Hope and Change - Defined

Hope and Change. Hope and Change! Sounds good, doesn’t it?
But what does it actually mean?
It is so vague as to be able to mean many different things to many different people. Because it is so vague, I am going to take the liberty to break it down into the ten letters that make it up:
H-O-P-E-C-H-A-N-G-E.
Yes, I know there are two letter H’s and two letter E’s; but not to worry. I will handle them. So, let’s get started.

H – Help. Help your neighbor if they need it. Know who your neighbors are without being intrusive. Help your neighborhood by first keeping your own property in order. Have pride in your home AND your neighborhood. If there are poor or elderly persons living in your neighborhood, try to assist them by acts of kindness. Help your community but don’t rely on your community government to do all the work. If you do, their only option is to add staff to do work that you and your neighbors could do for just your time.

O – Organize. Meet with your neighbors and members of your community to work out problem solving without intervention by local government. Set up volunteer groups to help clean up vacant properties, parks, vacant land, house painting, and repairing fences. This can be done with the help of local merchants who might be willing to donate materials. Become active in interfacing with your local government – mayor, city council members, city manager, etc.

P – Participate. Instead of watching the boob tube, set aside time to attend the local school PTA meetings, city board meetings, city council meetings, planning commission meetings. Know what your local government and school are trying to do and if you don’t agree, make your voice heard.

E – Evaluate. Use common sense when looking at local issues. Think about what local government and local schools are telling you they want and need. If it seems excessive or unreasonable – say so but have a logical explanation as to why you feel that way. Get dialogue going between supporters and non-supporters and try to come to a logical solution that is cost effective and reasonable.

C – Contribute. Contribute your time and money (as you can afford) to local church groups and other non-profit charitable organizations. Keep the government, especially State and Federal levels out of your local communities. If your community cannot keep control locally, you are asking for trouble! If your community accepts funding from the State or Federal Government, it allows them to have a say in how that money is used, how it is spent, and takes away control from you and your fellow neighbors.

H – Heal. It’s time for each and every one of you to join together in your own community to help heal our wayward society. If you know your neighbor on your right, left, and across the street; and they know their neighbor on their right, left, and across the street; pretty soon all your neighbors together know everyone in the community. Most people are basically good people but political correctness has caused us to turn our heads and not get involved or just ignore what is going on down the street. Work with you local police department, neighborhood watch, and civic organizations to weed out the troublemakers. Stop worrying about hurting other people’s feelings and start worrying about keeping control of your neighborhood and community.

A – Assemble. There is strength in numbers. That is why lobby groups get their way with Congressmen/women and Senators. However, you and I have something the professional lobbyists do not have – the vote. By forming local groups of like-minded individuals and meeting peacefully with your representatives, you can use the “power of the people” to get your view across. If he or she knows that a large voting block is for or against a bill and his or her vote could mean losing those votes, it stands to reason which way they will decide.

N – News. Don’t rely on newspapers, radio, or television to get your news. Question everything that you hear when it relates to legislation, how good things are, how bad things are, what it will cost, how it will be good for you, how it is necessary, how it is a crisis, etc. Do your own research and look at both sides before deciding what the REAL truth is.

G – Grow up. Take responsibility for your own actions. Stop asking the Government for help. They are the most inefficient group of people in the United States. Imagine running a company where at the end of every year each division is told that they have to spend all of the money they budgeted or next year they will receive less. That is how the Federal and many State Governments operate. They are happy to “help you” because it isn’t their money; they won’t lose any portion of their salary by giving it to you; it’s almost impossible for them to get fired; and if they run short, Congress will just raise your taxes.

E – Engage. Engage your family, friends, relatives, neighbors, and politicians. Encourage get-togethers, pot-luck dinners, picnics – whatever it takes to get people back together again with common interests that make each and every neighborhood and community beam with a sense of pride.

Now you know how I view Hope & Change. How do you view it?

No Justice for Former US Hostages Held in Iraq

A recent headline in the Washington Post stated "$13 Billion in Iraq Aid Wasted Or Stolen, Ex-Investigator Says". The total amount of aid provided by the U.S. is somewhere in excess of $50 Billion U.S. Dollars.

In the meantime, approximately 200 U.S. Citizens held hostage in Iraq nineteen years ago have yet to receive justice. During the Bush Administration, numerous attempts were made by Congress to get Iraq to pay compensation to these hostages. Each time, the Bush Administration vetoed the bills and the Senate was too "weak minded" to attempt to override his vetoes.

Last year, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed H.R. 5167, which would have forced Iraq to negotiate a settlement with suggested maximum compensation per person of $900,000 - in some cases a significant decrease from awards granted in 2002, to those cases that had already received judgements. The Senate did not take up this bill as they were told by the Bush Administration that it would be vetoed and again the Senate was too weak minded to attempt to override his threatened veto.

In May of this year, Congressman Sestak of Pennsylvania introduced H.R. 2241, titled "
‘‘Equitable Compensation for American Victims of Torture Act of 2009’’. This bill has been in committee since that time with no action taken. The primary reason given for "no action taken" is that the U.S. State Department has been attempting to negotiate a settlement with the Government of Iraq and Congress has been waiting for either a positive or negative result before considering the new bill.

Unfortunately, most Congressmen/women and Senators do not understand how the Middle Eastern culture deals with Westerners (friend or foe). First, they will tell you what they think you want to hear while at the same time delaying any concrete action as long as possible. Second, they will find many reasons to not take any responsibility for something done while they were not in charge. Lastly, they will take no action unless the consequences cost more than the action. This is why it is important for the House of Representatives (or Senate) to show movement on getting H.R. 2241 passed. If the Iraqis see that a bill is coming which would force them to settle these outstanding claims, then and only then will they negotiate with the State Department in good faith.

Many of those U.S. Citizens that were held hostage have suffered either physically or mentally from their ordeal in Iraq. In addition, they have been riding a roller coaster for the past nineteen years with promises that never materialized. Lastly, several former hostages have died without seeing justice prevail. The total cost to Iraq to settle all these claims is one-tenth the amount that U.S. Taxpayers have seen wasted in aid to the Iraq Government.

It is time to put pressure on the Iraq Government to settle these claims and live up to their International responsibilities!