tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242237432024-03-13T16:05:26.130-04:00Cranial SoupPeas, carrots, green beans, and gray matter.Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24223743.post-66403586544423404992008-10-15T12:45:00.010-04:002012-10-03T23:43:08.189-04:00[Blog Action Day] The American Spaghetti Crisis: Part 2 (Our Nation's Starving Students)<a href="http://blogactionday.org/" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257429965677706034" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/SPYkst-2uzI/AAAAAAAAAfA/iNhvmy4od38/s400/b2008.png" style="float: left; margin: 20px 10px 10px 0px;" /></a><br />
I touched on this issue before in a <a href="http://cranialsoup.blogspot.com/2008/06/american-spaghetti-crisis.html">previous article</a> about out of control food prices and how it is affecting the poor of this country, but one group that I did not take into consideration when I wrote it, was college students.<br />
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This is why I felt the need to write a Part 2. (<a href="http://blogactionday.org/" target="_blank">Blog Action Day</a> was the reason why I delayed publishing it till today.)<br />
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Due to the rise in student poverty, you may now add them to both the group of kids sufferring from malnutrition, unable to concentrate in school due to their growling stomachs, and also to the group that is struggling with unemployment and the lack of available jobs.<br />
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College students are a group of people that are traditionally strapped for cash and live on tight budgets, with ramen being a staple of many of their diets. (It's not just a joke...it's real!)<br />
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It is difficult to make ends meet when you have to go to school all day, spend a substantial amount of time studying, and make sure you get enough rest in order to perform well in school the next day.<br />
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It doesn't leave that much free time for employment, and if students are employed, it's usually only part time for minimum wage. And with many businesses currently feeling the crunch and cutting their workforce, those jobs are becoming more scarce and the competition for them rising.<br />
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In many communities, students are competing with low income families that have kids to feed, for those fewer available low paying jobs. And during the summer, they may even be competing with their temporarily unemployed teachers, who also need more money to make ends meet and survive through the summer, till they return to work again in September.<br />
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Forget the stereotypes of the typical college student wasting all their money on booze and partying it up all the time. It just isn't true, any more (if it ever even was). The vast majority are working themselves to death and rarely have the time, money, or energy for booze and parties.<br />
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And forget the stereotypes of students being able to just hit mom & dad up for more cash. Most parents have set a strict budget for their kids in college, if they are even willing or able to give them any help at all with personal expenses. And the parents that are willing to help, are feeling the squeeze themselves, with the rising food and gasoline prices eating into their extra cash they might normally have and be willing to contribute to support their children away at college.<br />
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The truth is, most students are more or less on their own for providing for their personal needs above and beyond their tuition, books, and housing; with many living well below the poverty line, and drowning in debt. The rising cost of fuel is eating away at whatever extra cash they may have on hand to feed themselves. The cost of gasoline is also affecting their ability to hold a job and earn anything at all, to cover their cost of living.<br />
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And because their parents can still claim most of them as dependants, statistics are based upon the income of the parents and not the actual cash the students have available at their disposal, so most of these poverty stricken young adults are not even included in the statistics that refer to students living below the poverty line. They are this nation's hidden poor.<br />
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The rise in food prices isn't helping things, and are driving students to drain the already scarce supplies of the local food pantries that are already struggling to keep up with the burden of demands from poor and out of work families, while donations dwindle, as the middle class cuts back on "unnecessary" spending.<br />
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This is adversely affecting the already poor, the ones that were relying on food pantries long before the students started showing up. There is only so much food available, and it's not enough to go around. The rising number of students in need, is making the problem much worse.<br />
