When America Loses Its Soul

                                                                         



 Today two men died. In a perfect world they would have died as old men in the comfort of their home, surrounded by friends, and family after living a long fulfilling and honest life. Unfortunately the demise of these two men was a decision that was taken out of their hands.It was a decision made by a jury, and upheld by a court. An Execution of two men who some felt were so wrong in their crimes (Proven or not) deserved the ultimate punishment. So on September 21st 2011 we took the live's of two men, one was a white supremacist who dragged an innocent black man down the rode with his truck, the other was a black man who was allegedly responsible for the death of an off duty police officer. As I try to find the right words to type onto this bland screen, their deaths are complete. The sky is still blue, and tea party republicans are still stupid. But for the first time in all of my years on this earth, I have to question if we as living beings have lost our souls.

Death is a cold pill to swallow, and it is with this understanding that I harbor a deep seated fear for those who can willingly take a life and feel nothing. These are the people who register no pain knowing that they have taken something that they themselves were given. Life in its simplest form is a gift, no one in this world had a choice to be born, it is something that happened because of circumstances, and what I hope in most cases was love. We enter this world with a clean slate and the opportunity to not just exist, but matter. So when that one person has the ability to steal another's chance to make an impact on this world, they play the role of a GOD. We state to the universe that we understand our limitations, but despite all of our flaws we will still be the judge and jury of someone else's life.

We condemn murder, and promote morals, but then murder those who we feel should never be forgiven. In the very next breath we preach Christianity and tell our children how important it is to forgive people. Our news papers are flooded with redemption stories, and unlike other creatures living on this earth, we  have been given the ability to think critically. But when it comes to something as simple as death, we seem to jump onto the middle of an invisible fence. Some of us feeling justified in deciding weather a man or a woman deserves to live or die; while another faction feels that this is something we should have no power over. And within these two groups, there used to be a minority of people who felt so strongly about their ability to dictate someones life, that they cheered the death of those they felt deserved it. But as the years progress this kind of toxic thinking seems to be spreading across America. It makes me wonder, have we become the generation of the bloodthirsty?

The numbers do not lie, and since 1976 we have executed 1267 people. In the justice system we call it execution, when we do it for Oil, or foreign policy we call it war, but when it is done in the streets we call it murder, as if there is a big difference. A life taken no matter what you call it, is a life that can never be returned, and for every man or woman that we "Execute" we take one step further away from our own humanity. We become drunk, and show too much Hubris. We rob someone of the chance to reform their lives. There are people who have been put to death, and I am sure that years later we will find out that they were innocent all along, there are also those who without a shadow of a doubt were one hundred percent guilty of their crimes, but because we could not look beyond our own sense of justice, we never gave them a chance to change.

                                                                   
 Troy Davis is just one example of a possibly innocent man who lost his life. There have been hundreds of men and women who have lost their lives, and for too long we sat back and done nothing. Do not let the frustration and the pain from tonight become a blazing fire that dies out once the next sensation stirs into the media. We as human beings have no right to play God, let us find a way to save these lives before we take it from them, and in the process lose our souls.

This is a good idea

                                                                                 



The last time I watched the news (This morning) our economy was still in the shitter, and when I looked to our politicians they were all too busy spitting out useless rhetoric to actually do something about our sagging job market. Just when I was about to give up on finding some positive news, and give in to my rabid facebook addiction, I ran into this article. In it President Barack Obama is praising the state of Georgia for their unique job program, while at the same time cryptically mentioning that it may be in his jobs plan. here is a look at what the article said.

 Instead of collecting a check while looking for work, Georgia has a program to give the unemployed on-the-job training. It has caught the eye of President Obama.
The Georgia Works program allows those receiving unemployment insurance to be placed at a local company for up to eight weeks of training. Participants don't get paid, but they do get to keep their jobless benefits and receive a stipend of up to $240 for transportation and other expenses.

 Now before you get too excited understand that a program like this would need the proper amount of funding, and we've seen how excited our politicians are to fund things that are good for those in need, and we must also note that the program has had mixed reviews in Georgia, but I'll let the article explain that.

The program has received mixed reviews from unemployment advocates and economists though. Some question whether it really helps the jobless return to work, while others are concerned about the quality of training participants receive.
Also, the state has had to dramatically scale back the program as officials seek the money needed to continue it. Georgia Works' financial troubles began last fall when the labor department increased the stipend to $600, from $300, and opened it up to anyone without a job, not only those receiving benefits. That expansion essentially drained the programs of funds within a few months, forcing officials to cut back the stipend to $240 and restrict it once again to those getting unemployment checks.

If we could find a nice medium for this program in every state, I think that we would be in a lot better shape. One of my biggest frustrations in the world, is having to go to work every day, while people who are on unemployment collect a free pay check every two weeks for zero to no labor. Imagine if they were able to get some work experience while doing this?
The best part about it is if they do well enough, that company may ask them to stay for a permanent position. Similar to what happened to a quarter of the people who have done this program in Georgia.

Since the inception of Georgia Works in 2003, more than 23,000 participants have completed training programs at more than 16,500 employers. A quarter of them were hired at the firm by the end of the eight weeks, while nearly 60% were employed somewhere within three months of completing the program, state labor officials said.

At this point in the game we really have to do whatever we can to get this economy going, a program like this is something that would not hurt to try. What do you guys think.

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