I came across an article reporting that 1/3 of students in the Milwaukee Metropolitan School District were living in poverty in 2005. See article at: http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=705506
Just think about the ripple effect that takes place for a student living in poverty. How can the student concentrate on school studies and social activities when wondering whether or not he or she will have a place to stay on any given evening? What if the student is always hungry or cold due to lack of proper amounts of clothing? This situation creates a vicious cycle. The student needs a good eduction to help free themselves and their families from poverty. However, poverty keeps the student from being able to concentrate on studies that will lead to a good education. This cycle does not recognize the difference between public and private education.
Think this doesn't impact the rest of us? Well, the students of today are the ones that will be funding the Social Security and Medicare benefits some of us will hopefully have access to not too far down the road. I want a well-educated workforce that earns a level of income that allows them fo fully participate in community life (including paying for benefits we old codgers will be using). I don't want a generation that includes a significant number of people that have minimal life options due to lack of a good education. These people tend to create options that include sustance abuse (to help escape the fact that their options are limited), crime, etc.
We are responsible for all of our brothers and sister regardless of race, religion and economic situation. Feed the poor!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
No Rest for the Saintly
Poor Padre Pio. Vatican officials and leaders of the Capuchin order have given approval to the exhumation of his body in an effort to figure out how to best preserve his remains for veneration by future generations. The plan is to display his remains for public veneration from April through September. His remains would be studied prior to April to determine how best to preserve them.
Many Protestants, including my wife, question why Catholics make such a big deal of displaying remains. I can't argue with Protestants on this one. I saw the remains of two Popes in St. Peter's Basilica last summer. The remains of John XXIII look pretty good. However, the remains of the other Pope (I can't recall which one, but it wasn't a recent Pope) were not a pretty site. I don't know about you, but I don't have a problem venerating dead people without seeing the remains. I can just as easily pray for a deceased person in an open casket as I can for a person in a closed casket or even a picture of a person if it is a memorial service.
Rumor has it that Padre Pio's family opposes the exhumation. I can see why. The friar worked like a dog his entire life and had to put up with being a stigmatic. My guess is that he was pretty happy to meet his eternal reward. He should be given the opportunity enjoy that reward in peace.
Many Protestants, including my wife, question why Catholics make such a big deal of displaying remains. I can't argue with Protestants on this one. I saw the remains of two Popes in St. Peter's Basilica last summer. The remains of John XXIII look pretty good. However, the remains of the other Pope (I can't recall which one, but it wasn't a recent Pope) were not a pretty site. I don't know about you, but I don't have a problem venerating dead people without seeing the remains. I can just as easily pray for a deceased person in an open casket as I can for a person in a closed casket or even a picture of a person if it is a memorial service.
Rumor has it that Padre Pio's family opposes the exhumation. I can see why. The friar worked like a dog his entire life and had to put up with being a stigmatic. My guess is that he was pretty happy to meet his eternal reward. He should be given the opportunity enjoy that reward in peace.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Sola Fide
I am current reading the book Rome Sweet Home by Scott and Kimberly Hahn. Scott Hahn is one of the gurus of conservative Catholicism. Rome Sweet Home describes the Hahns' conversion to Roman Catholicism. The book mentions the concept of Sola Fide. Sola Fide is one of the primary tenets of Protestantism. Loosely translated, it means "by faith alone" (ablative of means if I recall my Latin accurately). Protestants believe that sins are forgiven by faith alone, and not by works. Although I am a Roman Catholic, I cannot argue with the notion of sola fide.
Where I part with my Prostestant brothers is sisters is when it comes to the definition of faith. It seems that Protestants see faith as merely believing that Jesus is the Savior. However, I could argue that faith is much more than belief. I can believe in Jesus without having faith. I can believe that he is the Son of God that became man, was crucified and was risen. That is belief. Faith is much more comprehensive. It incorporates belief, but adds the dimension of a trusting relationship. We have faith that God will provide for our needs and will not present obstacles that we cannot overcome. We have faith that, when a loved one dies, it is part of God's plan. We have faith that God will give us the ability to serve others (aka: do works) using the model of Jesus' ministry.
