Trying to come to terms with an increasing number of kids committing suicide do to being bullied is probably impossible for me, but I endeavored to take a look at this terrible epidemic to glean at its root causes.
 The word "Bully" comes from the  Middle Dutch boele lover; akin to Middle Low German bōle lover. Interestingly enough, the term "Bully" was used as an adjective meaning wonderful, great or superb. The term Bully Pulpit was reportedly first tossed into the vernacular by President Theodore Roosevelt to refer to the fact that the position of President offered a fantastic opportunity to push forward an agenda publicly. The term "bully for you" which is still used in some quarters today, refers to something positive - all bullion/bullyon to you - all the riches to you. Additionally, some linguists believe that the term is derived from the Dutch word buhler, meaning a rival for a lady's affection. Therefore we can infer that the reason for its positive connotation(s) comes from its use in referring to defeating your rival in some kind of contest. But that way of thinking is obsolete in a world where we need to truly work together to find solutions to global issues and potential catastrophes.

 Today we are caught in a battle between the old U.S. Robber Baron ideology where to the victor go the spoils; the individual and his needs are of primary importance and the community-centered ideology where working together and sharing is viewed as a better alternative for our society by young people. Interestingly enough, we teach our children to share, be kind, respect others: but as they grow older they are taught in schools that their classmates/friends are their competition to get into schools and/or ultimately to get a job. Our society is competition driven: we see it with Sports, T.V. Programs, Political Discourse. The never-ending refrain that permeates in our society: Only those that end up in 1st place are winners. Compromise and working together is viewed with disdain. In her article, "How America's Bully Economy leads to a "Bully Society," Jessie Klein details how our deteriorating inequitable economic system has put further strain on people causing increased competition among the middle-class, working-class and the poor for decreasing resources. These pressures are absorbed by our children and we see the negative consequences in the form of bullying and suicide due to bullying.

 My friends in the band, Bandwith No Name have dedicated one of their songs to Amanda Todd, a victim of cyber-bullying called Forever.

Please visit http://www.stopbullying.gov/get-help-now/ to take action. Remember, prevention is the key, we must model and create a caring, equitable, fair environment, society for our children. Stop the negativity, the fear-mongering and intolerance. The sociopaths in the corporate world have manipulated our government and our thoughts long enough! Heed the lessons that exist in many traditions "Do to others what you would want them to do to you. Love your neighbor as you love yourself." Alex Paramo Don't forget to support your local musicians, and artists of all mediums while promoting literacy in our community - http://communitypublishing.org

Who is Us?

Alex Paramo I just read a disturbing article regarding the growing inequality in the United States. Our media has led us to believe that we are ALL having a tough time, during these tough times in this tough time economy. I guess the overt and covert message is that we all need to toughen up, stop complaining and get through this, but a closer look at the situation reveals that we have been once again duped by our corporate-media friends. The fact is that the top 1% in our country have have gained at least $6.1 trillion in the past five years. The media continues to lead us to believe that times are tough and they are but not for everyone. The stock market is worth 50% more than it was 5 years ago. The overwhelming majority of that windfall goes to the wealthiest 7% while the rest of us have seen our "wealth" drop by 4%. In fact, "In 2009 the average wealth for almost half of American families was  ZERO (their debt exceeded their assets)." Why is this important you ask? Why should you care if you are firmly entrenched in the middle class with your 9-5, your pension plan and your walled/gated community? Well the income disparity in this country is at all-time high proportions. "Out of all developed and undeveloped countries with at least a quarter-million adults, the U.S. has the 4th-highest degree of  wealth inequality in the world, trailing only Russia, Ukraine, and Lebanon." For the rest of us the threat is more immediate. A U.S, Congress composed of millionaires and multimillionaires, has decided to cut some funding for essential programs like; "Meals on Wheels" that helps seniors and the disabled, the Head Start program that helps low-income preschoolers enter the school system at the level of their more affluent peers (not to mention cuts to the food stamp and unemployment programs). While our "elected" representatives cut crucial funding for our nations most vulnerable, they continue to subsidize the oil and gas companies that are recording record profits. They continue to indirectly subsidize Walmart, which refuses to pay it's employees a live-able/fair wage and instead gives courses to it's employees on how to apply for federal assistance. Much of the information cited here was provided by an article written by Paul Buchheit who is the founder of the website: usagainstgreed.org. Who are the Us? When so many of us stand around passively, hoping and waiting for something to change? When so many of Us do not care and turn our backs on the most vulnerable? Who are the Us when so many cannot find jobs and too many of the jobs that are being "created" do not provide a high-school student with a suitable enough salary to pay their bills (never mind a head of house-hold). When everything seems so out of our control? The Us are the We, as in We the People. Unlike many, who unwittingly do the bidding of corporate execs, I am not against government. I believe in government: a government of the people, by the people for the people. The only way to take back our government from the corporate masters that corrupt it is to cut off the hand that feeds it. We need to get the money out of politics, now! Regardless of party, or ideological affiliation, we the people need to unite and reclaim our sovereignty. Until that time we will all be singing the same refrain, best said by the late Michael jackson: they don't really care about us!

