"I DON'T WANT TO SET THE WORLD ON FIRE

..I just want to start a flame in your heart." A few of you reading this may recognize the lyrics as those from the old Ink Spots recording. The younger generation probably won't know who the Ink Spots were. You may not find this song on GrooveShark! However, these two lines express the way I feel today. I want to start a flame in your heart.

The upcoming elections are important as always. Early voting in most states started this past Monday. Try to ignore the negative ad campaigns, and vote your conscience on the best candidates who will favor the issues that you feel passionate about. Education, health care, energy and the environment need our help now more than ever.

*****************************

Grandson Cameron (music major at LSU) sent the above photo of a "jazz funeral" for higher education, and had this to say about proposed cuts:

"I've been trying to stay politically active. LSU is looking at up to a 32% budget cut from Bobby Jindal and the (Louisiana) state legislature, and unfortunately, the music and theater departments here are looking to receive a big chunk of that despite their prestige. It could be absolutely devastating. I've currently been trying to fight this. I spoke at a forum held by the school chancellor a couple of weeks ago on behalf of the arts, and also participated in a jazz funeral for higher education."

*******************************

So many folks say they are opposed to the present administration's policies, and the state of the economy. They seem to forget that the previous administration's eight-year reign created the mess we are now in. And those who were "left over" from that eight-year reign have done nothing to help the current administration's efforts to pull us out of it by voting "no" on nearly every issue presented that might help Americans out of the mire.. Although, they were as quick as anyone to vote to bail out the banks and automakers. That led people (like my dad) to say "Obama bailed out the rich!", and to blame the current economic woes on his administration.

They (we might as well say it -- the Republicans) fought tooth and nail against the President's health care reform bill, even though 32 of the 33 developed nations in the world have some form of Universal Health Care for their citizens. (The U.S. was the only exception until the recent bill.) 48 countries have longer life expectancies than we do in the U.S. So much for the excuse that our medical care will suffer if we have national health insurance! Or for the belief that we have the best medical care in the world. In a 2010 update by the Commonwealth Fund, the U.S. health care system rated seventh (7th) in overall performance, based on "quality care, access, efficiency, equity, and long, healthy, productive lives"; falling behind Australia, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The U.S. spent more than twice as much on health care per capita than any of the countries studied. All of this information can be verified by many, many sources. The World Health Organization, as well as the 2010 U.S. Census, and even the CIA World Fact Book and Wikipedia have lots of statistics that confirm these I am quoting.

****************************

The following chart shows that between the years 2002 and 2007 - that's when Republicans were running the country - the gains in wealth in this country went to the top 1% of the population, while the bottom 90% of folks had the lowest share of income growth since the Great Depression. The rich got richer and the poor got poorer.

And then the bubble burst! According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the number of people living in poverty in the United States in 2009 was 43.6 million, or 14.3% of the population. The largest number in 51 years. Sadly, an estimated 20.7% of this number are children under the age of 18. That's 16.7 million children living in poverty - some in extreme poverty - which means living on half the amount of income considered "poverty level"! According to Bread for the World, 51.4% of Americans will live in poverty before the age of 65.

I suppose I can be my optimistic self and say, "Well, these figures show that nearly 85% of the population does not live in poverty! And millions of children don't live in poverty or go to bed hungry at night!" This is supposed to be the richest country in the world! How can we justify over 43 million people living in poverty -- or nearly 51 million people uninsured?

I find these figures staggering - and shameful in this country, known as a leader throughout the world. Just "voting them all out" is not the solution. Inexperienced women running for office and getting nominations just because they are women is not the answer either. If our country cannot come together in unity of purpose, cease the wicked partisanship in Washington, and admit that no one person or party has all the solutions, then we are destined to see similar statistics for years to come. We cannot continue down the path we've been on.

Great things have been done "for the people" in years past.. not just the wealthiest few at the top or the giant financial institutions or corporations as we saw in more recent times. "Liberal" wasn't a dirty word then.

The following was published on oldamericancentury.org, sometime during the last presidential election, and forwarded to me. I think we would be wise to go over this again:

Don't like liberals?
Fine, then give us back...

"Our clean air and water standards, worker safety protections, the 40-hour work week, the Social Security program, the civil rights movement, the equal rights movement, the free speech movement, discrimination protections, the school lunch program, birth control, rural electrification, organized labor, child-labor laws, the minimum wage, employee health care benefits, public assistance, Americans with Disabilities Act, fair housing legislation, the Freedom of Information Act, the Voting Rights Act, food and drug safety regulations, federally subsidized student loans, collective bargaining...

and everything else we have done to put power back in the hand of the individual, and out of the hands of the ruling and corporate elite."

***************************

There is so much work we need to do before our grandchildren rise to the task of living in and governing the world we are leaving them. They deserve much better than the mess this country is in now. Study your candidates and vote thoughtfully and carefully - not out of a sense of anger or retaliation. Too much is at stake to make rash decisions in the heat of your passion. Tell our politicians to break the gridlock in Washington and get back to doing what Americans do best - lead. Create more jobs, improve health care reform, tackle the environmental and energy issues we face, and help our children and grandchildren receive the best of educations this nation can provide - without graduating with the burden of debt most of them leave school with today -- as much as $100,000. Work together! As the old saying goes, "United we stand, divided we fall."

With love for my country, and peace in my heart,
Marilyn