Yes, we are saved by faith alone. However, faith is much more comprehensive than belief.
Where I part with my Prostestant brothers is sisters is when it comes to the definition of faith. It seems that Protestants see faith as merely believing that Jesus is the Savior. However, I could argue that faith is much more than belief. I can believe in Jesus without having faith. I can believe that he is the Son of God that became man, was crucified and was risen. That is belief. Faith is much more comprehensive. It incorporates belief, but adds the dimension of a trusting relationship. We have faith that God will provide for our needs and will not present obstacles that we cannot overcome. We have faith that, when a loved one dies, it is part of God's plan. We have faith that God will give us the ability to serve others (aka: do works) using the model of Jesus' ministry.
Yes, we are saved by faith alone. However, faith is much more comprehensive than belief.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
The Commish
Do you know who Salvatore Lucania was? He was responsible for an institution that all of us support on nearly a daily basis. I consider the institution he established to be a permanent 9th wonder of the world.
Salvatore Lucania is better to known people in the U.S. as Charles "Lucky" Luciano, the premier Mafia leader of the world from the time of prohibition through the 1970s.
In the U.S. prior to 1931, organized crime was anything but. There were various Mafia families in many parts of the country. Each family claimed a territory. As one might expect with greedy criminals, disputes over territory arose and battles ensued. These battle generated plenty of publicity in the media. Media publicity is to the Mafia what a stake through the heart was to Count Dracula ("Dapper Don" John Gotti didn't quite understand this). By the end of the 1920s, many Mafia members were being killed and leaders were being arrested. This was not good for business!
Along with his Jewish pal Meyer Lansky, Lucky Luciano establised The Commission in 1931. The Commission consisted of representatives of all of the major Mafia families in the U.S. (although the core consisted of leaders from the five dominant Mafia families in New York). The Commission was the ruling body for Mafia-linked organized crime in the U.S. It functioned much like a corporate board of directors (with Luciano as chairman). From 1931 through the 1970s, the Mafia flourished in the U.S. Money made in gambling rackets on the east coast would be laundered through Mafia controlled businesses in other parts of the country. Territorial disputes between families were resolved at the commission level. Although turf battles continued, they were nowhere nearly as intense as the battles that took place prior to 1931. As a result of collaborative efforts, business flourished for all of Mafia families represented on The Commission.
The strength of The Commission continued into the 1970s. The Commission lost a significant amount of influence when several of the Mafia families insisted on dealing in drugs - a practice that was definitely prohibited by The Commission. Without the strong leadership of Luciano and Lansky (Luciano was deported to Italy and Lansky retired), the battled over drug dealing all but destroyed The Commission. It still functions today, but mainly as a coalition of the five New York families).
Why do I bring this up? In the field I work in, there are numerous organizations advocating for improvements to the lives of people with disabilities. While these organizations could accomplish quite a bit through collaborative measures, most choose to do all they can to maintain their "turf" of money and influence. I am always amazed that good people cannot come together for the best interests of vulnerable people, yet greedy thugs were able to do so - and as a result, their enterprise was able to thrive for generations.
Imagine how much better the world would be if the United Nations could function like The Commission did. Yes, we would still have skirmishes. However, we likely would not have the level of threats to world peace and existence that we now face. In a strange way, the world would be a better place thanks to Lucky Luciano!
Salvatore Lucania is better to known people in the U.S. as Charles "Lucky" Luciano, the premier Mafia leader of the world from the time of prohibition through the 1970s.
In the U.S. prior to 1931, organized crime was anything but. There were various Mafia families in many parts of the country. Each family claimed a territory. As one might expect with greedy criminals, disputes over territory arose and battles ensued. These battle generated plenty of publicity in the media. Media publicity is to the Mafia what a stake through the heart was to Count Dracula ("Dapper Don" John Gotti didn't quite understand this). By the end of the 1920s, many Mafia members were being killed and leaders were being arrested. This was not good for business!
