Monday April 20, 2009, 3:33 am
Keep the unpleasant side of the real America hidden, In America the only people that are homeless are those who will not hold down a job, are addicted to drugs and occasionally mentally ill, because if we had to face the truth in more then just a superficial reality it would have to seen for what is really happening. Losing your home, that's because you cheated and lied your way into a home and now must face the consequences, not because there is a serious lack of livable housing, however most "affordable" housing is old and in poor repair, was and still is in dangerous parts of town, because THOSE people don't care to properly maintain their dwelling. Or maybe because it was built poorly and the cheap, is still too expensive for most living in poverty to afford. Certainly not because of a system so completely contaminated by avarice that any semblance of fair business practices have become archaic vocabulary Almost every facet of our lives has been soiled by so much propaganda that people now actually believe that homelessness, joblessness and poor health care are the fault of those living in these abominable conditions, certainly not the fault of a thoroughly corrupt system that underwrites, thereby supporting the continuation of. far too many years of failed government attitudes and policies. The Southern Poverty Center estimates [last summers figures] that between 38 and 40 million people will eat but one small meal a day and some days not that much.. We need to realize that we ignore this tragic state of affairs at our own peril.

Monday April 20, 2009, 8:23 am

Absolutely! Well said, Kit.

Thanks for posting this, Steven.

Monday April 20, 2009, 9:13 am
Great post Carole! Thanks for sharing!

Monday April 20, 2009, 9:16 am

The credit really belongs to Steven, who I see is posting his first news article.

Monday April 20, 2009, 9:36 am
Noted. Kit, you have a way of tying it all up into one cogent package for us. Blaming the victim is an ugly business...it is thriving. Thank you, Carole, for your message to be sure to catch this story...and thank you, Steven. This is an important story and you have an excellent eye for newes. Will look forward to future posts from you.

Monday April 20, 2009, 10:27 am
It has been my experience that people just do not ask the most important questions like why and how did this get to be this way-In raising my children and working with the population I have discovered that no one THINKS about how or why-they wait for those in authority or the media to tell them and do not get involved on their own-forming judgements on things that they have no personal knowledge on-A very treasured friend of mine is a teacher -she teaches Paramedic classes and she gets people who are collage grads and high school grads who she has to teach classes in Critical thinking skills to-these people are not just a few in her classes or the school classes but EVERY CLASS ALL OF THEM.These collage grads and high school grads cannot write an incident report regarding what they have seen or experienced on a scene when they come to class but can and do when they graduate-They can write a excellent book report or an essay all day long and do a fine job but cannot write an incident report-so now it is a requirement of this school that ALL people attending these types of classes take a critical thinking skill class. So this is why people do not pay any mind as a rule to these kinds of things and are shocked to find them.-I was brought up in abject poverty and many people I know were as well.I Know the homeless - having given many people who were homeless a place to live and assisted them to re-establish their worlds -Every -friend I have in my personal world does the same thing for their family members and others and we do this when we do not have space or room or funds but we manage.This is why one gets a lot of people living in one house so often because it's either that or they live in tent cities such as this one or worse under a bridge or something. Our homeless shelters are FULL every day of the year with people turned away because there is no room.abused women shelters are FULL every day.I do not know why the local and state governments do not take some of the homes that are collected for lack of taxes every year and use them to house the homeless or provide vacant city lots for these people whose only home is a tent a place to place them or why local churches and outreach programs do not work together to go to these places and place mass pressure on the local governments involved to provide a mailbox address to these people who have no relatives a place they can use as an address so they can get phone calls for a job or fill out a job application for it is a fact that all employers require the prospective hirees to have a stable background and good credit record and clean criminal record before they hire them -so what are we going to do with the people who do not fit that criteria?-Thank-U Steven for such an important story-

Monday April 20, 2009, 10:30 am
Since I live in Sweden, maybe I should not comment on this?
I do it anyhow:
We have homeless people too, but in USA it seems to be a huge problem.
What a shame!
"The American Dream"? -Give me a break!
Millions (30?) of people with a lower standard of living than in the poorest countries in Africa...
...Jesus Christ!

Monday April 20, 2009, 10:54 am
I forgot:
20 years ago I was homeless for 7 months, the worst time of my life!
Nobody should be homeless, not ever, not anywhere!
Homeless people is a sign of a rotten society, with no solidarity.
It's inhumane, damn it!

Monday April 20, 2009, 11:25 am
It sure the Fugg is. But that's our Capitalistic Government for you. Where the rich get richer and it doesn't trickle down on the poor.

Monday April 20, 2009, 12:11 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKYWOwWAguk

Monday April 20, 2009, 1:15 pm
I found this story, "End Homelessness", from Change Org:
http://www.care2.com/news/member/140535861/1122412

Monday April 20, 2009, 3:52 pm
Noted with sadness. Thank you, Steven.

Monday April 20, 2009, 4:17 pm
If there is to be any bailouts, it should be for the people. There's no reason why a nation that is one of the leaders in technology, space travel and at one time manufacturing should have as many homeless people as it does. If the system doesn't work THEN CHANGE THE SYSTEM!!

Monday April 20, 2009, 5:13 pm
Two facts came over load and clear about this camp. Firstly however much the media is trying to create a story about the credit crunch home losses, many of these folk have been homeless for a lot longer...true they have been joined by new recruits but the problem of where the homeless are to live has taxed the minds of many city officials both sides of the pond.