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The current economic crisis is going to seriously aggravate the problem further this winter, and it is likely that contributions will dip even lower, and need will increase even more, as the unemployment rate rises even higher.<br />
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Your local food pantry will need your help, more than ever, during this time of economic crisis. If you can spare anything at all, please consider making regular donations of food to the one closest to you. A little bit can go a long way and help a lot of people get by this winter, and beyond.<br />
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These are the kinds of items they would always be in need of:<br />
<ul>
<li>spaghetti and other pasta products</li>
<li>spaghetti sauce (preferably with vegetables or meat)</li>
<li>canned meats (like tuna or chicken)</li>
<li>shelf stable milk that doesn't need refridgeration (something like <a href="http://www.farmlanddairies.com/Parmalatmilk.htm">Parmalat</a>)</li>
<li>canned and dried beans</li>
<li>peanut butter & jelly</li>
<li>hot &cold cereals</li>
<li>pancake mix & syrup (get the "complete" kind that doesn't require eggs)</li>
<li>rice</li>
<li>canned fruits and vegetables</li>
<li>soups and stews (stuff with lots of meat & vegetables)</li>
</ul>
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Just think healthy & nutritious, and don't give anything that you wouldn't eat. This is not an invitation to clean out your pantry of all your unwanted crap. They don't want your dust covered cans of gourmet liver paté and jars of pickled baby corn, that neither you nor your dog would eat.<br />
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If you are giving anything that requires something else to make it a complete meal, be sure to buy the other item to go with it, such as is the case with stuff like pasta & sauce, pancake mix & syrup, peanut butter & jelly, and cereal & milk.<br />
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When in doubt, contact your local food pantry and ask what they need most, or if they are willing to accept an item you may want to provide, before you make your purchase.<br />
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Probably about the easiest way you could do this, is to just pick up at least one extra non-perishable meal each week, when you do your shopping for your family. Then drop off the food you bought at your local pantry, on your way home.<br />
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If you are having trouble locating a local food pantry near your home, pick up your phone and call churches in your neighborhood. Many of them serve their community by running a food pantry.<br />
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Most do not require the people they serve to be a member of their church or even hold any religious beliefs, at all. And they don't use it as an opportunity to preach their flavor of religion to the people they serve, either. So if you are an athiest/agnostic, this shouldn't be an issue for you. Don't let it stand in the way. (Who cares why churches help, as long as they help and do it fairly.)<br />
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Read More:<br />
<a href="http://cranialsoup.blogspot.com/2008/06/american-spaghetti-crisis.html">American Spaghetti Crisis: Part 1</a><br />
<a href="http://delicious.com/app103/American-Spaghetti-Crisis" target="_blank">Other articles, news, and information resources</a><br />
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<a href="http://blogactionday.org/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://blogactionday.org/img/759b27736f6bc720a6605b7d415d4fffd6dbe448.jpg" /></a><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: 85%;">Thank you, <a href="http://keywebdata.com/" target="_blank">Chris Lang</a>, for reminding me that I forgot the college students.</span></i></div>
Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24223743.post-25540746782581379202008-07-05T11:30:00.010-04:002008-12-11T02:24:12.763-05:00Freedom Sandwich<img style="margin: 20px 10px 10px 0pt; float: left;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/SG-cHMTvCCI/AAAAAAAAAWo/h27PGsyrRyc/s400/liberty.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5219562140522711074" border="0" /><br />Yesterday, on the anniversary of America's indepencence, I wanted to write a piece on freedom, but kind of got stuck.<br /><br />At first I wanted to write about the countries that still are not free, like China, where bloggers are now resorting to <a href="http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB121493163092919829-b_PctCCtBc8gRRAFxiXjVld6hJY_20090702.html">writing backwards</a> in order to beat censorship and report about what is really going on behind the Great Firewall.<br /><br />Or perhaps focusing on <a href="http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=363&year=2008">who is and isn't totally free</a> yet.