October
By
Robert Frost
O hushed October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the
fall;
Tomorrow’s wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
Tomorrow they may form and go.
O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow.
Make the day seem to us less
brief.
Hearts not averse to being
beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know.
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
One from our trees, one far away.
Retard the sun with gentle mist;
Enchant the land with amethyst.
Slow, slow!
For the grapes’ sake, if they
were all,
Whose leaves already are burnt
with frost,
Whose clustered fruit must else
be lost—
For the grapes’ sake along the
wall.
I WANT TO SEE THE ENTIRE WORLD, DON'T YOU?
http://www.amazon.com/No-Time-Say-Goodbye-Memoir/dp/
In
1962, six year old John Tuohy, his two brothers and two sisters entered
Connecticut’s foster care system and were promptly split apart. Over the next
ten years, John would live in more than ten foster homes, group homes and state
schools, from his native Waterbury to Ansonia, New Haven, West Haven, Deep
River and Hartford. In the end, a decade later, the state returned him to the
same home and the same parents they had taken him from. As tragic as is funny
compelling story will make you cry and laugh as you journey with this child to
overcome the obstacles of the foster care system and find his dreams.
http://www.amazon.com/No-Time-Say-Goodbye-Memoir/dp/0692361294/
http://amemoirofalifeinfostercare.blogspot.com/
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
John
William Tuohy is a writer who lives in Washington DC. He holds an MFA in
writing from Lindenwood University. He is the author of numerous non-fiction on
the history of organized crime including the ground break biography of
bootlegger Roger Tuohy "When Capone's Mob Murdered Touhy" and
"Guns and Glamour: A History of Organized Crime in Chicago."
His
non-fiction crime short stories have appeared in The New Criminologist,
American Mafia and other publications. John won the City of Chicago's Celtic
Playfest for his work The Hannigan's of Beverly, and his short story fiction
work, Karma Finds Franny Glass, appeared in AdmitTwo Magazine in October of
2008.
His
play, Cyberdate.Com, was chosen for a public performance at the Actors Chapel
in Manhattan in February of 2007 as part of the groups Reading Series for New
York project. In June of 2008, the play won the Virginia Theater of The First
Amendment Award for best new play.
Contact
John:
MYWRITERSSITE.BLOGSPOT.COM
JWTUOHY95@GMAIL.COM
This
is a book of short stories taken from the things I saw and heard in my
childhood in the factory town of Ansonia in southwestern Connecticut. Most of
these stories, or as true as I recall them because I witnessed these events
many years ago through the eyes of child and are retold to you now with the pen
and hindsight of an older man. The only exception is the story Beat Time which
is based on the disappearance of Beat poet Lew Welch. Decades before I knew who
Welch was, I was told that he had made his from California to New Haven,
Connecticut, where was an alcoholic living in a mission. The notion fascinated
me and I filed it away but never forgot it.
The
collected stories are loosely modeled around Joyce’s novel, Dubliners (I also
borrowed from the novels character and place names. Ivy Day, my character in
“Local Orphan is Hero” is also the name of chapter in Dubliners, etc.) and like
Joyce I wanted to write about my people, the people I knew as a child, the
working class in small town America and I wanted to give a complete view of
them as well. As a result the stories are about the divorced, Gays, black
people, the working poor, the middle class, the lost and the found, the
contented and the discontented.
Conversely
many of the stories in this book are about starting life over again as a result
of suicide (The Hanging Party, Small Town Tragedy, Beat Time) or from a near
death experience (Anna Bell Lee and the Charge of the Light Brigade, A Brief
Summer) and natural occurring death. (The Best Laid Plans, The Winter Years,
Balanced and Serene)
With
the exception of Jesus Loves Shaqunda, in each story there is a rebirth from
the death. (Shaqunda is reported as having died of pneumonia in The Winter
Years)
Sal,
the desperate and depressed divorcee in Things Change, changes his life in
Lunch Hour when asks the waitress for a date and she accepts. (Which we learn
in Closing Time, the last story in the book) In The Arranged Time, Thisby is
given the option of change and whether she takes it or, we don’t know. The
death of Greta’s husband in A Matter of Time has led her to the diner and into
the waiting arms of the outgoing and loveable Gabe.
Although
the book is based on three sets of time (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and the
diner is opened in the early morning and closed at night, time stands still
inside the Diner. The hour on the big clock on the wall never changes time and
much like my memories of that place, everything remains the same.
HERE’S SOME GREAT LIFE ADVICE…………..
Sometimes,
it is necessary to hit bottom in order to realize the major changes that will
trigger change and bring new life.
Having
confidence and believing in yourself is paramount for success to come. If you
don’t have the confidence to believe in yourself, fake it until you make it.
Avoid
following the crowd and be bold enough to believe that you can change the
crowd.
Create a
set of values and follow them through your life. Be unique — this is what truly
makes you human.
Success
is no more than the result of consistency and lots of small work. Draw goals,
be consistent and keep working towards them.
Don’t be
afraid to fail. Take risks and get out of your comfort zone, this is the only
way that you will achieve success — by constantly putting yourself in situation
that you are likely to fail in.
Those who
succeed are the ones that spot and act on opportunities as they are presented.
Realize that preparation is key to utilize opportunities.
Failure
must be present in your life. Otherwise, you are not challenging yourself
enough.
Use your
human capacities to help empower other people to become the best versions of
themselves.
You have
to at least try. If you don’t try, you can’t win.
HERE'S SOME NICE ART FOR YOU TO LOOK AT....ENJOY!
John Singer Sargent - The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit (1882)
John Singer Sargent
Used to be a John Singer Sargent
So I Ran into Vincent Van Gogh today…
Photographs I’ve taken
THE ART OF WAR...............................
BOSTON'S WHITEY BULGER, HEAD OF THE IRISH MOB
WEAPONS AND CASH FOUND AT HIS ARREST
THIS IS INSANE. WE HAVE THE POWER TO STOP THIS AND WE SHOULD STOP IT.
Saudi Arabia Plans To Crucify Teen As It Ascends To UN Human
Rights Council Chair
As a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,
Saudi Arabia is forbidden to execute anyone arrested under the age of 18.
By Jerusalem Post
In a move that has drawn severe criticism from numerous
organizations and activist groups from around the world, Saudi Arabia, which
was tapped last week to head the Human Rights Council at the UN, is preparing
to crucify and behead a protester who was still a minor at the time of his
arrest, the BBC reported Wednesday.
Ali Mohammed Baqir al-Nimr, a member of Saudi Arabia’s Shi’ite
minority, was convicted on a variety of charges including taking part in
anti-government protests, breaking alliance with the king, sedition, rioting
and attacking security patrols in 2011. Nimr was 17 years old when Saudi
authorities arrested him.
As a signatory of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,
Saudi Arabia is forbidden from enacting capital punishment against people under
the age of 18. UN human rights experts also added that al-Nimr was subjected to
torture and did not receive a fair trial.
“Any judgment imposing the death penalty upon persons who were
children at the time of the offense, and their execution, are incompatible with
Saudi Arabia’s international obligations,” the UN group said in a statement
Tuesday.
Despite Saudi Arabia possessing “arguably the worst record in the
world” in terms of women’s rights and dissidents, on September 17 the kingdom
was chosen to lead a powerful five-member group of ambassadors, according to
CNN.
Dubbed the Consultative Group, the powerful group has the mandate
to select applicants for more than 77 positions in regards to country-specific
and thematic human rights mandates, documents published by the UNHRC state.
As a result, Saudi Arabia has been targeted on social media
platforms by vocal opponents, including journalists, politicians and the
Geneva-based NGO UN Watch, which is a vocal critic of the international body,
according to CNN.
Hillel Neuer, the NGO’s executive director, said that Saudi
Arabia’s ascension to the leadership position of UN Human Rights Council was
“scandalous,” adding “Petro-dollars and politics have trumped human rights.”
Hillel also said the “UN often describes these experts (on the
Consultative Group) as the ‘crown jewels’ of its Human Rights Council…yet the
world body only undermines their legitimacy by picking a fundamentalist
theocracy that oppresses women and minorities to preside over the experts’
appointment.”
The practice of displaying publicly executed bodies, although
rare, serves both a piratical and psychological purpose in the kingdom.
Saad Hamid, an expert in international law and Islamic
jurisprudence, explains that “Death followed by crucifixion is the punishment
in the Islamic penal code for a specific charge of attacking and targeting
civilians and causing them deliberate injury or death with the intention of
terrorizing them.”
Hamid went on to say that “The aim of showing such mutilation is a
form of extreme deterrence so no one would even think of doing the same thing
in the future.”
