Earned SS Benefits Should Be Paid

California teachers do not receive the same Social Security benefits when they retire as others with the same contribution history.
Why?
I admit that I don't know the history of this situation. I do know that California is one of the 15 states where this injustice prevails.
I do see that a combined CalSTRS pension and this penalized Social Security benefits makes it very difficult to retire with dignity. It does seem to me that earned Social Security benefits should be paid to individuals who have earned those benefits.
If you find yourself interested you could check out HR 235, S 484, AJR 10.
You might contact your local representative.
You might contact Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi at
http://www.house.gov/pelosi/contact.html or
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at
http://reid.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm

Pretty Little Flower

Our national policy concerning the growth of opium poppies in Afghanistan seems to be improving;
doesn't it?

It is better than punishing the poorest and weakest for our addiction, isn't it?

Brown Cow Meditation

Power corrupts.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

You have probably heard something very like the above.
What does it have to do with you and me?

There are examples.

What kind of power is our opening sentence most likely about?
What might the corruption be like there?
What might be the nature of that corruption?

How do you detect corruption?
How do you avoid corruption?
How do you handle your power?

What has mankind tried to do about the corrupting influence of power?

You know that power is 'good' in that it can be helpful and useful.
You know that power is 'bad' in that it can be hurtful and destructive.

There is power potential in fire or in a hammer. What rules have we developed to support the good and limit the bad in hammers and fire?

There is a power potential in military and political organizations. what rules has mankind developed to potentiate the good in such organizations and limit the bad?

We give (delegate) power to others every day. What rules do we have for limiting the corrupting influences to which they are exposed?

Where might a corrupting influence be at work?

What rules do we have for keeping ourselves good?
Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative.
How now?

What Happened to AM Radio?

What happened to AM radio...... ?

Is It War?

Is it war to forcibly occupy a weakened country against the will of the of most of its citizens?

Is it war to occupy the country of a people to weak to defend themselves?

When is it war?

When is it a police action?

When is it just?

What is a sovereign nation?

How is sovereignty to be honored?

U. S. Interests and

Democracy is best served by avoiding entanglement in the internal affairs of Iran and all other nations and peoples in general.

Learning!

Education is the efficient, effective defence of a people.

Let's make it safe, satisfying, ongoing, and a bit of fun.

It's a vital matter of national security and cheaper than bombs.

It empowers child, youth, woman, and man.

Troops

A troop is not a man, a woman, a youth, or any other kind of human being.
A troop may be an organization: such as a troop of acrobats or of men trained to fight together.
"Troops" may refer to several or many groups or to a larger collective.
An acrobat or a trained fighting man may be referred to as a trooper.
A human being we pay to kill and be killed in our armed forces(our troops)is a man, a woman, a son, a daughter, a father, a mother. a corporal, a citizen, a youth. Not one of them is a troops