The second fact was that the city wants to deny the problem by closing the camp and moving the people off the site...WHERE TO?

In this country we had problems for the travelling families that were moved on often by force using our brutal police force...till it occurred to city planners to make permanent sites for them...in the least desirable parts of towns like old industrial estates where the ground was too poisonous for new build houses...and denying the travellers the way of life they have had for centuries.

People do not just go because they are an inconvenient eyesore.
People need and deserve respect and properly run sites to live on with services laid on...better still they need public housing when the greedy of this world have removed homes from the needy of this world.

This is such a sad reflection of how we come to label people and condemn them out of hand.

Monday April 20, 2009, 5:17 pm

Bless you, David Gould!

Monday April 20, 2009, 6:13 pm
I might be there in those tents soon enough.

Monday April 20, 2009, 6:25 pm
Indeed, we have not as nation addressed this problem as it developed so we now have a crisis, in homelessness, hunger and most immediate seriously growing numbers of joblessness. Some months ago I was in a discussion with another member about hunger in America, though she professes to be a strongly Christian woman, she takes the age old stand that if people really are hungry they would get a job. Actually, the numbers I printed above are not all unemployed, most do/did have employment, therefore were not eligible for any kind of assistance. For many reasons, it is and has been far easier to blame those in need then to consider ways to fix the parts of our system that are broken. Btw...she also said if they were really hungry they could kill squirrels and, rabbits and gather nuts and berries. This is a mind set that can not be reasoned with, nor educated to understand what a preposterous idea it truly is, and of course offers no solution for the dire needs of those who are unable to help themselves. Now to be fair perhaps for those living in the open country side this would at times be possible, for the few. Realistically it is not a solution nor even a hint of one, it places the blame for this sad state of affairs back again on those least able to cope. I can't even begin to imagine a group of homeless, hungry people forming hunting parties in a city park. Of course the arrests will give them shelter and food for a while. Then again would this not be just another example of these shiftless people trying to steal the free bed and food from the tax payer?

Using the standard of the republican rally cry, Reagan blamed much of the financial problems for the country on an over inflated welfare state. One of the first things he did- after firing ATC - was to cut the school milk program then the lunch assistance program. Any time a nation directs its' anger and frustration on the weakest of society we define who we are. Sure, everyone has a story about a neighbor or a friend of a friend having dozens of children to collect all those extravagant benefits, that barely allow a family basic subsistence, but even that short lived program was long ago drastically cut, and has not been reinstated.

The most consistently long term resolution for poverty is education, and not educational theories by each newly elected politician. Rather by supporting strong meaningful education programs that will direct students to make choices for their lives that will allow them the ability to be in control of their futures.. That we do not offer actual hands on trade programs for students is but another of the flawed thinking about education. Education must not be considered a drag on our tax money, but the core of what allows for the healthy present and future of a society. That students are not taught the basics of writing, literature and the history of their own nation and through extension the history of the world is another example of how watered down and ineffective our current educational standards are. These objectives are not impossible to attain, but teachers have been taken away from teaching and become autocrats filling in the blanks of yet one more failed system. Cut all educational administration, direct the money to the classroom, allow teachers to teach and students to learn. Standardized tests tell us very little about the accomplishments of the student or the teacher, rather they reveal the emphasis on administration and not education.

Monday April 20, 2009, 7:30 pm
Help has become a dirty word in the US. Gone are the days when people would rally together and help their fellow man. See a homeless person and they walk on the other side of the street!
If you ever ask any of them how or why they got where they are many are there because of the good
old IRS. Got sick, family member or whatever and could not pay the bills.
I met a man collecting cans at the local auto place. The owner said he was always there cleaning up the place for him. That he had 2 houses once, he had a great job but got sick, the bills piled up and finally the IRS took everything away from him. His life's work. His wife divorced him and took his 2 kids and he was left still sick to "work the streets".
The IRS has no mercy. No compassion. No accountability.

WWW.FAIRTAX.ORG Don't let it happen to you!

Monday April 20, 2009, 8:41 pm
You should see the "Lost cities" in Mexico City hills. (Ciudades Perdidas)

Tuesday April 21, 2009, 2:32 am
I guess I might have been there too, but fortunately I'm staying at my Mom's house in Sacramento. They have moved them out of there.

Tuesday April 21, 2009, 3:05 am
People call themselves humans, go to church, praise the lord - and blame the poor and homeless and eat dead animals. I do not believe that God will keep this part of his creation that is so undeveloped and useless. America meanwhile is an example for what can go wrong in a country. When I need to think, what comes from America that is really good... I do not not get anything in my mind. Of course there are good people in every country. But not enough

David Bowie once made a song called: I am afraid of America! This is the feeling many people have here in Europe.

Tuesday April 21, 2009, 3:28 am
Sadly noted. Thank you Steve for sharing and Carol for forwarding this story to me.

Tuesday April 21, 2009, 6:44 am

I understand, Ralph . . . I love America -- and most Americans -- I just don't trust our government.

Tuesday April 21, 2009, 7:51 am
People who love the people of America will build democratic socialism - democratising the economy - to ensure human rights for everyone, including the right to food, clean water, health care and housing fit for human beings!

Tuesday April 21, 2009, 7:55 am
That'll be the day!
I must ask the same question that I have done for some 50 years:
If not NOW - WHEN???

Tuesday April 21, 2009, 8:03 am
The media always gets it wrong!