I LOVE BLACK AND WHITE
PHOTOS FROM FILM
Kula, Manisa, Turkey
Excerpt from my book "When
Capone’s Mob Murdered Touhy.”
GOOD WORDS
TO HAVE………………..
Paroxysm \PAIR-uk-sih-zum\ 1: a
fit, attack, or sudden increase or recurrence of symptoms (as of a disease) :
convulsion 2: a sudden violent emotion
or action : outburst Paroxysm didn't just burst onto the scene recently; its
roots go back to ancient Greek. The word ultimately derives from the Greek
paroxynein, which means "to stimulate." Oxynein, a parent of
paroxynein, means "to provoke" or "to sharpen" and comes
from oxys, a Greek word for "sharp." (That root also underlies the
word oxygen.) In its earliest known English uses in the 15th century, paroxysm
denoted agitation or intensification of a disease or its symptoms. (A
still-used example of that sense is "a paroxysm of coughing.") Additionally,
paroxysm soon took on a broader sense referring to an outburst, especially a
dramatic physical or emotional one.
When
Passengers (Don't) Attack: Random Acts of Kindness in the Air
Written
by Cynthia Drescher
Everyone
has horror stories about fliers behaving badly. However, it's not all toenail
clipping at 35,000 feet: occasionally passengers put aside frustrations and
extend a helping hand.
This
week, a mother flying with her crying infant shared her story of a seat mate
who soothed and cradled the baby, saving the sanity of both Mom and the rest of
the plane. There have been several iterations of the story about a family
flying with young children who handed out goodie bags of earplugs and candy to
fellow passengers as a pre-emptive apology in case the kids were fussy during
the flight. Early last year, another fliermade the news for conversing with his
seat mates, a mother and her autistic child, instead of ignoring them.
Are
Airlines Actually Getting Nicer?
The
stories of fellow flier kindness may tend to trend involve families and little
children, but it's not just parents who are seeing frowns turned upside-down;
solo travelers and road warriors aren't exempted from common courtesies. Matt
Long, frequent flier and editor of the travel blogLandLopers, says that he
encounters small courtesies all the time, emphasis on the small: "A few
weeks ago the guy next to me realized he had picked up an extra paper by
mistake and he gave it to me, and people have switched seats so I could have an
aisle because of knee issues."
Even
the simplest kindness goes a long way in the hostile environment of an aircraft
or airport packed with frenzied strangers, from sharing guest passes for lounge
access during a long delay to offering to help elderly passengers retrieve
luggage from the overhead bins. When in doubt, just remember the golden rule:
treat others as you would like to be treated.
Of
all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true
happiness.
Philosopher and
mathematician Bertrand Russell, he of great wisdom, in The Conquest of
Happiness:
What
is hell? I maintain that it is the suffering of being unable to love.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky puts it
even more forcefully in The Brothers Karamazov:
People
sometimes say that you must believe in feelings deep inside, otherwise you’d
never be confident of things like ‘My wife loves me’. But this is a bad
argument. There can be plenty of evidence that somebody loves you. All through
the day when you are with somebody who loves you, you see and hear lots of
little tidbits of evidence, and they all add up. It isn’t purely inside
feeling, like the feeling that priests call revelation. There are outside
things to back up the inside feeling: looks in the eye, tender notes in the
voice, little favors and kindnesses; this is all real evidence. Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in a
letter to his ten-year-old daughter explaining the importance of evidence in
science and in life.
Love
is an untamed force. When we try to control it, it destroys us. When we try to
imprison it, it enslaves us. When we try to understand it, it leaves us feeling
lost and confused. Paulo Coelho in The
Zahir: A Novel of Obsession
Love
does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle, love
is a war; love is a growing up. James
Baldwin in The Price of the Ticket: Collected Non-fiction, 1948-1985
Anyone
who falls in love is searching for the missing pieces of themselves. So anyone
who’s in love gets sad when they think of their lover. It’s like stepping back
inside a room you have fond memories of, one you haven’t seen in a long time. Haruki Murakami in Kafka on the Shore
You
can transmute love, ignore it, muddle it, but you can never pull it out of you.
I know by experience that the poets are right: love is eternal. E. M. Forster in A Room with a View:
That’s
when I finally got it. I finally understood. It wasn’t the thought that
counted. It was the actual execution that mattered, the showing up for
somebody. The intent behind it wasn’t enough. Not for me. Not anymore. It
wasn’t enough to know that deep down, he loved me. You had to actually say it
to somebody, show them you cared. And he just didn’t. Not enough. Jenny
Han
Most
men claim to desire driven, independent and confident women. Yet when
confronted with such a creature reverence often evolves into resent. For just
like women, men need to be needed. Tiffany Madison
People
think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that’s what everyone wants. But a
true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that is holding
you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change
your life. A true soul mate is probably the most important person you’ll ever
meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. But to live with a
soul mate forever? Nah. Too painful. Soul mates, they come into your life just
to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then leave. A soul mates
purpose is to shake you up, tear apart your ego a little bit, show you your
obstacles and addictions, break your heart open so new light can get in, make
you so desperate and out of control that you have to transform your life, then
introduce you to your spiritual master…Elizabeth
Gilbert
For
many, love is a two-sided coin. It can strengthen or stifle, expand or
enfeeble, perfect or pauperize. When love is returned, we soar. We are taken to
heights unseen, where it delights, invigorates, and beautifies. When love is
spurned, we feel crippled, disconsolate, and bereaved. Polish the coin and you
will see only requited love on both sides. I was destined to love you and I
will belong to you forever. Colleen
Houck
"Shall
we then judge a country by the majority or by the minority? By the minority
surely. 'Tis pedantry to estimate nations by the census or by square miles of
land or other than by their importance to the mind of the time."
300
quotes from Emerson
To
view more Emerson quotes or read a life background on Emerson please visit the
books blog spot. We update the blog bi-monthly
emersonsaidit.blogspot.com
Scientists Say Doing Good Makes You Feel Like Gold
ALEX SMITH@RYOTnews
Want the real cure for a bad day?
Dr. George Fieldman saysforget wallowing in your bad luck. Instead, he thinks
altruism’s where it’s at. Fieldman says altruism’s doing something good for
someone else but “at a cost to yourself.”
Altruism, it turns out, will make
you feel even better than downing a whole chocolate bar to beat the blues.
Fieldman says altruism happens when either you’re doing something with the hope
of getting something back, or when you do something without the idea that the
favor will be returned. These random acts of kindness, he says, are often done
for people we know. He also adds that if life is hard, we’re less likely to do
some random good but if “life has treated us properly, we feel more inclined to
help others without expecting anything in return.”
Why’s doing good better for you
than chocolate? Fieldman saysit’s because its feel good benefits endure. You
think better about yourself long after you help someone else feel better.
Better yet, Fieldman notes that
the psychology of random acts of kindness can be contagious. Not only will it
have you feeling on the up and up, but the person you help might be hooked on
paying it forward.
If your soul needs that chocolate
(or pint of ice cream) something fierce, why not share a bite? You can get the
feel good benefits of altruism while comforting your blues with something
sweet.
What's
in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
Visit
our Shakespeare Blog at the address below
http://shakespeareinamericanenglish.blogspot.com/
DON'T JUST YOU LOVE POP ART?
Nightmare Outside the Swingin’ Pad
WE NEED PAID FAMILY LEAVE FOR AMERICANS
Paid family leave research gains funding
Jamie McGee,
jmcgee@tennessean.com
Under a new initiative backed by the U.S. Department of Labor,
Tennessee will gain greater resources dedicated to paid leave policies.
The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded the Tennessee
Commission on Aging and Disability a $193,000 grant to carry out a survey that
addresses the needs and availability of paid family and medical leave. The
grant is among $1.55 million being awarded nationally to support research on
the development of paid leave programs.
"We have a caregiver problem in Tennessee," said Jim
Shulman, executive director of the commission, a government agency focused on
older residents and those with disabilities. "The question is, from an
economic standpoint, from a personal standpoint, from a family standpoint, what
are some good options out there?"
Shulman estimates there are about 1.65 million people in
Tennessee who are providing some type of care for adults. The survey, conducted
with the University of Tennessee, will include about 5,000 individuals and
seeks to learn what challenges employees and employers face related to
caregiving.
While the commission's focus is on aging populations, parental
leave issues — maternity and paternity leave — will also be included in the
survey, Shulman said.
The federal dollars are meant to help state and local
governments take the lead on increasing worker flexibility, said U.S. Secretary
of Labor Thomas Perez, who sees economic reasons to take action. Compared to
other industrialized countries, the U.S. is significantly behind, which affects
the country's competitive edge.
