Which Way We Going?

(NASA Photo of our sun)

It is the center of our Solar system. And, not surprisingly, it looks nothing like you.

Priorities. Prioritizing. It's critical to the successful management of any undertaking. It assigns an order of importance to things. It requires decision, which operates on a perception of importance. It's not a difficult thing to do.

Fifteen years ago one in every fifteen hundred children born in America would suffer some form of Autism. 1 in 1,500. Today the statistic is one in every one hundred and ten. 1 in 110.

Let's prioritize. How important is this?

$300 Million Dollars. That's how important it is. That's the money our Government gave (in total) to deal with the matter of Autism. $300 Million.

$300 Million dollars is a lot of money, but then so is $100.00. Don't believe me? Next time you're broke imagine what you could do with a hundred bucks. $300 Million is a lot of money. It's also an insufficient amount of money. 1 in 110 children. In my view the increase in Autism is a national crisis. And by crisis I mean CRISIS. A plague. A national disaster.

Research and care and support are necessary. $300 Million . Inadequate. Superficial. Pathetic.

$300 Million. What was the amount our Government gave to Wall Street? Anyone remember? What was the amount spent - in real money and in borrowed funds - to wage war? Anyone remember? What was the amount spent on the last Presidential Campains? Anyone remember?

$300 Million. 1 out of every 110 new Americans.

I really don't need a calculater to figure out that $300 Million is woefully inadequate. Do you?

Priorities.

Hmm.

War.

War is a terrible thing. Monstrous. It is what happens when mankind sinks to its lowest level. Some are convinced that wars are inevitable; a necessary evil at times. But that is usually the voice of those who have not seen war close up, or the devastation that it causes. War is, in reality, a futile effort. There are no victors really, only the dead and the survivors and those who mourn; and the sad realization that mankind has not progressed nearly as much as we’d hoped.

Some proclaim war as a noble venture. They lie. It’s not. It is the collapse of reason and civility, and the loss of our humanity. It is usually driven by greed and avarice, by stupid men with small minds; men who lack the intelligence and the will to resolve matters fairly and equitably and are, more likely than not, politicians.

No Child Left Behind?

Perhaps a more accurate phrase would be ‘All Children Left Behind’. The President has budgeted $30 billion to cover healthcare for America’s children for the years 2008 through 2012 – an amount which would not cover the costs of the children currently enrolled in the program, let alone allow for those that will be added over the years.

Priorities. It’s the same amount ‘added’ to his aid package to Israel, and the cost (conservatively) of waging the war in Iraq for two and one half months.

Conclusion: Foreign Aid – Ok. War – Ok. Healthcare for America’s children – No way.

Way to go Georgie boy. If ever our 'do nothing Congress' wanted a cause to fight for, might I suggest they look at this issue.