Living Wage to Save a Dream

Alex Paramo

 Today, many of the nations fast food workers walked out on their jobs in protest of low wages. Many of these employees are part of the "Fight for 15" which is a movement that started out of Chicago and NYC calling for a raise in the Federal Minimum Wage from $7.25 to $15.00 an hour. The organizers of this movement are essentially asking for a federal Living Wage and I believe it is time such a wage is enacted.

What the anti-minimum wage folks forget is that prices don't NEED to be raised if there is a raise in minimum wage. Prices are only raised because corporate executives need to keep their PROFIT MARGINS increasing so that their stock options (that they own) stay sky high. The facts are that corporate pay over the last 30 years in the US have increased over 600% while worker wages have remain stagnant, and of course the cost of living has skyrocketed. Another thing that the anti-minimum wage people fail to consider is that the corporate strategy of paying people low wages is costing the tax-payers millions of dollars. Every year, our tax money goes to subsidize the Walmarts and McDonalds of the world because over 60% of their employees apply for public assistance. These companies are so blatant about scamming the American public that they openly teach their employees on how to apply for federal benefits. In conclusion, and perhaps the ultimate slap in the face, is that these companies that WE are subsidizing are making record breaking profits yearly!! Opportunity in our country is shrinking as the millionaires in billionaires that run our country destroy the middle and working classes. How much is enough for them? How many billions? The anti minimum wage folks need to read their history. Here is the late Ted Kennedy to explain it to everyone:

The “Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like Slavery and Apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. YOU can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom.” Nelson Mandela once said,This is Mandela's message to my 7 year old daughter and her generation. It is the duty of OUR generation to pass this message on to our children and/or the children in our lives, to help create a society where our kids generation can eradicate poverty by identifying and destroying the root causes of poverty - greed, avarice and the lust for power, that consume the minds of the sociopaths that currently control our society/world. Regular folks can do this by simply caring for each other as fellow humans, and working together for the interests of all rather than for the interests of a few.

Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it.

Alex Paramo

"Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it." The meaning of this famous quote by George Santayana is crucial to understanding where and why our society is moving closer towards Oligarchy and further away from Democracy. Even a watered-down democracy like the representative fashion that exists here in the U.S. has afforded us progressive reforms in the area of labor such as: work safety laws, minimum wage laws, equal pay laws, the 40 hour work week, and anti-discrimination laws, to mention but a few. Among the most important labor laws were the Child Labor Laws. In 1904, activism for child protections in the workplace were spearheaded by the National Child Labor Committee. The proposed laws were coupled with compulsory education laws designed to keep kids out of the labor market and in school acquiring an education. In 1938, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act, which, among other things, placed limits on many forms of child labor. It seemed to me that these laws were revered by everyone in the U.S. because, besides setting the country apart from other countries where child labor is prominent, they protected the right of children to spend their time and energy pursuing an education that would benefit them and the country greatly in the long-term. All of this information is in the historical record and borrowed to shed light on the despicable attack on child labor laws by conservatives. 


According to the Huffington Post article linked above, Maine Gov. Paul LePage, endorses the loosening of restrictions in the Child Labor Laws because he believes it is positive for minors to work while they attend school. Furthermore, LePage believes that these very same minors who are now working more hours, even on school nights, should be getting paid less than the minimum wage. Of course this is all nonsense and what LePage is proposing is nothing more than an even cheaper labor pool for the big companies like Walmart and the like (who are registering record profits). If LePage truly believed that child labor was a good experience for minors, then he would propose paying MORE than the minimum-wage in order to entice students from middle-class and wealthy families to the work-force while in school. While I believe all students of a reasonable age should have the opportunity to gain real-world experience is positive, most minors work due to financial need and therefore the potential for their abuse by employers is high. The dropout rate among students that work is markedly higher than their counterparts that can afford not to  Studies consistently show that even among the students that can pull it off successfully, like I did, their grades (like mine) are significantly lower than their non-working counterparts. 

So now we stand together as a country at the precipice of disaster. Much like the miscalculation on the effects of climate change (the rate of change/damage is occurring faster than originally calculated) so the rate of decline for the U.S. is occurring at an exponential rate rather than in linear fashion. Fortunately, the Federal Government Child Labor Laws have kept us from jumping off the cliff to our eminent demise thus far but the sentiment to loosen the work restrictions for minors is gaining momentum on the right through the efforts of lunatic conservative extremist groups, no doubt financed by the Walmart's and Koch Brothers and their ideological kin. Below is a photograph taken by Lewis W. Hine of a child worker from his photo-essay Child Labor in America 1908-1912. I encourage you to take a look at these photos and let me know if this is the U.S. that we want to go back to. 