<br /><br />Then thinking about the US, the myth of freedom here, and the reality that we aren't totally free as some may believe, maybe focusing on why we are not free, as <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fgp%2Fproduct%2F0742562905&tag=freeprogeboo-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">this report</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=freeprogeboo-20&l=ur2&o=1" alt="" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" border="0" height="1" width="1" /> may explain.<br /><br />Or go more in depth about the freedom of the press, and what responsibilities come along with it in relation to self-censorship and <a href="http://cranialsoup.blogspot.com/2008/02/mainstream-media-and-censorship.html">its ethical and moral implications</a>, focusing on the list of <a href="http://www.projectcensored.org/censored_2008/index.htm">censored news stories</a>.<br /><br />Or perhaps a piece on economic freedom and what organizations like <a href="http://thegreenchildren.org/tgcf/">The Green Children Foundation</a> are doing to help people living in third world countries overcome poverty, while still keeping their dignity, in the form of microcredit loans.<br /><br />Or perhaps how the <a href="http://www.opendemocracy.net/globalization-institutions_government/democracy_energy_3637.jsp">price of oil can threaten democracy</a> in places where the whole concept of freedom is still fairly new and still on shakey ground. The article is from 2006, when the price of oil was much lower than it is now, so most likely the situation is much worse today than it was at the time the article was written.<br /><br />Or artistic and educational freedom, and focus on <a href="http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/challengedbanned/challengedbanned.cfm">books that have been banned</a> throughout history, for one reason or another.<br /><br />Or psychological freedom, and how the <a href="http://www.way2hope.org/Illnesses/atychiphobia-fear-failure.htm">fear of failure</a> holds so many people back and prevents them from living up to <a href="http://blogs.salon.com/0002007/2006/04/20.html">their full potential</a>. (Unfortunately, something I have first-hand experience with)<br /><br />Or the desire for financial freedom, and the rising number of "get rich on the internet by blogging about how to <a href="http://www.google.com/search?num=100&q=make+money+blogging">make money blogging</a>" websites that are popping up every day.<br /><br />Or freedom of information, and the threat of censorship from ISP's and their desire to do away with <a href="http://www.aclu.org/freespeech/internet/26829res20070405.html">net neutrality</a> to boost profits, cut costs, and control what you see and do on the internet, and decide who can and will be able to profit online.<br /><br />Since I couldn't make up my mind as to what direction I wanted to go with this freedom piece, I decided to give you a little slice of everything I was thinking about yesterday, just in time for lunch.<br /><br />Enjoy your "freedom sandwich".<br /><br />Take it slow, one bite at a time, don't eat too fast...it's ok to save some for later.Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24223743.post-68149356469099459212008-06-28T18:58:00.007-04:002008-12-11T02:24:13.267-05:00Pro-life and Pro-choice Can Be Two Sides of the Same Coin If That Coin Is Education<img style="margin: 20px 10px 0px 0pt; float: left;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/SGbMCKjhEDI/AAAAAAAAAWY/F0famoA8mbo/s400/16-week-unborn-baby.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217081555920425010" border="0" /><br />I am both pro-choice and pro-life and the 2 views are not in conflict with each other because I am also very pro-education.<br /><br />In a perfect world, every child would be born to 2 responsible parents that loved it, wanted it, had the means and skills required to take care of it, nurture it, properly educate it, and help it to become a productive member of society.<br /><br />But we don't live in a perfect world, do we?<br /><br />And people do make mistakes. That is why there are erasers on pencils and backspace keys on keyboards...and abortion.<br /><br />Unless and until we can find a way to eliminate the mistakes before they are made, then the eraser is still needed, and the backspace key...and abortion, and all of those will continue to exist.<br /><br />If you want to end abortions, then end the mistakes that lead to them...by educating people to make better choices.<br /><br />Instead of telling kids that babies come from the stork or by swallowing watermelon seeds, start at an early age and tell them where they <span style="font-style: italic;">really</span> come from.<br /><br />And don't tie the hands of educators that want to provide children with knowledge by forbidding them from teaching how the human body works, how and why pregnancies occur, how one can prevent pregnancies. This is valuable information they will need, even if they do wait until marriage to have sex.