timothy Johnson has been elected party chair. It did not go unnoticed that he is the first black elected party chair in Buncombe County – Republican or Democratic. In an interview with the Weaverville newspaper, Tim commented on how many blacks are “ignorant” of the bedrock beliefs of the Republican Party. Dr. Johnson believes that the ideals of the Republican Party line up very well with the ideals of the Black community.
Before I go on any further, I would like to say that no one and no party has cornered the market on ethics or morality. There are bad and evil people that are motivated by greed and power in both parties. But, with that being said, I think we can look over the past 40 years and honestly begin to evaluate which party truly benefitted Blacks and continues to benefit minorities and the underprivileged. Let’s look at a few issues.
Civil rights. This one is easy. There is no contest. In the 60s the Democrats stood with Blacks. Southern Democrats who were opposed to integration did not like the direction of the party and slowly but surely left the Democratic Party and joined the Republican Party. Were there individual Republicans who believed that integration was inevitable? Were there individual Republicans who believed that segregation was an abomination? I think the answer is yes on both counts. Did the Republican party change their platform in 1964 and 1968 to appease Southern Whites? Yes.
The Economy. Republicans like to talk about cutting government spending. I lived in Texas most of my life. Republicans rule in Texas. I saw the state government cut so deeply that some regulatory agencies had to stop regulating. They had to fire some government workers because there was no more money. Republicans stood back and smiled but when you go to the DMV and have to wait 2 or 3 hours just to talk to someone before you can begin the process of getting your license? Please think of those cuts. When you get a brand new tatoo which gives you a skin infection or possibly even hepatitis because there was not enough inspectors to regularly inspect that parlor who’s smiling now? [Read more →]
Senator John Edwards states in a passionate speak from Grand Rapids, Michigan that “The reason that I’m here tonight is because the Democratic voters in America have made their choice and so have I.”
He went on, “This election is about taking down those walls of the past so that we can see what’s possible.”
Nothing can really stop Senator Barack Obama now.
Rising prices for wheat and rice have created a food crisis in much of the world.
People cannot afford the food they need to eat. Here is an “Economist” story on this subject.
Below is an excerpt from the “Economist” article—
Last year wheat prices rose 77% and rice 16%. These were some of the sharpest rises in food prices ever. But this year the speed of change has accelerated. Since January, rice prices have soared 141%; the price of one variety of wheat shot up 25% in a day. Some 40km outside Abidjan, Mariam Kone, who grows sweet potatoes, okra and maize but feeds her family on imported rice, laments: “Rice is very expensive, but we don’t know why.”
The prices mainly reflect changes in demand—not problems of supply, such as harvest failure. The changes include the gentle upward pressure from people in China and India eating more grain and meat as they grow rich and the sudden, voracious appetites of western biofuels programmes, which convert cereals into fuel. This year the share of the maize (corn) crop going into ethanol in America has risen and the European Union is implementing its own biofuels targets. To make matters worse, more febrile behaviour seems to be influencing markets: export quotas by large grain producers, rumours of panic-buying by grain importers, money from hedge funds looking for new markets.
Here is a “New York Times” story on the topic discussing the global implications of the crisis.
Given that a portion of the crisis has to do with biofuel demand in the United States and that we are all connected in this world, it would be good to hear Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barack Obama address this subject as an important campaign topic.
It’s easy to say that we won’t have “cowboy” foreign policy any more. Let’s back up these words with a genuine outreach to people suffering in the world.
There are many ways to look at poverty. No matter how you slice it, poverty has been worse and tougher under the Bush Administation.
Any weekend that includes the following is problematic – septic tank, my basement, hotel, no DirecTV and spending plenty of money. That’s my weekend. More later.
A recent heat wave in Memphis, Tennessee led to the death of at least 13 people in that city.
Many—maybe all—of these people lacked air conditioners. Not having air conditioners, they died from the heat.
I’ve been to Memphis once. In 1998. I spent an evening walking around Beale Street. Beale Street is the so-called Birthplace of the Blues.
What I saw on Beale Street were young black kids doing dance moves for mostly white tourists. The kids were hoping for a handout. I did not find Beale Street appealing.
Martin Luther King died in Memphis while fighting for striking sanitation workers.
What progress has been made in Memphis since King’s death? It seems that whatever progress may have been made, much more remains to be done.
Outstanding interview. This interview gives an excellent window into how Bono evolved into the rock star who has cultural awareness. He truly understands the problems of Africa. He used a Live Aid analogy. He said that that concert raised approximate $250 million. He said the debt that Africa countries owed to Western countries was approximately that per week. Something had to change.
Errington C. Thompson, MD, is a surgeon, scholar, full-time sports fan and part-time political activist. He is active in a number of community projects and initiatives. Through medicine, he strives to improve the physical health of all he treats...