"While adopting paid leave policies has some costs, the status quo has a much greater cost,"
Perez said in a conference call Tuesday. "Research findings, statistics
and the experience of America's working families paints a very stark picture of
all the benefits we forego and the negative
impacts we experience without paid leave."
In Germany, workers are able to take 14 weeks paid maternity
leave and in Canada, employees can take 15 weeks with about 55 percent pay.
Tennessee businesses are required to allow four months off for
medical leave, but the law only applies to large employers. Most of those
employers don’t provide paid leave, said Elizabeth Gedmark, director of the
Southern office of A Better Balance legal center in Nashville.
“Most folks cannot afford to take unpaid leave,” Gedmark said.
“You either have to cobble together sick or vacation days or find support in
savings or in your networks, and a lot of folks turn to public assistance
because they have no choice.”
In the U.S., with no federally required paid leave in place, one
in four working mothers returns to work within two weeks of their child’s
birth, and only 12 percent of private sector workers have access to paid family
leave, according to the labor department.
Current leave policies often force mothers and caregivers to
choose between looking after their loved ones and their paychecks. Paid leave
policies would have a powerful impact on our economy, but also on our nation’s
health, saving taxpayers’ dollars and reducing health care costs.
Mothers need adequate time to recover from childbirth before
returning to work, especially when surgery is involved, and breastfeeding is
more feasible when a mother does not have to immediately return to work. Meanwhile, those suffering from serious
illnesses benefit from having their family members caring for them. If they
don’t receive the proper care, they could end up back in the hospital, Gedmark
said.
“People should not have to go bankrupt or fall into poverty
because they have a new child or have a loved one who is fallen ill,” Gedmark
said.
While paid leave is not mandated at the federal level, some
states have begun instituting their own policies. California, New Jersey and
Rhode Island offer employee-funded insurance programs that help alleviate costs
to small businesses that may otherwise struggle to pay for paid leave.
In the private sector, many companies have used paid leave
policies as a means of distinguishing themselves among competitors to help
retain qualified workers. Netflix recently announced it would provide paid
leave for up to a year for new parents. Google offers 18 weeks of paid
maternity leave and 12 weeks paid paternity leave.
When Google expanded its maternity leave from 12 to 18 weeks,
the rate of new mothers leaving dropped by 50 percent, reducing costly
turnover, according to YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki.
Paid family leave needs to become more widespread in Tennessee.
The commission emphasizes that the research is not a precursor to legislative
action in Tennessee, but it could help inform state and business leaders on the
needs and options for addressing this increasingly important issue.
Reach Jamie McGee at 615-259-8071 and on Twitter @JamieMcGee_.
HERE'S PLEASANT POEM FOR YOU TO ENJOY................
The Loft
By
Richard Jones
The Loft
I lay on her bed
while she opened windows
so we could see the river
and the factories beyond.
Afternoon light falling
beautifully into the room,
she burned candles,
incense, talking quietly
as I listened-
I, who conspired
to make this happen,
weaving a web of words that held
this moment at its center.
What could I say now?
That I am a man
empty of desire?
She stood beside the bed,
looking down at me
as if she were dreaming,
as if I were a dream,
as if she too had come
to the final shore of longing.
I lay, calm as a lake
reflecting the nothingness
of late summer sky.
Then she spoke-
she said my name-
and I, who did not love her,
opened my arms.
Richard Jones is an American
poet. He was born in London, England, received his B.A. and M.A. from the
University of Virginia and an M.F.A. from Vermont College of Fine Arts. He is
the author of seven books of poetry, most recently The Correct Spelling &
Exact Meaning (Copper Canyon Press, 2010), as well as a number of limited
edition volumes. The Blessing: New and Selected Poems, a selection of poems
from six of his books, received the Midland Authors Award for Poetry for 2000.
He is also the editor of the
critical anthology Poetry and Politics (William Morrow and Company, 1985). In
2000, he published a compact disc, Body and Soul, in which he discusses the art
of poetry.
In 2011, he published Thunder on
the Mountain (East of Eden Press), a nonfiction book that explores the
relationship between poetry and painting. He is editor of the literary journal
Poetry East and its many anthologies, including The Last Believer in Words and
Bliss. He is currently professor of English at DePaul University in Chicago,
where he has taught since 1987. He lives north of Chicago with his wife and
three children.
’’Country of Air’’ (Copper Canyon
Press, 1986)
’’At Last We Enter Paradise’’
(Copper Canyon Press, 1991)
’’A Perfect Time’’ (Copper Canyon
Press, 1994)
’’The Empty Heart’’ (Copper
Canyon Press, 1999)
’’The Blessing: New and Selected
Poems’’ (Copper Canyon Press, 2000)
’’Apropos of Nothing’’ (Copper
Canyon Press, 2006)
’’The Correct Spelling &
Exact Meaning’’ (Copper Canyon Press, 2010)
Poetry limited editions[edit]
’’Windows and Walls’’ (Adastra
Press, 1982)
’’Innocent Things’’ (Adastra
Press, 1985)
’’Walk On (Alderman Press, 1986)
’’Sonnets’’ (Adastra Press, 1990)
’’The Abandoned Garden’’ (Tunheim
Santrizos, 1997)
’’48 Questions’’ (Tebot Bach
Books, 1998)
’’The Stone It Lives On’’
(Adastra Press, 2000)
WHY THE WORLD NEEDS EDITORS.....................
DON’T WORRY-BE HAPPY
Happiness And Its Many Health Benefits
Are Not Exclusive
“Recently, a critical mass of
research has provided what might be the most basic and irrefutable argument in
favor of happiness,” declares Kira Newman in her article on Cal Berkeley’s
Greater Good Science Center website. “Happiness and good health go
hand-in-hand. Indeed, scientific studies have been finding that happiness can
make our hearts healthier, our immune systems stronger, and our lives longer.”
This is great news. But maybe not
so great for those who aren’t very good at being happy.
“I have bipolar disorder, and I
often wonder how the emotional symptoms that result affect my overall happiness
and health,” writes “Tyla” in the article’s comment section. “Do I get the
short end of the stick because I suffer from a disease that makes you prone to
unhappiness from depression and anxiety?”
If, as is widely believed,
happiness is a largely chemical-based phenomenon, then yes, it might be fair to
assume that those whose bodies have trouble generating such chemicals could be
left with “the short end of the stick.” This, in and of itself, is a pretty
depressing thought.
If, on the other hand, there were
some other source they might turn to for happiness – a safer, more reliable,
less chemical- or even completely non-chemical-based source – then no, no one
should be left out. Now we’re talkin’.
Try as we might, though, we just
can’t seem to shake the notion, or dodge the penalties, of what most everyone
assumes to be a matter-based existence. Even so, it’s an assumption that
deserves to be challenged.
“Happiness is spiritual, born of
Truth and Love,” affirms Mary Baker Eddy, a religious and medical reformer
whose many years of trial and tribulation provided plenty of incentive to seek
out the source – and resulting health benefits – of happiness. “It is
unselfish; therefore it cannot exist alone, but requires all mankind to share
it.”
More than a mere statement of
faith, Eddy’s conviction that happiness originates in something outside of
matter was a profound declaration of truth wrought out of her own life
experience – a truth that, as it became better understood, had the effect of
improving, not just her own health, but the health of those she encouraged to
consider this same Spirit-based point of view.
Of course, there are times when
adopting such an outlook is a lot easier said than done, particularly when we
find ourselves fixating on the happiness of others – what social commentators
often refer to as the “fear of missing out” or FoMO. It’s in just these
situations, however, when simply being open to the fact that happiness, as a
wholly spiritual expression, “requires all mankind to share it” can be
especially helpful in breaking through whatever mental logjam would seem to be
getting in the way of our own sense of contentment.
Even more important than the
revelation that “happiness and good health go hand-in-hand” is the
understanding that happiness is not exclusive. No one is left out. And
ultimately, no one can be or should be deprived of its many benefits, not the
least of which is better health.
Eric Nelson writes each week on
the link between consciousness and health from his perspective as a
practitioner of Christian Science. He also serves as the media and legislative
spokesperson for Christian Science in Northern California. Read similar columns
at norcalcs.org and follow him on Twitter @norcalcs.
Sculpture this and Sculpture
that
Mycenae, 1600−1500 BC. Silver rhyton with gold horns and rosette on the forehead
REFORMING OUR POLICE BECAUSE THEY HAVE BECOME A LEADING NATIONAL SOCIAL PROBLEM
Alternatives to Bullets
From liquids that smell like dead
animals to high-temperature heat rays, the present and future of non-lethal
weapons.