Along with his Jewish pal Meyer Lansky, Lucky Luciano establised The Commission in 1931. The Commission consisted of representatives of all of the major Mafia families in the U.S. (although the core consisted of leaders from the five dominant Mafia families in New York). The Commission was the ruling body for Mafia-linked organized crime in the U.S. It functioned much like a corporate board of directors (with Luciano as chairman). From 1931 through the 1970s, the Mafia flourished in the U.S. Money made in gambling rackets on the east coast would be laundered through Mafia controlled businesses in other parts of the country. Territorial disputes between families were resolved at the commission level. Although turf battles continued, they were nowhere nearly as intense as the battles that took place prior to 1931. As a result of collaborative efforts, business flourished for all of Mafia families represented on The Commission.
The strength of The Commission continued into the 1970s. The Commission lost a significant amount of influence when several of the Mafia families insisted on dealing in drugs - a practice that was definitely prohibited by The Commission. Without the strong leadership of Luciano and Lansky (Luciano was deported to Italy and Lansky retired), the battled over drug dealing all but destroyed The Commission. It still functions today, but mainly as a coalition of the five New York families).
Why do I bring this up? In the field I work in, there are numerous organizations advocating for improvements to the lives of people with disabilities. While these organizations could accomplish quite a bit through collaborative measures, most choose to do all they can to maintain their "turf" of money and influence. I am always amazed that good people cannot come together for the best interests of vulnerable people, yet greedy thugs were able to do so - and as a result, their enterprise was able to thrive for generations.
Imagine how much better the world would be if the United Nations could function like The Commission did. Yes, we would still have skirmishes. However, we likely would not have the level of threats to world peace and existence that we now face. In a strange way, the world would be a better place thanks to Lucky Luciano!
Friday, January 4, 2008
Not the One and Only
Two buck deer are sitting at the top of a hill - a father buck and his adult son. They notice about 20 does in the field below. It is mating season. The young deer says to his father, "Dad, let's each of us run down the hill and mate with one of the does!" The father replies, "Son, let's each of us walk down the hill and mate with all of them."
I was reminded of this story while listening to Catholic radio this morning. They had a couple of pro-life movement representatives touting the victory of Gov. Huckabee (I don't have a problem with Gov. Huckabee - he seems to be a pretty good candidate) in the Iowa caucuses and urging Catholics to vote. Of course, they argued that Catholics must vote pro-life - there is no other cause on which to base a vote.
If you have read my blog before, you know that I do hope and pray for the day when there will be no abortions. That day will come when women are not put in positions where abortion is the only option they perceive. However, abortion is not the only issue (although it is critical) and all of the negative things in the world do not stem from abortion. If abortions stopped this second, we would still have a world filled with war, hunger, murder, drug abuse, terrorism, rape, torture, the death penalty, etc. These "man-made" evils all stem from the human weakness of greed and lust for power, not from abortion.
Just imagine the progress that could be made if just some of the world-wide energy currently put into the pro-life cause would be spent in some of these other areas.
I was reminded of this story while listening to Catholic radio this morning. They had a couple of pro-life movement representatives touting the victory of Gov. Huckabee (I don't have a problem with Gov. Huckabee - he seems to be a pretty good candidate) in the Iowa caucuses and urging Catholics to vote. Of course, they argued that Catholics must vote pro-life - there is no other cause on which to base a vote.
If you have read my blog before, you know that I do hope and pray for the day when there will be no abortions. That day will come when women are not put in positions where abortion is the only option they perceive. However, abortion is not the only issue (although it is critical) and all of the negative things in the world do not stem from abortion. If abortions stopped this second, we would still have a world filled with war, hunger, murder, drug abuse, terrorism, rape, torture, the death penalty, etc. These "man-made" evils all stem from the human weakness of greed and lust for power, not from abortion.