<br /><br />Arming your kids with the facts doesn't lead to wild orgies of teens having sex. On the contrary... Show a classroom full of 14 year olds a video of a live birth, with a nice close-up of the woman's twat opening wide to pass the head of a baby, and it's likely to scare the crap out of them and give them something to think about and make them not want to have sex for at least a year.<br /><br />Telling them about birth control choices and making them available prevents them from getting pregnant, in the event that they do decide to be sexually active. And don't forget to educate them on the psycological effects of abortion and the lingering effects it has on the mind of the mother that decides to take that route, so they won't see abortion as a first line birth control choice.<br /><br />Do whatever it takes to change the attitudes of young women who regard taking care of a baby as being all fun and games, like playing house, or playing with baby dolls, so they don't deliberately get pregnant with a child they are unable and unprepared to care for. And make them understand that caring for a child isn't like caring for a pet dog, cat, or hamster. They need to understand this before they get pregnant with the first one and not find out after the fact, which can lead to aborting a second pregnancy.<br /><br />Give them enough information and better choices and they won't make so many damn mistakes that lead to abortion. There is so much to consider <span style="font-style: italic;">before</span> getting pregnant. Teach them this and don't wait till after the fact to tell them. End abortion by ending unwanted pregnancies...end unwanted pregnancies with knowledge and understanding.<br /><br />If my daughter made a mistake, which is highly unlikely because I have educated her myself, I would hope she would seriously consider giving her baby a chance at life, like I did, but I would also hope she would make that choice after careful consideration about what kind of life that baby would have and how it would impact hers, and exactly how she will provide for it and not eventually become a burden to her child at the same time. But in the end, the choice is hers and not mine, and I don't have the right to make that choice for her. If my daughter decides she is not ready to be a mother, than I am not ready to be a grandmother, as well.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.livingwithbugs.com/pubic_lice.html"><img style="margin: 20px 0px 0px 10px; float: right;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/SGbPHJ03MzI/AAAAAAAAAWg/a70aannmeRo/s400/crab_louse.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217084940158972722" border="0" /></a><br />Whether you like the definition or not, babies are perfect parasites, by the technical <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?parasite">definition of what a parasite is</a>, and not one that can be cured with a little bit of medicated soap.(funny how we don't see "save the <a href="http://www.livingwithbugs.com/pubic_lice.html">pubic lice</a>" protests, huh?)<br /><br />Parenthood is a permanent condition. When you decide to have a baby, you are stuck with it and it's effects for life, not just till it becomes legally an adult. Even if your child dies before you do, you don't stop being a parent...you just become the parent of a dead child.<br /><br />I wonder how many old women died from falling out of bed, severe bone fractures caused by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osteoporosis">osteoporosis</a> that began with a baby leeching the calcium from their bones when they were young.<br /><br />Yes, you may have contributed to the cause of death of your mother by your actions before you were born. Kids also need to know and understand things like this before they get pregnant.<br /><br />And just like you can't end typos by outlawing backspace keys, you can't end unwanted pregnancies or abortions by making it illegal...you only end <span style="font-style: italic;">legal</span> abortions, driving women to seek their abortions <span style="font-style: italic;">illegally</span>, putting them at great risk of death by having an abortion performed by an untrained person in a tattoo parlor or butcher shop, or doing it themselves with a coat hanger at home, rather than a nice safe medical clinic by a trained doctor.<br /><br />Outlawing abortion can kill both your daughters and grandchildren at the same time, which is much worse than just losing your grandchildren, and I would never forgive the one that takes my precious daughter away from me with their thoughtless laws.Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24223743.post-53121163943195935762008-06-26T14:46:00.011-04:002008-12-11T02:24:14.039-05:00The American Spaghetti Crisis: Part 1<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216265212441748146" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 20px 10px 10px 0pt" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/SGPlkuHRYrI/AAAAAAAAAWA/pnVA8HNtu-c/s200/00007098.jpg" border="0" /><br />While the world's eyes are focused on the global rice shortage, skyrocketing rice prices, and how it is affecting 3rd world countries, there is another issue that seems to have slipped by relatively unnoticed: the skyrocketing price of pasta in the US.