By ELI HAGER
In the wake of recent
high-profile police shootings, manufacturers of non-lethal weapons have seized
on the opportunity to sell devices they say might have saved the lives of
Michael Brown, Walter Scott, Tamir Rice, and many others. Companies with names
like Micron Products, Alternative Ballistics, and Bruzer Less Lethal
International are now a part of the decades-old field of less-lethal weapons —
also called “compliance” or “pacification” devices — offering everything from
bullets that don’t penetrate to devices that slow bullets down.
“I just looked out there and
there wasn’t anything that really would have been practical and useful in a
tense one-on-one situation like in Ferguson,” says Christian Ellis, the CEO of
Alternative Ballistics, which tried to sell one such device to the Ferguson
police department. “That’s why we got into this business.”
Police officers, for their part,
already have less-lethal tools on their belts — nightsticks, pepper spray, and
TASERs — and some feel that the additional options are not much more useful
despite their variety and complexity. “It’s like comparing phone plans,” says
Sid Heal, former commander in the L.A.P.D. and an expert on less-lethal force.
Whatever the future holds for
these alternatives, police departments already have, in recent years, added a
few gentler tools to their arsenals. Below, an inventory of some of those
tools, as well as a look at what might flood the market soon.
Bean
Bags
A sock-shaped pouch filled with
lead, silicone, or rubber balls, fired from a shotgun. The pouch expands in the
air for wider impact.
Approximate cost: $4.50 to $6.50
per round.
When it’s most useful: Anytime a
person is "noncompliant" but far away and "not yet a direct
threat," says Steve Ijames, the police chief in Republic, Mo. and an
expert on less-lethal force.
Effect on target: Pain, muscle
spasms, and temporary immobility, but no penetration of the skin.
Why it’s appealing: It’s
inexpensive.
Potential downsides: Unless a
shotgun containing bean bags is adequately marked in a different color (usually
orange), it can easily be confused with a shotgun loaded with real shells, which
police call "cross-contamination" and has repeatedly causeddeaths,
according to the National Institute of Justice. Even if the correct gun is
used, there is a risk of serious or deadly injury if the bean bag is fired at
the head — and it’s difficult to avoid hitting the head, face, throat, or
center of the chest "when a person is twisting or running around,"
says Heal.
Where it’s used: Different
versions of bean bags have existed for over three decades, and are perhaps the
most widely-used non-lethal weapon outside of the TASER, pepper spray, and
nightstick. As the technology has evolved (from a flatter, squarer bag that was
inaccurate as a projectile and sometimes failed to expand properly mid-air), it
has become significantly less dangerous.
Blunt-Impact
Projectiles
Plastic bullets (37 mm or 40 mm)
capped with gel, silicone, or foam, fired from a single-shot gas launcher or
giant revolver. The bullets are designed to flatten upon impact. They can also
be filled with pepper spray or liquids that smell like fecal matter, rotten
eggs, or dead animals, to further repel the suspect.
Approximate cost: $350 to $1200
for the gun, $25 per round.
When it’s most useful: Subduing a
potentially violent suspect from a distance, and when the officer has time to
get a large, specialized weapon out of the trunk.
Effect on target: Severe, blunt
pain.
Why it’s appealing: The
projectiles have a soft, wide surface of impact and should not be able to
pierce through skin or injure internal organs.
Potential downsides: Very expensive
and only useful at long range; also liable to cause serious or deadly injury if
fired at the head, neck, or chest.
Where it’s used: The newest
version has already been purchased by at least 16 law-enforcement agencies,
including the SWAT teams in L.A. County and Sacramento.
Pepperballs
Small (.68-inch), round, plastic
balls filled with synthetic capsaicin powder, the active ingredient in chili
peppers. A paintball-style gun rapidly fires the balls, which explode after
hitting any surface, releasing the powder.
Approximate cost: $150 to $300
for a paintball gun or $250 to $500 for a brand-name PepperBall gun; $3 to $5
per round.
When it’s most useful: Indoors
(including in jails and other correctional situations), when the officer can
aim at walls and ceilings to release the pepper powder.
Effect on target: Puffy, watery,
stinging eyes; runny nose; difficulty breathing; and coughing.
Why it’s appealing: One of the
few alternatives that doesn't need to make direct contact with the target —
police can shoot it anywhere nearby, and the effect of the capsaicin powder
will be the same. However, cops’ training and instincts often cause them to aim
for "center mass," says Heal. According to Ijames, the pepperballs
"beg a shot to the upper body, because the officer wants to make sure the
suspect gets the worst of the pepper."
Potential downsides: The round
shape of a pepperball is relatively unstable as it flies through the air, and
because of "trajectory degradation," it is not nearly as accurate as
a sleek, pointed bullet.
Where it’s used: Most famously
used in 1999 during the “Battle of Seattle” anti-WTO riots. In 2004, the Boston
Police Department accidentally killed a 21-year-old college student who was
celebrating the Red Sox's World Series victory — by firing a pepperball at her
eye.
“The
Alternative”
An orange metal attachment that
an officer can quickly clip onto the barrel of his handgun before firing a
shot. The clip-on “catches” the bullet — like an airbag — making it fly about
one-fifth as fast.
Approximate cost: $45 per unit.
When it’s most useful: Anytime an
officer needs to fire his regular service weapon but does not want the shot to
be deadly, and has time to attach this device.
Effect on target: Instead of
penetrating and potentially killing the suspect, the slowed-down bullet only
knocks him down. “But it might break ribs and it feels like getting hit in the
chest with a hammer,” says Ellis, the CEO of the company that manufactures the
product.
Why it’s appealing: The
Alternative is a compact device that is relatively easy to incorporate into
everyday use. The officer can take the clip-on from his belt and attach it to
his handgun.
Potential downsides: According to
Heal, one “weapons platform” should deliver only one type of force — either
lethal or non-lethal. Combining the two on the same gun, he says, is inherently
dangerous: What if the officer instinctively “double-taps” (pulls the trigger
twice), as most police are trained to do? The result would be the firing of a
lethal round right after the non-lethal one has already been discharged.
Where it’s used: A month after
the shooting of Michael Brown, the assistant chief of Ferguson's police
department took to Google, searching for a less-lethal option for cops. He came
up with The Alternative, but after a group of experts sent a letter saying how
dangerous they believed the device was, Ferguson has stopped considering it.
“The
XREP”
Manufactured until 2012 by TASER
International, the XREP is essentially a long-range, wireless version of the
traditional TASER, firing plastic shells that each contain sharpened
electrodes, a battery, a transmitter, and a microprocessor. When a shell hits
the suspect, the electrodes are released and pierce through clothes and skin,
releasing up to 50,000 volts of electricity for 20 seconds.
Approximate cost: Over $1,000 for
the launcher, $100 per round.
When it’s most useful: For
incapacitating people from a distance.
Effect on target: Muscles contract
uncontrollably, causing the person to freeze and fall to the ground. And if the
person attempts to pull out the electrodes, a circuit is created, spreading the
effect.
Why it’s appealing: Like a TASER,
the XREP can effectively subdue a person who is suicidal or under the influence
of drugs, or otherwise has a high threshold for pain. And unlike a TASER, the
XREP can be fired from a distance.
Potential downsides: The XREP’s
high cost is its main downside. But, like TASER products, it could be
dangerous:According to a 2013 report by Amnesty International, the TASER has
caused more than 500 deaths in the United States since 2001.
Where it’s been used: TASER
discontinued the XREP back in 2012, because it was expensive and “departments
just weren’t buying it,” says TASER spokesperson Steve Tuttle. But several
police departments around the country still have the XREP, and few use it
occasionally. It was used in March by cops in Albuquerque, N.M., against a
mentally-ill person.
“ML-12”
Less-Lethal Launcher
A two-shot pistol that shoots
most types of less-lethal ammunition (bean bags, pepper rounds, rubber balls,
flares, etc.).
When it’s most useful: Close or
hand-to-hand confrontations, at traffic stops, in small rooms.
Approximate cost: $549 for the
launcher and holster, $4 to $7 per round.
Effect on target: Depends on the
type of round.
Why it’s appealing: This is a
weapon that the officer can wear on his/her belt and have on hand in any
situation.
Potential downsides: It only
fires two shots, and two-thirds of use-of-force encounters require an officer
to fire more than twice, according to the National Institute of Justice.
Where it’s used: Tommy Teach, the
founder of Bruzer Less Lethal International, the company that markets the
ML-12, says it has been purchased by over a hundred "small, rural police
departments — who prefer it to the TASER because of its lower cost."
“Active
Denial System”
Designed
by the military, the ADS, also known as the “pain ray,” is shaped like a
satellite dish and shoots an invisible, 95 GHz wave of heat at the suspect —
similar to the waves inside a microwave.
