Tick Tock Sheptock

So, we're going over the "fiscal cliff" in February or March and Congress is ostensibly "trying" (notice I didn't say "working" ) to soften the impact . This analogy raises the questions: What type of vehicle were we in as we went over the fiscal cliff -- a car, bus, train, hang glider? Were we using dangerously long bungee cords or sufficiently short ones? How far is the fall? What's at the bottom? And is there a steep slope that we bump along until we hit the bottom or does the precipice protrude at the top, allowing for a free fall? All of this will determine how badly we get hurt -- or worse. I prefer to think of the debacle called the U.S. Congress (the 535 people and ALL that they do, not just their most recent failed effort) as a "black hole" . We pay taxes to them, though not necessarily by choice . Congress then spends most of their time and much of our money on legislation that benefits an elite few of us. Congress is...

1 – SHARC has weathered the storm and made the best of a mess. Though Sandy “rained on our parade” by forcing the cancellation of an event which we spent five weeks planning and organizing, it hasn't discouraged us from trying again. We'll come back bigger and better the next time. There is no need to consider what possible shortcomings SHARC may have exhibited during the storm. Given the fact that we had many food donations, the rain date would have been the next day (Tuesday) during which the government was shut down. Sandy was an unpredictable storm which we only found out on the 26th was going hit us on the 29th of October (the day of our event). That said, the five weeks leading up to October 29th were a true show of our increased organizing ability. So, let's give ourselves a hand, dust ourselves off and chart the path forward. As a result of Sandy, SHARC members were able to: begin the conversation around bringing three councilmembers together in a meeting. Th...

In case you haven't heard or are too dumbfounded to believe it's actually true, many U.S. cities are outlawing kind acts like feeding the homeless and the poor. In Daytona Beach, FL an 86-year old woman was arrested for giving a homeless man $5.00 and a Subway sandwich. In Orlando, FL two dozen Food-Not-Bombs volunteers were arrested for defying an ordinance that only allows groups to obtain two permits per year to feed up to 25 people in the park. In Gainesville, FL St. Francis House which has the capacity to feed 250 people per day has been limited to only feeding 130. In at least one instance, they'd fed 128 people when a woman walked in with her two children. Feeding all of them would have put St. Francis in violation of the meal limit and might have caused them to lose their license to feed ANYONE. They therefore gave the two children large plates with the food piled high so that the mother could get some food off of the children's plates. in the same year, Flor...

Great news! Congressman John Conyers, Jr. presented his jobs bill to Congress at 2:30 PM on March 28th, 2012. John Conyers, Jr. is in his 80's, served as the lawyer for Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and is presently serving as the congressman for Detroit's District 14. His jobs bill presently has two names as well as two bill numbers. It is known as the "Humphrey-Hawkins 21st Century Full Employment and Training Act" as well as the "Work Opportunities and Revitalizing Our Communities Act" . Until March 28th it was bill number H.R. 870 . (H.R.= House Resolution.) It has been assigned a new number: H.R. 4277 . Many people call it H.R. 870/4277 in order to avoid any congress-induced confusion. (The numbers don't correspond with the names.) The bill aims to employ any and all Americans who are ready, willing and able to work, offering job training when necessary. You're probably wondering how it differs from any of the other jobs bills being cons...

We had the Arab Spring in early 2011 followed by the Occupy Movement last fall. The latter is planning a resurgence which will begin on March 30th and has been dubbed the "American Spring". The winds of change are blowing and it is clear that people all over the world are becoming "socially conscious" -- knowing that something is gravely wrong with their respective societies as well as the world economy as a whole and wanting to do something about it. But, as the movements grows, it is important to learn from the mistakes of the past. I would dare say that the movement's biggest mistake is its failure to develop the elements and components of the new system which we are fighting to create within the existing system which we are fighting to dispose of -- not its insufficient level of social theory. In order for a revolution to occur and be successful, these are two of the things that MUST happen: 1 -- The existing socio-economic system must have run its cour...