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ME is "SoapBlogging" again!
Increasingly I am amazed at the simplicity of life, and the agony at making it more difficult than it has to be based, solely on the egotistical desire to feel like you are tapping into something "NEW"! In other words, is it always necessary to reinvent the world?
Below are samples of my banter, for more go to SoapBlogging Where word meets heart and rises like a soap bubble and rides the waves to incite a temporal cleansing!READ ON my friend read on!
The real problem with life and the simplicity of it all!
November 19, 2007
New recipes for Thanksgiving!
Here we are facing another Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving 2007! Most of us are plotting and planning the festivities to come. We know that there will be friends and family joining together. Some of us will be meeting people for the first time and the anxiety that comes with that makes us a little twitter pated at best. But, all the same we donn our favorite attire, (the slimming outfit) pretend like we are not at all nervous about it, (yeah right, the fear meter has topped out at 200%) and go on our merry little way.
The questions begin to fly, "what shall I bring," ... "what shall I make" and the dreaded question..."how much is enough," "how can I top last year's menu?"
These questions have the culinary experts scratching their heads in wonderment. It is a daunting task to once again be challenged at the prospect of coming up with award winning recipes for Thanksgiving. Every major publication will tap into the turmoil of men and women everywhere. Newspapers will feed off the frenzy. Now, we even have the internet helping us prepare the perfect Thanksgiving feast. "The FEAST to Wow, even your Mother-in-law!" I see the headlines now.
As you peer into the deepest recesses of this year's award winning, you will discover new ways to make pecan pie greater versions of bean casserole, YUM! Sweet Potatoes prepared with new spices, and of course...TURKEY, fresh or frozen?
When all is said and done, the frenzy is cooled down by the simplicity of the following menu:
Turkey
Stuffing
Green Bean casserole with mushroom soup and fried onions
Sweet Potatoes
Mashed Potatoes
Brown and Serve rolls
gravy, (preferably not out of a can)
Cranberries (preferably out of a can)
and
Pumpkin pie
The point is this...when all is said and done, we can parade about as if we need something new, when the truth of the matter is this, we gravitate towards that which we know.
So, if you are going to try to impress your future in-laws...don't try to out do them. Wear an outfit that represents what your future mother-in-law would wear, and just bring flowers. Oh, and if you are male, wearing a piece of clothing given to you is extremely beneficial. If you are the one hosting the event, don't try to impress your guest with mashed potatoes laced with anything other than pure butter and cream. Any additional taste will in fact confuse the heck out of them and leave them looking forward to next year when they will refuse to let you cook, lest you prepare them the way they are suppose to be prepared!
Bon Appetite!
Calling "it" what it is....WRONG!
December 2, 2007
After sitting through a meeting on health care reform, I have come to the conclusion that there are easy answers! Very easy answers, the primary concern must be to establish two main concerns: 1) The health of our nation is a right, not a commodity 2) and "pre-existent" conditions.
"of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane" -- Rev. Martin Luther King
Historically, the first major social welfare movement in the United States was in the area of Health Care. Benjamin Franklin was a founder of one of the first organized hospitals. It was for the poor! The insight of our nation's leaders was an understanding that the poor, the destitute required a place to go to receive relief from their suffering. The wealthy chose the comfort of their homes. That was luxury, a commodity to be able to have medical care delivered to their homes. The poor had no where to go, no family doctors. Health care was provided by way of institutional access.
The major social justice movement that followed during the mid 1800's blended a variety of concerns, "social ills", if you will. It included slavery, mental illness, drunkenness, inequality towards women, education and the overall well-being of children. A large part of the social justice movement was in the area of healthy society. The Second Great Awakening made people aware of the need to bring about social justice.
A strong society is based on two primary areas, health and education.
According to the report delivered by members of the, Hoosiers for Better Health Care, there has not been any major social justice movements since the mid-60's. This goes back to M.L. King's quote on the inequality of health care. This is not a new issue, but now that it is affecting the middle to upper-class, it is an issue!
As I launch a "take it to the pews" campaign on behalf of the uninsured, I believe that fundamental changes can be generated come from the faith-based community. It continues to be the place where people can freely discuss on a realistic direct, "right is right", "wrong is wrong" way!
I am humored by the statement of leaders from all sectors, when they say that "we must begin to dialogue", this is not only a pompous, demeaning attitude, it is false! Those of us who have been fighting for medical care for our families, advocating on the behalf of others, those of us who have begged for a medical card so as to buy medication for our children, those of us who have wondered whether to keep our lights on or buy our children medicine, we know, we have been in the trenches. Clearly, this is not a new issue. Forty years after the demise of Rev. Martin Luther King, we can borrow from him and again focus solidly on the concept of inequity. This is an in attempt to open the eyes and the hearts of those that could change the world and make our nation a healthy one.
The issue of commodity still remains. Those who can afford health care have choice. Those who have quality jobs, ones where employers provide insurance benefits, move forward in the financial maze with a greater sense of ease then those who fight for every blood test, every drop of medicine.
Calling for access to health insurance, which would deliver health care to the individual is a good concept, but it will still fall short if there is not something that makes it unlawful to deny health coverage to someone with chronic medical issues. If they have "risk" attachments to their coverage, than they are in essence uninsured!