How it
would be used: To stop, deter, and force the retreat of a person who is
approaching too aggressively.
Effect
on target: Heats the skin to 130° Fahrenheit in under two seconds, causing
excruciating, quickly unbearable pain.
Why
it’s appealing: The ADS has been thoroughly researched by the Department of
Defense, and after 13,000 tests on human subjects, there have been only two
serious injuries and no lasting side effects, according to the Pentagon.
Potential
downsides: The ADS is very large; the existing model is designed to be mounted
on top of a humvee or military-sized vehicle. Police would need a much smaller
version with less range but greater portability (and one that doesn’t take half
a day to boot up). The ACLU has also called the ADS a torture device.
Status:
Available to the military in Afghanistan for deterring individuals who were
getting too close to U.S. troops, the ADS was considered for use at the
Pitchess Detention Center in Los Angeles County to disrupt assaults and fights.
The National Institute of Justice has long considered developing a smaller,
handheld version — to be used by law enforcement.
FBI
resists calls to reform voluntary reporting system for police killings
Director James Comey said FBI
‘plans to collect more data about shootings’ while retaining controversial
self-reporting method for police departments
Jon Swaine and Oliver Laughland
in New York
The FBI will continue to resist
pressure from legislators and activists for the creation of a fully
comprehensive count of all killings by American police officers, the bureau’s
director signalled on Monday.
Writing as the FBI released its
annual crime statistics, James Comey said an existing voluntary system, under which
police departments around the country choose whether or not to submit data on
homicides by their officers, will carry on.
Comey said the FBI would try to
collect more information – but gave no specific details about how this would be
done.
He said of the current
information collected: “As helpful as this information is, however, we need
more law enforcement agencies to submit their justifiable homicide data so that
we can better understand what is happening across the country.”
The FBI counted 444 “justifiable
homicides” by law enforcement officers in 2014, according to statistics
released on Monday. That total represented a 5.7% decrease from the 471 counted
the year before.
Yet both the accuracy of the
figures and any trends emerging from them have been called into question due to
the voluntary reporting system.
The Guardian is counting all
deaths caused by police and law enforcement in 2015, and collecting extensive
details on each incident and those killed. As of Monday a total of 871 deaths
this year had been recorded by the project, The Counted.
A spokesman for the FBI did not
respond to a request for information on how many of the roughly 18,000 law
enforcement agencies in the US had submitted data in 2014 or in previous years.
Criticism of the FBI’s system has
sharpened since protests erupted last year following the fatal shooting of an
unarmed black 18-year-old in Ferguson, Missouri. Mandatory reporting of all
homicides by law enforcement was among a series of recommendations proposed
earlier this year by Barack Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing.
Senators Barbara Boxer of
California and Cory Booker of New Jersey have proposed legislation that would
mandate law enforcement agencies to report comprehensive data on the use of
deadly force by their officers. Their bill is currently sitting in committee
stage, and is presumed to stand little chance of becoming law under the
Republican-controlled Congress. Similar legislation has been put forward by
Democrats in the House of Representatives.
Boxer told the Guardian on Monday
that the FBI was correct to acknowledge the “serious gaps” in its own records,
adding that reliable data was pivotal to “understand the scope of this horrific
problem and save lives on all sides”.
Democratic congressman Steve
Cohen, who reintroduced a bill for national deadly force statistics in January,
said the data did not “tell us all we need to know about the use of deadly
force by police”.
Cohen has gone on to introduce
further proposed legislation to encourage a mandatory independent investigation
of officer involved deaths.
Laurie Robinson, co-chair of
Obama’s taskforce, described FBI data published on Monday as flawed and
unreliable, adding that any potential changes to police practice in the US
after nationwide scrutiny accompanied unrest in Ferguson would not have
filtered through by the end of 2014.
“I think one has to be very cautious and not
read that much into of any of it at this stage,” Robinson said.
“There is a lag in the reporting
of the data. The public and professional consciousness on these issues really
has occurred in 2015, even though Ferguson occurred in 2014. So I’m not sure
that one would expect there would be a dramatic change in behaviour in law
enforcement in the last couple of months in 2014.”
Comey said in his statement that
the FBI “plan to collect more data about shootings (fatal and nonfatal) between
law enforcement and civilians, and to increase reporting overall”. Asked to
elaborate, a spokeswoman said: “There’s nothing else we have for you.”
The director said this extra
information would be used to create a publication separate to the annual crime
statistics that would “outline facts about what happened, who was involved, the
nature of injuries or deaths, and the circumstances behind these incidents”.
Robinson said that while Comey’s
comments were a welcome rhetorical nod towards better reporting, the FBI
director has no power to implement a mandatory reporting program himself.
“What he called for here is
exactly right,” Robinson said. “But we’re still at the mercy of having embraced
this very, very decentralised state and local law enforcement system. I’m not
criticising it; it’s just what we have.”
BLOGLAPEDIA’S
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THE ARTS
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Sculpture
this and Sculpture that
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The
art of War (Propaganda art through the ages)
http://theartofwarcleverhuh.blogspot.com/
Album
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Pulp
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http://pulpfictiontrash.blogspot.com/
Admit
it, you want to Read this Book (The art of Pulp Fiction covers)
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FILM
The
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On
the Waterfront: The Making of a great American Film
http://onthewaterfrontthefilm.blogspot.com/
FOOD
Absolutely
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Good
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And I
Love Clams (New England foods)
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In
Praise of the Rhode Island Wiener (New England foods)
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Wicked
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Old
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FOSTER CARE
Foster Care new and Updates
Aging out of the system
Murder, Death and Abuse in the
Foster Care system
Angel and Saints in the Foster
Care System
The Foster Children’s Blogs
Foster Care Legislation
The Foster Children’s Bill of Right
Foster Kids own Story
The Adventures of Foster Kid.
HEALTH
Me
vs. Diabetes (Diabetes education site)
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HISTORY
The
Quotable Helen Keller
http://thequotablehelenkeller.blogspot.com/
Teddy
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http://teddyrooseveltsletterstohischildren.blogspot.com/
The
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http://thequotablemachiavelli.blogspot.com/
HUMOR
Whatever
you do, don't laugh
http://whateveryoudodontlaugh.blogspot.com/
The
Quotable Grouch Marx
http://thequotablegrouchmarx.blogspot.com/
IRISH-AMERICANA
A Big
Blog of Irish Literature
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The
Wee Blog of Irish Jokes (Book support blog)
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The
Wee Blog of Irish Recipes
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The
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http://irishamericangangsters.blogspot.com
The
Irish in their Own Words
http://theirishintheirownwords.blogspot.com/
When
Washington Was Irish
http://whenwashingtonwasirish.blogspot.com/
The
Wee Book of Irish Recipes (Book support site)
http://theweeblogofirishrecipes.blogspot.com/
LITERATURE
Following
Fitzgerald
http://followingfitzgerald.blogspot.com/
Shakespeare
http://shakespeareinamericanenglish.blogspot.com/
The
Blogable Robert Frost
http://theblogablerobertfrost.blogspot.com/
Charles
Dickens
http://charlesdickensfan.blogspot.com/
The
Beat Poets of the Forever Generation
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Holden
Caulfield Blog Spot
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The
Quotable Oscar Wilde
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NEW ENGLAND BLOGS
The
Quotable Thoreau
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Old
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Wicked
Cool New England Recipes
http://whickedcoolnewenglandrecipes.blogspot.com
Emerson
http://emersonsaidit.blogspot.com/
The
New England Mafia
http://thenewenglandmafia.blogspot.com/
And I
Love Clams
http://andiloveclams.blogspot.com/
In
Praise of the Rhode Island Wiener
http://inpraiseoftherhodeislandwiener.blogspot.com/
Watch
Hill
http://watchhillwesterly.blogspot.com/
York
Beach
http://yorkbeachfortheblogofit.blogspot.com/
The
Connecticut History Blog
http://connecticuthistory.blogspot.com/
The
Connecticut Irish
http://theconnecticutirish.blogspot.com/
Good
chowda
http://goodchowda.blogspot.com/
NOSTALGIA
God,
How I hated the 70s
http://godhowihatedthe70s.blogspot.com/
Child
of the Sixties Forever
http://childofthesixtiesforeverandever.blogspot.com/
The
Kennedy’s in the 60’s
http://thekennedysinthe60s.blogspot.com/
Music
of the Sixties Forever
http://musicofthesixtiesforever.blogspot.com/
Elvis
and Nixon at the White House (Book support site)
http://elvisandnixonatthewhitehouse.blogspot.com/
Beatles
Fan Forever
http://beatlesfanforever.blogspot.com/
Year
One, 1955
http://yearone1955.blogspot.com/
Robert
Kennedy in His Own Words
The
1980s were fun
http://the1980swereokayactually.blogspot.com/
The
1990s. The last decade.