Just imagine the progress that could be made if just some of the world-wide energy currently put into the pro-life cause would be spent in some of these other areas.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
The Race is On
The green flag for the race for President has been flown. As I write this, the results from the Iowa caucus are not in. However, the pundits are predicting a finish order of Obama, Edwards and Clinton for the Democrats and Huckabee, Romney and McCain for the Republicans.
I have yet to meet anyone (and I meet many) that is completely behind any of the candidates. While that might seem troubling, I see it as a good sign. I have worked in the political arena for many years. The most effective legislation results from proposals that nobody really loves, but that everyone can live with. I think the same can apply to candidates for political office. Perhaps we will have two nominees that are not the "political darlings" of any group. Maybe we will have two nominees that most people could live with. If we end up with a President that few love but most can live with, there may be a chance for some progress in Washington, D.C. Such a President would be forced to work closely with both parties and would have to follow a moderate idealogical line.
As we get sick of hearing the political pundits, let us hope and pray that the best candidate wins.
I have yet to meet anyone (and I meet many) that is completely behind any of the candidates. While that might seem troubling, I see it as a good sign. I have worked in the political arena for many years. The most effective legislation results from proposals that nobody really loves, but that everyone can live with. I think the same can apply to candidates for political office. Perhaps we will have two nominees that are not the "political darlings" of any group. Maybe we will have two nominees that most people could live with. If we end up with a President that few love but most can live with, there may be a chance for some progress in Washington, D.C. Such a President would be forced to work closely with both parties and would have to follow a moderate idealogical line.
As we get sick of hearing the political pundits, let us hope and pray that the best candidate wins.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Manna From Heaven
I grew up in a house that was directly across from a state historical park. The park hosts numerous events during the year, including re-enactments of Civil War battles. During these re-enactments, hundreds of Union and Confederate "soldiers" camp overnight in the park.
Many years ago, several of the kids in the neighborhood wanted to surprise some of the soldiers sleeping in tents during a re-enactment. Being teenage boys, our first inclination was to hit some golf balls in their direction. Fortunately, one of us (not me) ruled that out due to the likelihood of hitting a building or a person. Creative juices flowed and we came up with a much better idea.
Several of us had wrist-rocket slingshots. These are very powerful and accurate slingshots that use the shooter's entire wrist as leverage. We went to the grocery store and bought several bags of Skittles - the fruit flavored candy that comes in small balls about the size of peas.
We agreed to meet in our yard at about 10:00 pm. We could use darkness to our advantage and be assured that the soldiers were still awake. Shortly after 10:00, about five of us began the "shock and awe" bombardment of the soldiers. Within about two minutes, we lanched several thousand Skittles high into the air. Our aim was accurate - more than half landed in the encampments. We had a great time listening to the soldiers try to figure out what was happening. They did figure out that the things hitting them were Skittles. However, they had no clue where they were coming from.
This was one of the most creative pranks in which I have been involved. Every so often, I'll write about some of the others.
Many years ago, several of the kids in the neighborhood wanted to surprise some of the soldiers sleeping in tents during a re-enactment. Being teenage boys, our first inclination was to hit some golf balls in their direction. Fortunately, one of us (not me) ruled that out due to the likelihood of hitting a building or a person. Creative juices flowed and we came up with a much better idea.
Several of us had wrist-rocket slingshots. These are very powerful and accurate slingshots that use the shooter's entire wrist as leverage. We went to the grocery store and bought several bags of Skittles - the fruit flavored candy that comes in small balls about the size of peas.
We agreed to meet in our yard at about 10:00 pm. We could use darkness to our advantage and be assured that the soldiers were still awake. Shortly after 10:00, about five of us began the "shock and awe" bombardment of the soldiers. Within about two minutes, we lanched several thousand Skittles high into the air. Our aim was accurate - more than half landed in the encampments. We had a great time listening to the soldiers try to figure out what was happening. They did figure out that the things hitting them were Skittles. However, they had no clue where they were coming from.
This was one of the most creative pranks in which I have been involved. Every so often, I'll write about some of the others.
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