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Misc.

Friday, January 13, 2006

Plight of the Homeless

Good Day America.

For most of us It's a bright new day and it doesn't come to mind quickly that there are people in our communities who are homeless and unhappy. They kind of melt into the surroundings and are often overlooked. We know that if they are sleeping under newspapers on a city street, they can't be comfortable. Sometimes a homeless person is living in a car, cleaning up at a gas station rest room, and going to work during the day. These people are just as homeless as those that live on the street, but they are not as easy to spot. One may have served your coffee at the local restaurant this morning.

Homelessness can begin with bad luck, drug or alcohol abuse, or illness. Whatever the cause, a homeless person needs help. Relieving the distressed is a fundamental rule of human society, but sometimes we forget.

A few homeless people have given up and become feral and prefer to remain homeless. Sometimes they just can't cope with rules. Sadly, relief efforts usually do not work very well with them. They make it a challenge to provide for their basic human needs in a way that attracts their cooperation and does not completely destroy their self esteem.

How to help.

Our Government is, one way or another, charged with protecting us all from inhuman conditions as well as from foreign enemies. It is important that the general society cares for those who can not care for themselves. It is the meaning of welfare. The way it is accomplished is often controversial, but in most cases humane assistance is not.

Government welfare has a long history of inefficient management and this suggests that, by itself, government welfare may not always be the best solution. Unfortunately, government interference in social problems tends to remove incentive and pride. Sometimes it even causes a homeless person to become dependent when the object is to make them "not homeless".

END

posted by Notes From Dixon # 9:02 AM 0 Comments

Friday, January 06, 2006

Islam fails the test

01-26-06

Americans fit into the world in a special way. For years we have been the good guys, jumping to solve every problem. According to several critics, especially our friends the British, we have become rather heavy handed. To them (and to others) the impression is that we assume authority to police other nations when we shouldn't. This makes even our friends uncomfortable.

The "bull-in-a-china-chop" American attitude is hurting our relations with many countries. We are strong. When something in the world is unacceptable, we have the ability to something about it. We can and do use our power when needed, and in most cases we are not arrogantly pressing our power. In fact we go out of our way to step lightly. America has a long history of being extra careful and cautious. There have been only a few issues that can be counted on to prompt American displays of power:

Nuclear proliferation.
Chemical warfare.
Terrorism.

We consider all three of these to be threats to America. Ideally an organization of nations that agree with us would function together as a policeman. The design of the United Nations ensures that it can never do so. It is time to develop and alternative. As it stands, when America is threatened by the actions of another nation, particularly in the three areas mentioned, we go begging for a coalition of support. This is not right. Condoleeza Rice might, for example, provide the leadership to form a "NATO" type organization to combat the current threat of radical Islamo-faschists. They are everyone's enemy and must be stopped.

END

posted by Notes From Dixon # 2:05 PM 0 Comments

Forward-ho..

Friday, January 13, 2006

Plight of the Homeless

Friday, January 06, 2006

Islam fails the test

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