http://1990sthelastdecade.blogspot.com/
ORGANIZED CRIME
The
Russian Mafia
http://russianmafiagangster.blogspot.com/
The
American Jewish Gangster
http://theamericanjewishgangster.blogspot.com/
The
Mob in Hollywood
http://themobinhollywood.blogspot.com/
We
Only Kill Each Other
http://weonlykilleachother.blogspot.com/
Early
Gangsters of New York City
http://earlygangstersofnewyorkcity.blogspot.com/
Al
Capone: Biography of a self-made Man
http://alcaponethebiographyofaselfmademan.blogspot.com/
The
Life and World of Al Capone
http://thelifeandworldofalcapone.blogspot.com/
The
Salerno Report
http://salernoreportmafiaandurderjohnkennedy.blogspot.com/
Guns
and Glamour
http://gunsandglamourthechicagomobahistory.blogspot.com/
The
St. Valentine’s Day Massacre
http://thesaintvalentinesdaymassacre.blogspot.com/
Mob
Testimony
http://mobtestimony.blogspot.com/
Recipes
we would Die For
http://recipeswewoulddiefor.blogspot.com/
The
Prohibition in Pictures
http://theprohibitioninpictures.blogspot.com/
The
Mob in Pictures
http://themobinpictures.blogspot.com/
The
Mob in Vegas
http://themobinvegasinpictures.blogspot.com/
The
Irish American Gangster
http://irishamericangangsters.blogspot.com
Roger
Touhy Gangster
http://rogertouhygangsters.blogspot.com/
Chicago’s
Mob Bosses
http://chicagosmobbossesfromaccardoto.blogspot.com/
Chicago
Gang Land: It Happened Here
http://chicagoganglandithappenedhere.blogspot.com/
Whacked:
One Hundred years of Murder in Gangland
http://whackedonehundredyearsmurderand.blogspot.com/
The
Mob Across America
http://themobacrossamerica.blogspot.com/
Mob
Cops, Lawyers and Front Men
http://mobcopslawyersandinformantsand.blogspot.com/
Shooting
the Mob: Dutch Schultz
http://shootingthemobdutchschultz.blogspot.com/
Bugsy&
His Flamingo: The Testimony of Virginia Hill
http://bugsyandvirginiahill.blogspot.com/
After
Valachi. Hearings before the US Senate on Organized Crime
http://aftervalachi.blogspot.com/
Mob
Buster: Report of Special Agent Virgil Peterson to the Kefauver Committee (Book
support site)
http://virgilpetersonmobbuster.blogspot.com/
The
US Government’s Timeline of Organized Crime (Book support site)
http://timelineoforganizedcrime.blogspot.com/
The
Kefauver Organized Crime Hearings (Book support site)
http://thekefauverorganizedcrimehearings.blogspot.com/
Joe
Valachi's testimony on the Mafia (Book support site)
http://joevalachistestimonyonthemafia.blogspot.com/
Mobsters
in the News
http://mobstersinthenews.blogspot.com/
Shooting
the Mob: Dead Mobsters (Book support site)
http://deadmobsters.blogspot.com/
The
Stolen Years Full Text (Roger Touhy)
http://thestolenyearsfulltext.blogspot.com/
Mobsters
in Black and White
http://mobstersinblackandwhite.blogspot.com/
Mafia
Gangsters, Wiseguys and Goodfellas
http://mafiagangsterswiseguysandgoodfellas.blogspot.com/
Whacked:
One Hundred Years of Murder and Mayhem in the Chicago Mob (Book support site)
http://whackedonehundredyearsmurderand.blogspot.com/
Gangland
Gaslight: The Killing of Rosy Rosenthal (Book support site)
http://ganglandgaslightrosyrosenthal.blogspot.com/
The
Best of the Mob Files Series (Book support site)
http://thebestofthemobfilesseries.blogspot.com/
PHILOSOPHY
It’s
All Greek Mythology to me
http://itsallgreekmythologytome.blogspot.com/
PSYCHOLOGY
Psychologically
Relevant
http://psychologicallyrelevant.blogspot.com/
SNOBBERY
The
Rarifieid Tribe
http://therarifiedtribe.blogspot.com/
Perfect
Behavior
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TRAVEL
The
Upscale Traveler
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TRIVIA
The
Mish Mosh Blog
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WASHINGTON DC
DC
Behind the Monuments
http://dcbehindthemonuments.blogspot.com/
Washington
Oddities
http://washingtonoddities.blogspot.com/
When
Washington Was Irish
http://whenwashingtonwasirish.blogspot.com/
FROM LLR BOOKS. COM
Litchfield Literary Books. A really small company
run by writers.
AMERICAN HISTORY
The Day
Nixon Met Elvis
Paperback 46 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Day-Nixon-Met-elvis/
Theodore
Roosevelt: Letters to his Children. 1903-1918
Paperback 194 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Theodore-Roosevelt-Letters-Children-1903-1918/dp/
THE ANCIENT GREEKS AND CIVILIZATIONS
The Works
of Horace
Paperback 174 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Works-Horace-Richard-Willoughby/
The
Quotable Greeks
Paperback 234 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Quotable-Greeks-Richard-W-Willoughby
The
Quotable Epictetus
Paperback 142 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Quotable-Epictetus-Golden-Sayings
Quo
Vadis: A narrative of the time of Nero
Paperback 420 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Quo-Vadis-Narrative-Time-Nero
CHILDRENS
BOOKS
The
Porchless Pumpkin: A Halloween Story for Children
A Halloween play for young children. By consent of the author,
this play may be performed, at no charge, by educational institutions,
neighborhood organizations and other not-for-profit-organizations.
A fun story with a moral
“I believe that Denny O'Day is an American treasure and this
little book proves it. Jack is a pumpkin who happens to be very small, by
pumpkins standards and as a result he goes unbought in the pumpkin patch on
Halloween eve, but at the last moment he is given his chance to prove that just
because you're small doesn't mean you can't be brave. Here is the point that I
found so wonderful, the book stresses that while size doesn't matter when it
comes to courage...ITS OKAY TO BE SCARED....as well. I think children need to
hear that, that's its okay to be unsure because life is a ongoing lesson isn't
it?”
Paperback: 42 pages
http://www.amazon.com/OLANTERN-PORCHLESS-PUMPKIN-Halloween-Children
BOOKS
ON FOSTER CARE
It's Not
All Right to be a Foster Kid....no matter what they tell you: Tweet the books
contents
Paperback 94 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Right-Foster-Kid-no-matter-what
From the Author
I spent my childhood, from age seven through seventeen, in
foster care. Over the course of those
ten years, many decent, well-meaning, and concerned people told me, "It's
okay to be foster kid."
In saying that, those very good people meant to encourage me,
and I appreciated their kindness then, and all these many decades later, I
still appreciate their good intentions. But as I was tossed around the foster
care system, it began to dawn on me that they were wrong. It was not all right to be a foster kid.
During my time in the system, I was bounced every eighteen
months from three foster homes to an orphanage to a boy's school and to a group
home before I left on my own accord at age seventeen.
In the course of my stay in foster care, I was severely beaten
in two homes by my "care givers" and separated from my four siblings
who were also in care, sometimes only blocks away from where I was living.
I left the system rather than to wait to age out, although the
effects of leaving the system without any family, means, or safety net of any
kind, were the same as if I had aged out. I lived in poverty for the first part
of my life, dropped out of high school, and had continuous problems with the
law.
Today, almost nothing
about foster care has changed. Exactly
what happened to me is happening to some other child, somewhere in America,
right now. The system, corrupt, bloated,
and inefficient, goes on, unchanging and secretive.
Something has gone wrong in a system that was originally a
compassionate social policy built to improve lives but is now a definitive
cause in ruining lives. Due to gross
negligence, mismanagement, apathy, and greed, mostly what the foster care
system builds are dangerous consequences. Truly, foster care has become our
epic national disgrace and a nightmare for those of us who have lived through
it.
Yet there is a suspicion among some Americans that foster care
costs too much, undermines the work ethic, and is at odds with a satisfying
life. Others see foster care as a part
of the welfare system, as legal plunder of the public treasuries.
None of that is true;
in fact, all that sort of thinking does is to blame the victims. There is not a single child in the system who
wants to be there or asked to be there.
Foster kids are in foster care because they had nowhere else to go. It's that simple. And believe me, if those kids could get out
of the system and be reunited with their parents and lead normal, healthy
lives, they would. And if foster care is a sort of legal plunder of the public
treasuries, it's not the kids in the system who are doing the plundering.
