That was another attempt by the Republican party to keep the Poor class, poor ! In today's age, no education means no advancement into higher levels of careers. They cite personal responsibility all the time, yet don't care if these guys end up as garbage drivers! Or maybe a Walmart greeter!

29% of our school children live in poverty, our electrical grid is falling apart and we are falling further and further behind because we are not making education available to our young people. If we had the money that Mr. Bush has blown on "Bush's Folley" we might have done a lot of good in many areas.

my daughter is going to be SO in debt when she gets out of Va. Tech. It's a nightmare. it's so unfair. but it is going to get worse because next bush is going to TRY to draft her to fight his war in Iraq.
OVER MY DEAD BODY!

Bush is a liar and a war criminal and a murderer.
he is worse than Saddam and deserves a similiar fate. yes, I did say that. I sure did. not a typo. BUSH IS WORSE THAN SADDAM EVER WAS.

is this blogged being edited?
because there is a time delay tonight.
please don't start that crap.

ok I'm off to spread some of my wonderful holiday cheer somewhere else. but I have a question for you...
HOW DO YOU KEEP IT TOGETHER?
me? I paint crazy pictures that scare people.
but how do the rest of you cope? how do you go to work and live your lives and manage not to claw your own skin off over this war? It is eating me up. I wish I could just go 24 hours without thinking about it. just one f$cking day. but I can't.

HOWARD!
the DLCC or the DLC or whatever the hell they are called me today asking for money. I told them "I only send money to Howard Dean. sorry."
and I hung up.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT???!!!!!
and I'm not even a Democrat anymore.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS HOWARD!! I LOVE YOU!!

Hi, Sadie.

You have a daughter and I have a son, and the thought of someone we love more than ourselves coming home in a body bag or maimed is unbearable. I would say that every time you hear of another American soldier killed, you probably feel the pain of his or her parents and family, as I also do. I see Iraqi families crying over their dead children or other loved ones, and I know what they are feeling. The pain is in their eyes, and in the weary faces with early creases, scrunched up in agony.

There is so much killing going on right now, in so many different places. It has got to stop. Like most moms, I bet you probably told your kids, "Use your words, not your fists." When did adults forget this? Bush's behavior is worse than that of an undisciplined child who strikes out at anyone who does not do what he wants. He equates that with strength! He seems more concerned about his legacy and whether "our enemies" will call us (more likely, him) cowardly.

He and his neocon buddies do not have a clue what real strength is. They measure it in the size of their arsenal and how many American kids they can amass and send out to kill our way to some disfunctional notion of democracy and capitalism. I fear that they still have their sights on branching out further, and this is disturbing.

I believe that there are more times when sincere communication or diplomacy among parties is more likely to produce positive results than killing people until they are forced to come around to your position.

I have also asked myself how other people can deal with so much sadness day after day. I have found that some days I just have to step back a bit to keep strong. It is not being selfish or letting people down. You deserve to be well and we can not be at our best when overwhelmed. It can be hard to be effective when too close.
There are others who will keep your voice heard until you feel not so overwhelmed with the sadness of it all. Then you can take over and give them a break! I believe there are plenty of parents out there, especially vocal moms, who are not going to let any more kids -- anyone's kids -- be killed when there are ways to prevent it.

Take care!

The new financial aid law signed this past July by President Bush will leave many poor children behind while benefiting the young of business owners with up to 100 employees. It is time for responsible legislators to take a stand and modify the law before its too late.

Changes in law make it unnecessarily complicated for poor families to qualify for an automatic estimated family contribution amount of zero or to pass the government’s simplified needs test. Meanwhile the new law allows small business owners to exclude the net value of a family-owned and controlled small business (or any part of such a small business) with not more than 100 full-time or full-time equivalent employees from the definition of assets used in the need analysis formulas?

I am not advocating a reduction in aid to small business owners. I am very sympathetic to the struggles of mom and pop operations. I am just pointing out the disparity and the callousness of the recent changes in financial aid law.

While business owners need only to answer a simple question about the size of their business, poor people must qualify not only on level of income, but must also apply for and receive benefits under a means-tested federal benefits program during the previous 12-month period. The requirement to have already been receiving benefits during the previous 12 months will be especially devastating to many poor families who will not become aware of this requirement until their financial aid status is changed for the September 2007 – June 2008 school year.

In addition, many needy parents do not want to expose their children to the federal benefits programs because family membership in some of these programs will result in their children being harassed at school or in the community. Parents know the value of maintaining a high self-esteem and will try to protect their children from ridicule. Injuring a child’s self-esteem sets him up for a wide variety of problems in society.

I have created a web site exploring these issues, please take a look at it and act to modify the law before financial aid for the September 2007 – June 2008 school year is distributed. My five children are no longer in school, so I do not benefit directly if this law is changed. Please read more by visiting my web site at: http://aidchanges.blogspot.com/

Thank you,
Joe

Things were different when I went to college in the '70's. First of all, there was space available for first-year students in 4-year colleges and universities. Students did not need 4.0 plus gpa's, a laundry list of participation in clubs and community services, and a trophy room full of academic and athletic awards. Kids actually had time to sleep. They could even stay home to nurse a cold and not have to run to the doctor for antibiotics because of the pressure not to miss a day of school.

Secondly, there was real financial aid available. You could also almost pay your own way as you studied if you took a part-time job along with your education.

Today, there seems to be too few spaces in universities for first year students, and I don't know why. Costs for higher education are nothing like they used to be, even adjusting for inflation.

At a recent college night for seniors at my son's high school, the was a heavy presence of military recruiters from all branches with a crowd of 17-year-old boys around the tables. It is just my own gut feeling, but when it becomes too difficult to get into your college of choice because of limited vacancies and financing, and a military recruiter offers a student that opportunity... Well, I just wondered if this was an intentionally created situation designed to fulfill military recruiting goals?

thanks kathleen.
I do step back sometimes but not completely.
the war is always on my mind.
I'm keeping my job so I haven't completely lost it.
thanks again!