I cannot understand how 99ers being hungry and homeless is not an emergency, but Japan Is?
I believe that anyone going hungry or homeless should be an emergency that must be tackled and resolved immediately by the powers that be - after all which is worse:
- Acute hunger and homelessness knowing that help is on the way?
or
- Prolonged hunger & homelessness knowing there is no help in sight?
The disaster and tragedy playing out in Japan is horrendous and every available resource must be used give aid and comfort to those effected. On the other hand, the USA who has yet to address the hunger and homelessness of millions of it’s own people must take care of the crisis on it’s own shores.
It makes me sick that our President, who has yet to utter the term “99ers” in public for more than 1 year now has mentioned Japan several times over the past week. Congress has focused it’s ‘post Japan disaster rhetoric’ on how “safe” nuclear power is in this country. The terms: Safe Nuclear Power or Clean Coal always strike me as intentional myths, like the term: Virgin Whore - exactly who are they trying to kid?
Fact is, the only thing these members of the US Congress or the current Administration care about is the campaign contributions the big power companies put into their pockets and NOT the Safety of the US population. They lie and twist the facts and claim they are doing the “will of the American people” when nothing could be farther from the truth. If Wisconsin showed us anything at all it is that the “Will of the People” is one thing the Republicans couldn’t care less about and neither does Obama. For all his campaign promises to “march on the side of the workers” the first time the opportunity presented itself during his presidency - Obama was a no show!
Anyone who believes that our government or the Japanese officials for that matter are giving us the straight scoop on the nuclear portion of the current disaster - is only fooling themselves. The thing is, if the governments were honest about what is really happening due to the failed reactor incidents in Japan - the stock markets would crumble.
So we can infer from this intentional omission of the real facts that the US and Japan care far less about protecting the masses of poor, now in the path of huge radiation exposure and the resulting health consequences and care far more about protecting the wealth of those heavily invested in the markets. In other words, “Business as Usual” for our greedy leaders.
Perhaps this will finally wake up the world about the consequences of continuing to serve the needs of the few and risk the well being of the masses. Germany seems to be getting the message.
On Saturday, March 12, at the protest in southwestern Germany, demonstrators formed a human chain between the Neckarwestheim nuclear plant and the city of Stuttgart, which are 28 miles (45 kilometers) apart. Some waved yellow flags with the slogan "Nuclear power — no thanks." Organizers put the number of protestors at over 60,000.
The demonstration was planned long before the post-earthquake blast at Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, but the fears of possible disaster gave an added focus to opponents of the technology in Germany.
So why can’t the US seem to get the message? Most of the nuclear power plants in California are said to be able to withstand a potential quake of up to 7 on the Richter Scale. With approximately 20 quakes in the last decade over the threshold of 7 - the present state of safety of these structures is in extreme jeopardy. Now is NOT the time to cut funding or repeal regulations that could further imperil our populations near these sites and around the world. Something the Republican Congress needs to be reminded of daily.
Another thing the Congress needs to be reminded of on a daily basis is the continuing effects of the man made 99er disaster playing out in every state of the union, unabated and unresolved with nobody coming to the rescue.
Before anyone condemns me for criticizing the USA’s rapid aid response to Japan - DON’T - I believe that every bit of help is needed to assist the Japanese at this terrible time of vulnerability for their country.
I simply cannot fathom how the US Government and main stream media can continue to put the suffering of Millions of American 99ers - for more than a year now with no help in sight - on the back burner yet again in favor of the latest “crisis of the month” - Remember the BP oil spill nearly one year ago?
From 20 April through 15 July 2010 for hours on end the media constantly showed the gushing oil from the bottom of the gulf. Had they featured the suffering from one 99er family each hour in addition to that gushing broken oil well - we might have already by now resolved the 99er issue and I’d have nothing more to write about....a development I look forward to with immense, happy anticipation - however it isn’t bloody likely to occur anytime soon.