Alex Paramo

 I just heard a report on the Ed Schultz radio program that Russia now owns the distinction of being the country with the most college graduates. What country do you think it surpassed? If you guessed the U.S. you are woefully incorrect (Canada). In case you have not heard, the U.S. is falling behind in every important measurable category for some time now. Middle class, working class and working poor Individuals that are fortunate enough to attend and earn a degree of higher learning most often end up in tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. Additionally, public primary education in the U.S. is being under-funded. This monumental shift in our society's value toward education will have terrible ramifications on our country in terms of employment and the fight for a live-able wage. Of course I don't believe my friends, neighbors and fellow citizens de-value education at all but rather our "representatives" are in the process of wholesaling our natural resources (in this case our human resources) to the highest bidder(s). Take a look at this chart to get an idea where our tax money goes:
 
As the graph shows, military spending (58%) dwarfs education spending (4%). Personally I would rather my tax money go toward education and a healthy society, than sending hundreds of billions dollars toward building bombs that destroy buildings and spread bloodshed, chaos and catastrophe. As you should know, the U.S. Congress puts forward a budget and the President either signs it or vetoes it (disagrees with it and sends it back for modification). We must elect individuals that truly support education; by reallocating resources toward rebuilding our fractured public education system, by bringing down costs of tuition, increasing financial aid, by eliminating usury and predatory student loans and thereby making a top-quality education affordable for all! My friends do no want to see our nation turn into a nation comprised of unskilled laborers being paid wages that force them to receive government assistance (as Walmart employees are forced to). My neighbors believe in the future of our country by current investment in our children by reallocating funds from the military to education. My fellow citizens know that books (multimedia eBooks) are more powerful, more important than Unmanned Aircraft of destruction.

Liberty Closed for Repairs?

Alex Paramo

Tomorrow evening, I will be headed home to NYC to visit friends and family. I return home triumphantly with my life-partner my 6 year old daughter and as a published Author! My daughter is excited to visit her relatives and her dad's old stomping grounds for the first time but lets face it, for her, visiting the Statue Liberty trumps everything. Unfortunately a small band of individuals "representing" us in government have been able to shut down our government. Besides the sheer irresponsibility of taking the country down the path of economic instability, and in-turn taking the global economy down with it, their stance is motivated by their desire to "stop Obama Care" the Affordable Care Act. Whether you agree or disagree with the Act, it is now law and has been for awhile. Nothing that the small band of individuals in congress are doing can stop the Act.

Personally I will not shy away from my responsibility to my fellow American because the idea of helping your family, neighbors, and countrymen is part of the American experience, as well as the Human experience. The three "major" religions as well as most other traditions/religions demand that we help our fellow man (person). That is, for me, the idea behind the Statue of Liberty. Much of our country is populated by people whose ancestors saw the Statue of Liberty on their way to Ellis Island. Even if your family came by plane from south of the border, like my family did, they all knew about the Statue of Liberty and what she represents. The Statue of Liberty is now closed and therefore we say to everyone that Liberty is closed. The idea that helping your fellow man (person) is now closed in the U.S. It is a water-shed moment in our history. Are we going to be a country populated by folks that care for each other and no just themselves or are we going to cave in to a small band of representatives that are pushing forward the agenda of their corporate/billionaire benefactors. I hope that when we get to the gates of the Ferry that takes us to the Statue of Liberty, I can tell my 6 year old daughter that the Statue of Liberty is open and that our country chose the path of helping our fellow countrymen, and continuing the tradition originally represented by the beautiful statue.

Olympic Runners

Alex Paramo Today my daughter ran around a track several times to raise money for her school. While this is a great cause, I wondered why everyone is not running around tracks to raise awareness for the need to better and more equitably fund our schools. As we all know, the U.S. position as a top educator has been on the decline for several years. Why are our elected officials not making education their top priority? Are our children not our future anymore? There are over 55 million students in our public school system, isn't it time we make those students a true top priority? While the U.S. spends more money on education than any other country, our teachers are not the highest paid and therefore it is unclear what these funds are being spent on. Additionally, public schools face budget cuts that force them to eliminate Arts and other programs. It is time that we have a comprehensive national strategy/plan to bolster up our public education system. A plan that includes leveling the playing field to ensure that every child, regardless of income, has an equal opportunity and access to a top-level, education that includes the Arts and extra-curricular activities. A plan that includes a strategy for developing our current crop of teachers, while also attracting talented individuals who are dissuaded from the profession due to the low pay. A plan that includes funds for parent education programs that would enable parents to sit down and help their children succeed academically. A plan that would place new/emergent technology at the finger-tips of our students. A plan that includes inserting peace strategies/education into the curriculum. Unless we demand increased funding by reorganizing our national priorities, we might have to enlist Olympic runners for our public school fundraisers. I would gladly vote that we take at least half of the military budget to finance the new national education plan and I think you would too.