Talking with Henrietta: Politics and Education

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Talking with Henrietta:Halting the Rising Number of Foreclosures

The Lesson of Bell, CA

Voters turned out en masse in Bell, CA on Tuesday, March 8, and voted overwhelmingly to recall four top public officials in their city who were accused of corruption. In an impoverished city that was facing a huge deficit of $4.5 million, the four city officials, namely, the mayor, the city manager, the assistant city manager and the police chief were paying themselves between $376,000 to $787,637 annually. These salaries were among the highest for city officials in this nation.

Like East Palo Alto, the city of Bell is 2.5 square miles and its population, though, larger than East Palo Alto's, is similar in size. In spite of Bell's size and its budget difficulties, the city's former police chief was making, at $457,000 more than the police chief for the City of Los Angeles, whose salary is listed at $279,834. Los Angeles which has a population of 3.7 million, is the largest city in California. It has been said that the scandal that took place in Bell was a wakeup call for the city's citizens to pay closer attention to what is going on at the top levels of their city's government. It was certainly a wakeup call that captured the nation.

Not only should the residents of Bell pay closer attention to their city's politics and issues, but the same could be said for the residents of all cities. To paraphrase, the late governor of Arizona, Barry Goldwater, who was a presidential contender in the 1960's, "Vigilance is the price of liberty."

Enough can't be said about the importance of going to or at least following city council meetings, following the issues affecting one's city and keeping tabs on the votes of city officials and other political representatives. Because of the scandal in Bell, California's Controller John Chiang has a website that allows visitors to search for the salaries and compensation packages of public officials in all cities in California. His website is http://www.sco.ca.gov/compensation_search.html

So, here is a quick quiz. Do you know what your public officials are making? Do you know how they are voting or the legislation and programs that they are supporting? What they are making, how they are voting and the issues they are supporting might determine the future and the quality of life in your city. What happened in Bell rightfully captured much of this nation's attention. What happened in Bell should not be forgotten.

Making More Happy Endings a Reality

Happy endings are what most American movies are based on.  One can easily cite the movie The Blind Side, which tells the story of a young, homeless teenager who makes it big in football. Not only do Americans love stories with happy endings, but, maybe most people around the world are captivated by stories of people who survive and later thrive despite overwhelming odds. The story of the rescue of the Chilean miners captivated the world. Could our love for happy endings be part of why the story of Ted Williams, the homeless, talented panhandler, so quickly captured our nation’s attention?

As many people know by now, Williams was discovered standing by a thoroughfare in Ohio, carrying a sign, which said that he had an amazing voice. A local web producer challenged Williams to give a demonstration of his vocal abilities, and the video the producer made of Williams’ demonstration was uploaded to YouTube where it became an overnight sensation.

Williams has already appeared on national television shows and has signed several contracts to do voiceovers for leading national firms—a real turnaround for someone who has a rap sheet and has spent a good portion of his life fighting an addiction to cocaine and alcohol. The discovery of William’s talent gives us all an uplifting, heartwarming story with which to start the year.

But as uplifting as it is, Williams’ story also raises a serious question? How many other Williamses are there out there who are panhandling, homeless or living marginal lives of  simple desperation? How many other homeless are there on our streets who might possess amazing talents which could make positive contributions to society, if they could be supported and given a chance?

Ted Williams’ story is, obviously, exceptional. But it highlights the fact that there might be many, that are out there to be discovered, who are leading and living wasted lives. How can we reach more Ted Williamses? How can we assist them before they become panhandlers or develop a rap sheet? Of course, it needs to be said that the Ted Williamses of the world also have to do more to help themselves.

We can probably all name groups that are working with the homeless and the near homeless, that are working with those who have drug and alcohol addictions, that are working with school drop outs and with those in gangs. There are, fortunately, many groups working to help those who are just subsisting and in danger of falling over the edge turn their lives around. Many commendations should go to all of the organizations that are focused on making the happy endings, we love to see in our movies and on our computer monitors and television screens, a fact of life for so many of the desperate around us.

Since instant success has its own dangers, we can only hope that Ted Williams is successful in making the most of the opportunities he is now being given. His story highlights how it takes a village of caring individuals to save a soul. We must find more ways to extend that village of caring so that more people have access to the opportunities which make for the happy endings that so many of us love to see.

