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Showing posts from December, 2010

Back from the war 4 hours ago

“Back from the war 4 hours ago.” December 30, 2010 “Would you like to help end the wars with one click?” I ask. “What? I just got back from the war 4 hours ago.” Thus responded a man in fatigues on the street by our house. “What do you think of the war?” I ask. “I think it is stupid, they should be spending that money for the homeless here. It is a big mistake. What a waste. I am a Doctor. Great, I will take one those papers and write my representatives.” If you would like to write you representative see this link: http://www.jimspeacemaking.org/2010/09/help-make-peace-with-one-click.html Such was one of my many exchanges on one of my daily exercise walks to Lake Michigan from our apartment here in Chicago. Here I am on the pier by the lake. I did 27 presentations in a month-long speaking trip in Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania; here are some glimpses into them. Dr. Yanez, a Spanish Professor at Manchester College where I gave 8 talks. He planned to give me 15 minutes of his cl

Lottery tax on poor

Lottery tax on poor Thirty-one million dollars are spent on lottery tickets each year in the city of York, PA. Most of the low income people of York County live in the city. And so it seems quite clear that this turns out to be a tax on the poor that is used to pay for balancing the state budget and for many social services like education. I would guess that the same is the case for casinos. The poor see this as a way to gamble to get themselves out of the hole of poverty they are in. And thus they often become addicted to gambling as do others. This often ends in many broken families and divorces. I imagine this is the case in most states. There is even a new casino opening soon here Joliet, Illinois. Until now I have been completely unaware of this injustice. I would guess many of you have also been unaware of this connection. However another aspect of this is that Indian tribes have been depending on casinos to live on. I would think, though, tha