We need to end this
needless suffering. We need to end it
because it is morally and ethically wrong and because the generations to come
will not judge us on the might of our armed forces or our technological
advancements or on our fabulous wealth.
Rather, they will judge
us, I am certain, on our compassion for those who are friendless, on our
decency to those who have nothing and on our efforts, successful or not, to
make our nation and our world a better place.
And if we cannot accomplish those things in the short time allotted to
us, then let them say of us "at least they tried."
You can change the tragedy of foster care and here's how to do
it. We have created this book so that
almost all of it can be tweeted out by you to the world. You have the power to improve the lives of
those in our society who are least able to defend themselves. All you need is the will to do it.
If the American people,
as good, decent and generous as they are, knew what was going on in foster
care, in their name and with their money, they would stop it. But, generally speaking, although the public
has a vague notion that foster care is a mess, they don't have the complete
picture. They are not aware of the human, economic and social cost that the
mismanagement of the foster care system puts on our nation.
By tweeting the facts laid out in this work, you can help to
change all of that. You can make a
difference. You can change things for
the better.
We can always change the future for a foster kid; to make it
better ...you have the power to do that. Speak up (or tweet out) because it's
your country. Don't depend on the
"The other guy" to speak up for these kids, because you are the other
guy.
We cannot build a future for foster children, but we can build
foster children for the future and the time to start that change is today.
No time
to say Goodbye: Memoirs of a life in foster
Paperbook 440 Books
http://www.amazon.com/No-Time-Say-Goodbye-Memoir
BOOKS ABOUT FILM
On the
Waterfront: The Making of a Great American Film
Paperback: 416 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Waterfront-Making-Great-American-Film/
BOOKS ABOUT GHOSTS AND THE SUPERNATUAL
Scotish
Ghost Stories
Paperback 186 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Scottish-Ghost-Stories-Elliott-ODonell
HUMOR BOOKS
The Book of
funny odd and interesting things people say
Paperback: 278 pages
http://www.amazon.com/book-funny-interesting-things-people
The Wee
Book of Irish Jokes
http://www.amazon.com/Book-Series-Irish-Jokes-ebook
Perfect
Behavior: A guide for Ladies and Gentlemen in all Social Crises
http://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Behavior-Ladies-Gentlemen-Social
BOOKS ABOUT THE 1960s
You Don’t
Need a Weatherman. Underground 1969
Paperback 122 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Weatherman-Notes-Weatherman-Underground-1969
Baby
Boomers Guide to the Beatles Songs of the Sixties
Paperback
http://www.amazon.com/Boomers-Guide-Beatles-Songs-Sixties/
Baby
Boomers Guide to Songs of the 1960s
http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Boomers-Guide-Songs-1960s
IRISH- AMERICANA
The
Connecticut Irish
Paper back 140 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Connecticut-Irish-Catherine-F-Connolly
The Wee Book of Irish Jokes
http://www.amazon.com/Book-Series-Irish-Jokes-ebook/
The Wee
Book of Irish Recipes
http://www.amazon.com/The-Wee-Book-Irish-Recipes/
The Wee Book of the American-Irish Gangsters
http://www.amazon.com/The-Wee-Book-Irish-American-Gangsters/
The Wee book of Irish Blessings...
http://www.amazon.com/Series-Blessing-Proverbs-Toasts-ebook/
The Wee
Book of the American Irish in Their Own Words
http://www.amazon.com/Book-American-Irish-Their-Words/
Everything
you need to know about St. Patrick
Paperback 26 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Need-About-Saint-Patrick
A Reading
Book in Ancient Irish History
Paperback 147pages
http://www.amazon.com/Reading-Book-Ancient-Irish-History
The Book
of Things Irish
http://www.amazon.com/Book-Things-Irish-William-Tuohy/
Poets and
Dreamer; Stories translated from the Irish
Paperback 158 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Poets-Dreamers-Stories-Translated-Irish/
The
History of the Great Irish Famine: Abridged and Illustrated
Paperback 356 pages
http://www.amazon.com/History-Great-Irish-Famine-Illustrated/
BOOKS ABOUT NEW ENGLAND
The New
England Mafia
http://www.amazon.com/The-New-England-Mafia-ebook/
Wicked
Good New England Recipes
http://www.amazon.com/Wicked-Good-New-England-Recipes/
The
Connecticut Irish
Paper back 140 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Connecticut-Irish-Catherine-F-Connolly
The
Twenty-Fifth Regiment Connecticut Volunteers
Paperback 64 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Twenty-Fifth-Regiment-Connecticut-Volunteers-Rebellion
The Life
of James Mars
Paperback 54 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Life-James-Mars-Slave-Connecticut
Stories
of Colonial Connecticut
Paperback 116 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Stories-Colonial-Connnecticut-Caroline-Clifford
What they
Say in Old New England
Paperback 194 pages
http://www.amazon.com/What-they-say-New-England/
BOOK ABOUT ORGANIZED CRIME
Chicago
Organized Crime
Chicago-Mob-Bosses
http://www.amazon.com/Chicagos-Mob-Bosses-Accardo-ebook
The Mob
Files: It Happened Here: Places of Note in Chicago gangland 1900-2000
http://www.amazon.com/The-Mob-Files-1900-2000-ebook
An
Illustrated Chronological History of the Chicago Mob. Time Line 1837-2000
http://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-Chronological-History-Chicago-1837-2000/
Mob
Buster: Report of Special Agent Virgil Peterson to the Kefauver Committee
http://www.amazon.com/Mob-Buster-Peterson-Committee-ebook/
The Mob
Files. Guns and Glamour: The Chicago Mob. A History. 1900-2000
http://www.amazon.com/Mob-Files-Guns-Glamour-ebook/
Shooting
the Mob: Organized crime in photos. Crime Boss Tony Accardo
http://www.amazon.com/Shooting-Mob-Organized-photos-Accardo/
Shooting
the Mob: Organized Crime in Photos: The Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre.
http://www.amazon.com/Shooting-Mob-Organized-Valentines-Massacre
The Life
and World of Al Capone in Photos
http://www.amazon.com/Life-World-Al-Capone
AL
CAPONE: The Biography of a Self-Made Man.: Revised from the 0riginal 1930
edition.Over 200 new photographs
Paperback: 340 pages
http://www.amazon.com/CAPONE-Biography-Self-Made-Over-photographs
Whacked.
One Hundred Years Murder and Mayhem in the Chicago Outfit
Paperback: 172 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Whacked-Hundred-Murder-Mayhem-Chicago/
Las
Vegas Organized Crime
The Mob
in Vegas
http://www.amazon.com/Mob-Files-Vegas-ebook
Bugsy
& His Flamingo: The Testimony of Virginia Hill
http://www.amazon.com/Bugsy-His-Flamingo-Testimony-Virginia/
Testimony
by Mobsters Lewis McWillie, Joseph Campisi and Irwin Weiner (The Mob Files
Series)
http://www.amazon.com/The-Kennedy-Assassination-Ruby-Testimony-ebook
Rattling
the Cup on Chicago Crime.
Paperback 264 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Rattling-Cup-Chicago-Crime-Abridged
The Life
and Times of Terrible Tommy O’Connor.
Paperback 94 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Life-Times-Terrible-Tommy-OConnor
The Mob,
Sam Giancana and the overthrow of the Black Policy Racket in Chicago
Paperback 200 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Giancana-ovethrow-Policy-Rackets-Chicago
When
Capone’s Mob Murdered Roger Touhy. In Photos
Paperback 234 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Capones-Murdered-Roger-Touhy-photos
Organized
Crime in Hollywood
The Mob in Hollywood
http://www.amazon.com/Mob-Files-Hollywood-ebook/
The Bioff
Scandal
Paperback 54 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Bioff-Scandal-Shakedown-Hollywood-Studios
Organized
Crime in New York
Joe Pistone’s war on the mafia
http://www.amazon.com/Joe-Petrosinos-War-Mafia-Files/
Mob
Testimony: Joe Pistone, Michael Scars DiLeonardo, Angelo Lonardo and others
http://www.amazon.com/Mob-Testimony-DiLeonardo-testimony-Undercover/
The New
York Mafia: The Origins of the New York Mob
http://www.amazon.com/The-New-York-Mafia-Origins
The New
York Mob: The Bosses
http://www.amazon.com/The-New-York-Mob-Bosses/
Organized
Crime 25 Years after Valachi. Hearings before the US Senate
http://www.amazon.com/Organized-Crime-Valachi-Hearings-ebook
Shooting
the mob: Dutch Schultz
http://www.amazon.com/Shooting-Mob-Organized-Photographs-Schultz
Gangland
Gaslight: The Killing of Rosy Rosenthal. (Illustrated)
http://www.amazon.com/Gangland-Gaslight-Killing-Rosenthal-Illustrated/
Early
Street Gangs and Gangsters of New York City
Paperback 382 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Early-Street-Gangs-Gangsters-York
THE RUSSIAN MOBS
The
Russian Mafia in America
http://www.amazon.com/The-Russian-Mafia-America-ebook/
The
Threat of Russian Organzied Crime
Paperback 192 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Threat-Russian-Organized-Crime-photographs-ebook
Organized
Crime/General
Best of
Mob Stories
http://www.amazon.com/Files-Series-Illustrated-Articles-Organized-Crime/
Best of
Mob Stories Part 2
http://www.amazon.com/Series-Illustrated-Articles-Organized-ebook/
Illustrated-Book-Prohibition-Gangsters
http://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-Book-Prohibition-Gangsters-ebook
Mob
Recipes to Die For. Meals and Mobsters in Photos
http://www.amazon.com/Recipes-For-Meals-Mobsters-Photos
More Mob Recipes
to Die For. Meals and Mobs
http://www.amazon.com/More-Recipes-Meals-Mobsters-Photos
The New
England Mafia
http://www.amazon.com/The-New-England-Mafia-ebook
Shooting
the mob. Organized crime in photos. Dead Mobsters, Gangsters and Hoods.
