Okay, so it's off topic! (LINK)
Tthis is off topic. And not pertinent to the enlightened people outside the United States who might be reading this. Bear with me, it's been a rough week. This is not off topic, because in order to enjoy eating food, one must be able to chew adequately. I can't do that. I'm missing enough teeth (eight, mostly on the bottom) that I have very little chewing surface. I can't eat properly, I hurt a lot, and I'm embarrassed to smile. And I'm on a heavy duty med that means it may keep happening.
I still have the first tooth I ever lost as an adult. It was about 5 years ago. I've saved it in my medicine bag as a symbol of my status as a crone. But enough truly is enough.
Our country spends amounts I can't even conceptualize on foreign wars and diplomacy all over the world. Honestly? Let's face it, all those people have made up their minds how they feel about us long before we get there. And if they're our friends just because we give them money, that's a protection racket, and we've all watched enough crime dramas to know that trick never works.
This article points out how badly we need health care workers. We also need to grow our middle class; we've created far too many minimum wage jobs along with our change to an information and service based economy. We've entered the information era (yes, I know that's not news) but we're still at the beginning, with most of us floundering. You can't survive on minimum wage. It's difficult to make it on two minimum wage salaries. But there aren't many mid-level jobs there to take the places of the ones we've lost.
So, let's quit spending all of the money on kissing ass with people who have already made up their minds whether or not they like us. Spend it here, at home, on our citizens. Educate people so they can have careers that pay enough to live comfortably. Put in place a system where those people can be paid decently for taking care of citizens who need their services. Make it easier for the people they serve to become and stay healthy, so that they can continue working and doing what they can to improve their own lives and the lives of their children, and the rest of the country, for that matter.
And give me back my mouth, so I can eat my dinner and truly enjoy my food.
And so I'm not embarrassed to smile.
I still have the first tooth I ever lost as an adult. It was about 5 years ago. I've saved it in my medicine bag as a symbol of my status as a crone. But enough truly is enough.
Our country spends amounts I can't even conceptualize on foreign wars and diplomacy all over the world. Honestly? Let's face it, all those people have made up their minds how they feel about us long before we get there. And if they're our friends just because we give them money, that's a protection racket, and we've all watched enough crime dramas to know that trick never works.
This article points out how badly we need health care workers. We also need to grow our middle class; we've created far too many minimum wage jobs along with our change to an information and service based economy. We've entered the information era (yes, I know that's not news) but we're still at the beginning, with most of us floundering. You can't survive on minimum wage. It's difficult to make it on two minimum wage salaries. But there aren't many mid-level jobs there to take the places of the ones we've lost.
And give me back my mouth, so I can eat my dinner and truly enjoy my food.
And so I'm not embarrassed to smile.

