There are answers that lie in the simple. There is no need to reinvent the wheel, there is however a need to go back to a simple delivery with the materials and wealth of knowledge that we now have. There is a need to demand that hospitals provide fair and equitable treatment to all people, regardless as to whether or not they have high quality insurance. They have a responsibility to meet the agreed upon percentage of charity care as deemed by the IRS. They have a responsibility to focus more on patient care then courting big business.
Medical Schools and universities have a responsibility to make sure medical school is accessible to all people academically able to make the grade. There should be no hindrances towards those wishing to become medical providers. The sooner we can move back to medicine as a vocation the sooner that we will see provider - patient relationships become the central determinant in health care delivery.
As we see an increase in diagnostic testing, we should see a decrease in the cost of producing the equipment and therefore the delivery of that care in an affordable means.
The time is now. There has been an increase in the number of people uninsured, an increase in deaths as a result, the quality of care is declining. Our health is declining for a variety of reasons. The first step is to talk about it. There is no longer any time for biased, self-serving attitudes. A healthy nation is a strong nation. It translates into physically, socially, economically and spiritually.
The time is now, and it is that simple!
By Mary E. LaLuna
A reprint from an article in The Daily Journal Kankakee Illinois in response to an article regarding teaching the Holocaust in our Schools. Recently there has been a buzz about the internet that the Holocaust will no longer be taught in the UK in its schools. This was my commentaryin 2003!
In response to the article in the Wednesday, April 23 edition of the Daily Journal, titled "Holocaust lessons spark discussion," I feel compelled to share my thoughts on the subject. While I am pleased to know that Bourbonnais school district feels it is important to discuss the issue of teaching the Holocaust, I am disturbed that there would be any need for discussion at all. It is the law that the Holocaust be taught in our schools. It is with very strong reasons why this is a mandate from the State of Illinois. Before going into specifics regarding my opinion, I think it is imperative to understand the exact wording of the addendum to "The School Code" approved March 18, 1961.
It reads as follows:
Sec. 27-20.3. Holocaust Study. Every public elementary school and high school shall include in its curriculum a unit of instruction studying the events of the Nazi atrocities of 1933-1945. This period in world history is known as the Holocaust in which 6,000,000 Jews and millions of non-Jews were exterminated. The studying of this material is a reaffirmation of the commitment of free peoples from all nations to never again permit the occurrence of another Holocaust.
The State Superintendent of Education may prepare and make available to all school boards instructional materials which may be used as guidelines for development of a unit of instruction under this Section: provided, however, that each school board shall itself determine the minimum amount of instruction time which shall qualify as a unit of instruction satisfying the requirements of this Section.
Section 2. This Act takes effect Jan. 1, 1990.
The idea of integrating this subject matter into our classrooms is really without choice. It is imperative that in this day and age of terrorist action that we educate our children from the earliest day on of the need for diversity and acceptance of others. You begin by systematically teaching diversity and acceptance, slowly weaving the stories of oppression into it. At no time is it suggested that the total severity of the atrocities be focused on. It might be a simple lesson weaving world religions into the classroom and studying the variety of cultures and focusing not on which religion is preferred but just that they do exist. The teaching of the Holocaust to children in the early elementary age group is not difficult nor should it be viewed as difficult to understand.
As a student of the Holocaust currently enrolled in the Advanced Lecture Series offered through the Holocaust Memorial Foundation in Skokie, Ill., I have had the pleasure of talking with and learning from the director of the organization, Lillian Polus-Gerstner. It was by the constant efforts of the Foundation, Ms. Polus-Gerstner, Rep. Lee Preston and Sen. Arthur Berman that this addendum was passed. Since 1981 the "Holocaust Memorial Foundation of Illinois has been devoted to recording, remembering and educating about the Holocaust, so that the value of human life, dignity and freedom will be defended and preserved. This legislation signed into law on Jan. 1, 1990, made Illinois the first state in the U.S. to require that the Holocaust be taught in all public schools and has served as a model for other state legislatures to emulate." (HMFI informational brochure)
According to the Holocaust Foundation, the State Board of Education has not prepared units of instruction for individual school systems, but rather they have left it up to administrators within the individual districts. The Holocaust Memorial Foundation through providing continuing education, graduate courses, and curriculum materials is a valuable, untapped resource in our state.
To learn of the atrocities through the years and understand that 6 million Jews were exterminated ("extermination" indicates the sub-human actuality of the issue) was an unbelievable reality, and more than the mind can comprehend.
Studying it in college was another in depth understanding to the Holocaust, but it was not until I began teaching in the classroom and was able to look at the subject matter through the eyes of a junior-high school child that I realized that we are living in an age where misinformation is more damaging than ignorance.
During the period from 1942 to the summer of 1943 thousands died every day, literally brought in and in less than a period of an hour were gassed and burned. In some cases train loads arrived every 45 minutes at Treblinka and Sobibor.
Because of the reality that this happened once and could happen again indicates that we must educate future generations -- beginning with now. The issue of teaching from very early ages the diversity and acceptance is a moral obligation of all teachers. It is an issue of humanity that we embrace the past and learn from it. "We are not makers of history; we are made by history." -- Martin Luther King, Jr.
Holocaust Memorial Foundation of Illinois, 4255 Main St., Skokie, IL 60076-2063, 847-677-4640, www.hmfi.
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