<br /><br />Over the last year there has been an extreme increase in the price of spaghetti and most other macaroni products. In some cases it has been an almost 300% price hike.<br /><br />Around this time last year, I was able to purchase 3 packages of spaghetti for $1, regular price. Now I am lucky if I can get 1 package at that price, on sale.<br /><br />And the price for a box of macaroni & cheese has gone from $0.49 to $0.89..<br /><br />A case of ramen used to be $1.99. It is now $2.50.<br /><br />All of this within the last 12 months.<br /><br />While rice may be the staple food for the poor in many 3rd world countries, pasta is also a food heavily consumed by the poor, in the US. And even though the price of rice has increased drasticly, it is still by far much cheaper to buy than spaghetti currently is.<br /><br />I believe that it is quite possible that the rising cost of macaroni products can make the global rice shortage even worse than it already is, as more lower income families switch from pasta to rice, to save money, thereby increasing the demand for rice.<br /><br />What is even worse, is that the rising prices of food in general will cause a rise in prices that restaurants charge for a meal, causing more middle income families to eat at home rather than going out to eat. This loss of business to restaurants translates to a loss of jobs and income for many lower income families that depend upon minimum wage restaurant jobs to support themselves.<br /><br />The poor that rely on the Food Stamp program are running out of money before the end of the month because of the increase in food prices, but no cost of living increase in their monthly allotment of funds. They are being forced to turn to local church run food pantries for help feeding their children.<br /><br />Pasta is a staple of many local food pantries that supply the poor with free food. As prices go up, the poor can afford less, and rely on these food pantries more & more to keep from starving. And as prices go up, donations made by the middle class to these food pantries decreases, and then they don't have enough to meet the demands of the poor they are feeding.<br /><br />Poor children are eating cheap, high fat, high sugar, low nutrient junk food to keep from being hungry. They are not getting the nutrients they need to grow strong & healthy. They are getting sick and missing school more. The ones that are in school are too busy thinking about their growling stomachs to pay attention to their work. Their health & education are sufferring, and they will pay for it in the future by never acquiring the means to rise above their current poverty status. At the same time, as a result of bad nutrition, they are becoming a bigger burden to the free government provided Medicaid healthcare system, that is paid for by the tax dollars of the middle class.<br /><br />And why exactly are the food prices so high? Could it be the price of gas affecting the shipping costs and driving everything higher? Could it be that the economy really sucks right now and businesses are raising prices in order to turn a profit and keep their doors open? Bad weather killing off crops? A combination of things?<br /><br />Whatever the reason for the increase in prices, this much you can be sure of: the prices are not going to come back down, whenever the problem that is driving the increases goes away. I have never known a business to lower prices after an economic slump. They usually just keep them at what they are, raising them again when the next crisis hits, that eats their profits. Your dollar is shrinking fast, and it's likely to stay shrunk, even when the economy improves.<br /><br />The amount of low income families in America is increasing, the bar that marks the poverty level is rising, the middle class getting smaller as they slip down below that bar, the number of elderly increasing, the amount of tax dollars needed to support social services & healthcare for the poor and elderly increasing, the amount of tax dollars available to fund it all decreasing, the amount the middle class needs to make ends meet increasing, the amount in their paychecks after taxes decreasing.<br /><br />This is a serious long term crisis, and a $300 economic stimulus check ain't going to fix it.<br /><br />Read More:<br /><a href="http://cranialsoup.blogspot.com/2008/10/american-spaghetti-crisis-part-2-our.html">American Spaghetti Crisis: Part 2</a><br /><a href="http://del.icio.us/app103/American-Spaghetti-Crisis">Other articles, news, and information resources</a>Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24223743.post-35539414484723332652007-11-23T17:41:00.002-05:002008-08-27T05:49:48.936-04:00A Vision of Students Today<p>Here's something to think about: These kids will be running the country in the near future. How prepared are they?</p><p>After watching this, I have some really mixed feelings about a lot of things...the internet, in particular.</p><p><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dGCJ46vyR9o&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=0" width="425" height="355" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent"></embed></p>Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.com0