For the last week, Congress has been asking the Big Three CEOs to show a little sympathy for the American autoworker before asking the American taxpayers for a bailout.
Leave your private jets at home. Drive to Washington. Give up your salary. Take a $1. Change the way you do business. Act like you care.
But maybe the senators should consider asking everyone at every level to do something to show that they sympathize with the plight of the citizens in this country who are ringing in the holidays, without homes and without jobs.
Particularly the President.
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By Cynara
I only half way listen to the news most of the time because, quite honestly, it gets on my nerves. However Phil shares my mother's love of anything called "news," and I have learned to tune it out. But tonight something penetrated my news brain-fog and got my full attention.
I was saddened to learn that one of the homeless shelters in Atlanta had their water shut off, due to lack of payment. Thankfully a judge ordered the water service restored and a payment plan worked out. The amount, $150,000.00, sounds extreme, until you realize the amount of people they serve. The reason for non-payment? A drop in donations over an extended period of time and an increase in the number of homeless on the streets. Then they cut away to a commercial break.
When they came back, the next piece of "Holiday Cheer" that we hear is the mayor laying off city workers, closing fire departments, and, oh joy, decreasing the amount of aid to the homeless shelters of Atlanta. More news, blah, blah, blah. Commercial break.
This next story put the icing on the cake for me. When I looked up I see our very kind and gracious First Lady, Laura Bush, (no disrespect intended) showing the interior of ONE of the rooms in the White House and talking about the decorations for this year.
There were Christmas trees (plural) in that room, spaced about every 12 feet down one wall alone. Not to mention the rather large tree they kill every year, for the outside, and then decorate.
Now, I realize that this is the White House. But is it really necessary to have so many trees in
our nation's capital? Does it help the President make better decisions, or perhaps help spread joy and good will toward the homeless and jobless people in the country? Maybe it's supposed to spread holiday cheer and stop the terrorists from attacking Americans in India?
I know it's supposed to be a morale booster. But H#**. When you don't have a TV to watch, food in your belly or a home to decorate, it's kind of hard to get excited about a bunch of foo-fooed up trees in Washington, D.C.
I took one look at those Christmas decorations and said to Phil, "The money they spent on them would pay the water bill for that shelter in Atlanta."
It seems to me that our government could better serve the people by just NOT decorating the White House for Christmas.....
Tell us your story about the holidays, the economy and signs that the government GETS it on Tokoni.