Too Fat to Fight: A Way to End Wars

The American military just released a report, which showed that 27% of young potential recruits were rejected because they were too fat to fight. So, the rising levels of obesity in this country are taking a serious toll, even on the American Armed Services. It was stated in the report, which was released this past spring, that this increase in obesity among the country's youth was seriously undermining the ability of America's military services to protect the country.

The report said that even those slim enough to serve were weaker and had less stamina than recruits from previous generations.  One Pentagon director told the Army Times last year, "Kids are just not able to do push-ups. And they can't do pull-ups. And they can't run."

So, some are beginning to conclude that the current obesity levels of both male and female recruits are posing a threat to America's national security.

But many of us adhere to the idea that for every negative, there is always a potential positive. So, I couldn't help but see the humorous side of things. For instance, do you think, this might be a way of ending wars. Philosophers, politicians and social scientists have always been engaged in the theory of how to end war, which is an inhumane activity that mankind imposes on itself, anyway.

So, just think, if we could increase the standard of living throughout the world, especially in what former Pres. George Bush called the Axis of Evil: Iraq, Iran and North Korea and make sure that everyone was well fed, then our so-called enemies might be less inclined to fight.

Perhaps, we've been doing it all wrong. Instead of torturing people at Guantánamo Bay and at the Abu Ghraib prison, maybe we should just feed our enemies tons of food. In this way, everyone would just get too fat to fight. This might end terrorism and the animosity that the United States faces around the world. As we feed people, there would be less reasons for them to fight, since they wouldn't have to worry about where their next meal is coming from, and if we give our enemies too much food, they would not be in good enough shape to fight anyway.

Instead of relying on the sale of arms and worrying about nuclear weapons causing a world threat, we can simply use our resources to give everyone food, and those nations that have held traditional animosities towards the United States could be given an excess amount of food.

Well, feeding the world is a thought and a good thought if it will end war. At worst, this country might be accused of killing everyone with kindness.

So, just think, if every person in the world could just get enough food, then, no one would go hungry.  Obesity rates would rise, as they are rising now in all industrialized countries.  Many young people of military age, like many in this country, would get too fat to fight. If this happens, then what country would need a military? Feeding everyone too much food could even lead to the end of the current military build up and the arms race around the world. After all, no nation would need a military, especially one that's in fighting shape, if everyone was just too fat to fight?

Thinking about the Unthinkable Again

One of my favorite expressions is, "Life is what happens when you've made other plans." I was vividly reminded of this expression on Thursday, September 9, when my crew and I were planning to tape a television show with East Palo Alto's Chief of Police Ron Davis and San Mateo's Chief of Police Susan Manheimer.

When it was time for the taping to start, Davis was present, but Manheimer had not arrived. We wondered where she was and whether something had happened. Unfortunately, something disastrous had happened. This time, life intervened in the form of a huge gas explosion that took place in San Bruno. At the time, we had been told in the studio that a plane had crashed. It was just this past February, seven months ago, that a small plane did crash in East Palo Alto. You can read my blog about the event in the Feb 19, 2010 blog entry.

Well, the day after the taping with Davis and the audience members in the studio, it was learned that Chief Manheimer was several blocks from the studio when she was informed of the explosion and she  turned around and proceeded to San Bruno.

We now know that it was a horrendous explosion that completely destroyed 37 homes, led to at least four deaths, and turned hundreds of lives completely upside down.  It's absolutely unthinkable the way lives can be destroyed and changed forever in one moment in time.

As life would have it, this Saturday, September 18 is Disaster Preparedness Day in San Mateo County. Coming so soon after the enormous disaster in San Bruno, this event will provide us with another opportunity not only to think about the unthinkable, but to try to prepare for it.  Given that the unthinkable is never far away and can happen at anytime, as we've seen with the San Bruno explosion and the East Palo Alto plane crash, it makes sense to do what we can to prepare for what we don't want to think about and don't want to happen.

Just as life is what happens, when we've made other plans, those involved in these two recent disasters can testify that disasters happen, too, in spite of whatever plans we've made. But as ironic as it sounds, while we don't know when the next disaster will happen, just as we prepare for events in our lives, we really should start preparing for disastrous events, too.

So, how many disasters will it take to happen around us for some of us to start the preparations? Who knows? But click on this link for more information about the San Mateo Disaster Preparedness Day event. Perhaps I'll see you there.

By the way, we did complete the taping of the television show I mentioned earlier. The show is called Redefining the Role of the Police, and you can see an excerpt from it here.

                                     

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