http://www.amazon.com/Shooting-mob-Organized-photos-Mobsters-Gangsters/
The
Salerno Report: The Mafia and the Murder of President John F. Kennedy
http://www.amazon.com/The-Salerno-Report-President-ebook/
The
Mob Files: Mob Wars. "We only kill each other"
http://www.amazon.com/The-Mob-Files-Wars-other/
The Mob
across America
http://www.amazon.com/The-Files-Across-America-ebook/
The US
Government’s Time Line of Organzied Crime 1920-1987
http://www.amazon.com/GOVERNMENTS-ORGANIZED-1920-1987-Illustrated-ebook/
Early
Street Gangs and Gangsters of New York City: 1800-1919. Illustrated
http://www.amazon.com/Gangsters-1800-1919-Illustrated-Street-ebook/
The Mob
Files: Mob Cops, Lawyers and Informants and Fronts
http://www.amazon.com/The-Mob-Files-Informants-ebook/
Gangster
Quotes: Mobsters in their own words. Illustrated
Paperback: 128 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Gangsters-Quotes-Mobsters-words-Illustrated/
The Book
of American-Jewish Gangsters: A Pictorial History.
Paperback: 436 pages
http://www.amazon.com/The-Book-American-Jewish-Gangsters-Pictorial/
The Mob
and the Kennedy Assassination
Paperback 414 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Mob-Kennedy-Assassination-Ruby-Testimony-Mobsters
BOOKS ABOUT THE OLD WEST
The Last
Outlaw: The story of Cole Younger, by Himself
Paperback 152 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Last-Outlaw-Story-Younger-Himself
BOOKS ON PHOTOGRAPHY
Chicago:
A photographic essay.
Paperback: 200 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Chicago-Photographic-Essay-William-Thomas
STAGE PLAYS
Boomers
on a train: A ten minute play
Paperback 22 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Boomers-train-ten-minute-Play-ebook
Four
Short Plays
By John William Tuohy
http://www.amazon.com/Four-Short-Plays-William-Tuohy
Four More
Short Plays
By John William Tuohy
http://www.amazon.com/Four-Short-Plays-William-Tuohy/
High and
Goodbye: Everybody gets the Timothy Leary they deserve. A full length play
By John William Tuohy
http://www.amazon.com/High-Goodbye-Everybody-Timothy-deserve
Cyberdate.
An Everyday Love Story about Everyday People
By John William Tuohy
http://www.amazon.com/Cyberdate-Everyday-Story-People-ebook/
The
Dutchman's Soliloquy: A one Act Play based on the factual last words of
Gangster Dutch Schultz.
By John William Tuohy
http://www.amazon.com/Dutchmans-Soliloquy-factual-Gangster-Schultz/
Fishbowling
on The Last Words of Dutch Schultz: Or William S. Burroughs intersects with
Dutch Schultz
Print Length: 57 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Fishbowling-Last-Words-Dutch-Schultz-ebook/
American
Shakespeare: August Wilson in his own words. A One Act Play
By John William Tuohy
http://www.amazon.com/American-Shakespeare-August-Wilson-ebook
She
Stoops to Conquer
http://www.amazon.com/She-Stoops-Conquer-Oliver-Goldsmith/
The Seven
Deadly Sins of Gilligan’s Island: A ten minute play
Print Length: 14 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Deadly-Gilligans-Island-minute-ebook/
BOOKS ABOUT VIRGINIA
OUT OF
CONTROL: An Informal History of the Fairfax County Police
http://www.amazon.com/Control-Informal-History-Fairfax-Police/
McLean
Virginia. A short informal history
http://www.amazon.com/McLean-Virginia-Short-Informal-History/
THE QUOTABLE SERIES
The
Quotable Emerson: Life lessons from the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson: Over 300
quotes
http://www.amazon.com/The-Quotable-Emerson-lessons-quotes
The
Quotable John F. Kennedy
http://www.amazon.com/The-Quotable-John-F-Kennedy/
The
Quotable Oscar Wilde
http://www.amazon.com/The-Quotable-Oscar-Wilde-lessons/
The
Quotable Machiavelli
http://www.amazon.com/The-Quotable-Machiavelli-Richard-Thayer/
The
Quotable Confucius: Life Lesson from the Chinese Master
http://www.amazon.com/The-Quotable-Confucius-Lesson-Chinese/
The
Quotable Henry David Thoreau
http://www.amazon.com/Quotable-Henry-Thoreau-Quotables-ebook
The
Quotable Robert F. Kennedy
http://www.amazon.com/Quotable-Robert-F-Kennedy-Illustrated/
The
Quotable Writer: Writers on the Writers Life
http://www.amazon.com/The-Quotable-Writer-Quotables-ebook
The words
of Walt Whitman: An American Poet
Paperback: 162 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Words-Walt-Whitman-American-Poet
Gangster
Quotes: Mobsters in their own words. Illustrated
Paperback: 128 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Gangsters-Quotes-Mobsters-words-Illustrated/
The
Quotable Popes
Paperback 66 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Quotable-Popes-Maria-Conasenti
The
Quotable Kahlil Gibran with Artwork from Kahlil Gibran
Paperback 52 pages
Kahlil Gibran, an artist, poet, and writer was born on January
6, 1883 n the north of modern-day Lebanon and in what was then part of Ottoman
Empire. He had no formal schooling in Lebanon. In 1895, the family immigrated
to the United States when Kahlil was a young man and settled in South Boston.
Gibran enrolled in an art school and was soon a member of the avant-garde
community and became especially close to Boston artist, photographer, and
publisher Fred Holland Day who encouraged and supported Gibran’s creative
projects. An accomplished artist in drawing and watercolor, Kahlil attended art
school in Paris from 1908 to 1910, pursuing a symbolist and romantic style. He
held his first art exhibition of his drawings in 1904 in Boston, at Day's
studio. It was at this exhibition, that Gibran met Mary Elizabeth Haskell, who
ten years his senior. The two formed an important friendship and love affair
that lasted the rest of Gibran’s short life. Haskell influenced every aspect of
Gibran’s personal life and career. She became his editor when he began to write
and ushered his first book into publication in 1918, The Madman, a slim volume
of aphorisms and parables written in biblical cadence somewhere between poetry
and prose. Gibran died in New York City on April 10, 1931, at the age of 48
from cirrhosis of the liver and tuberculosis.
http://www.amazon.com/Quotable-Kahlil-Gibran-artwork/
The
Quotable Dorothy Parker
Paperback 86 pages
The
Quotable Machiavelli
Paperback 36 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Quotable-Machiavelli-Richard-L-Thayer
The
Quotable Greeks
Paperback 230 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Quotable-Greeks-Richard-W-Willoughby
The
Quotabe Oscar Wilde
Paperback 24 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Quotable-Oscar-Wilde-lessons-words/
The
Quotable Helen Keller
Paperback 66 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Quotable-Helen-Keller-Richard-Willoughby
The Art
of War: Sun Tzu
Paperback 60 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Quotable-Confucius-Lesson-Chinese-Quotables-ebook
The
Quotable Shakespeare
Paperback 54 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Quotable-Shakespeare-Richard-W-Willoughby
The
Quotable Gorucho Marx
Paperback 46 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Quotable-Groucho-Marx-Devon-Alexander
