The Continuing American Tradition of Abusing Native Americans

Since the founding of this country, Native Americans have been excessively abused and in many cases massacred. Holocaust expert and author, Cesarani states that "in terms of the sheer numbers killed, the Native American Genocide exceeds that of the Holocaust". The ones that weren't massacred were removed from their homelands and put on reservations that were comprised of the worst available lands. 


As if that weren't enough, the abuse is continuing to this day - by the government. In a recent NPR led investigation, the government of South Dakota was exposed for essentially kidnapping Native American children and placing them in foster care. The motivation? Money, of course! 


According to the article, "The state receives thousands of dollars from the federal government for every child it takes from a family, and in some cases the state gets even more money if the child is Native American." 


Even though Federal law prohibits Native American foster children from being placed with anyone other than their tribe and close relatives, 32 states are ignoring this policy. In South Dakota, Native American children make up only 15% of the child population, but they make up over 50% of the foster children. 


It's not that their aren't Native American families willing to take foster children if the need arises. It's part of their culture to take care of children who need help. However, if a Native American foster family takes a child, the state doesn't get the Federal money that would have come from the child being in the state sponsored foster system. 

I guess state politicians feel that sacrificing the happiness and security of these children is worth padding the budget.

Sadly, freedom in America isn't for everyone, especially not for the people who owned this land in the first place.

Truly sickening.

Bizarre Herman Cain TV Ad, What Was He Thinking?

Is it just me, or is this Herman Cain campaign ad totally bizarre? Why is Herman Cain's campaign advisor in the ad and not Herman Cain? Who care's if a campaign manager supports their boss? Are people going to think, "Oh, wow, Mark Block supports Herman Cain, I think I'll vote for him!" Does anyone even know who Mark Block is? And, most importantly, why is his mustache lop-sided?

When I first heard about his 9-9-9 plan I thought it was an interesting idea, but it seems that's all he will really talk about. When he is asked about anything other than taxation, things start getting a little weird. It's hard to to tell what he really thinks about something, as this article illustrates.

Is this campaign all about selling his book?

Who wants an ex-fed man anyway? Aren't they the ones who had a little something to do with our poor economy?

UPDATE: Jon Huntsman's Daughters Spoof Herman Cain's Ad

I thought this was pretty good.

North Dakota - Six Figures and Homeless

Williston, North Dakota is attracting so many new workers that they can't make housing units fast enough to provide shelters to their new residents. New fracking technologies have opened up large oil reserves in North Dakota, creating an oil boom and a lot of new jobs. Unemployment rates in some parts of North Dakota are less than 1%. Because of the strong demand for workers, companies are forced to pay salaries that are higher than other parts of the United States. This is great for the employees, but since there aren't enough houses some people are forced to sleep in their cars or on the grass along highways.

Read the full story here.

Starting a Movement May Require You to Look Like an Idiot

This is one of my favorite TED talks.

It's a presentation that uses a creative way of illustrating what it takes to start a movement.

If you want to make a significant change, it is almost inevitable that you will stand alone for awhile and take a risk of looking like an idiot. If you persevere through the lack of attention or the ridicule, a few people will eventually recognize your mission and become followers. As more people join, your followers will eventually reach a critical mass and your idea will become a viral movement.

I think the video is a good reminder that we shouldn't be afraid of standing alone if we really believe in something. So if you want to change the world, go look like an idiot and get the movement started. As Gandi once said, "First they'll ignore you, then they'll laugh at you, then they'll fight with you, and then you win."

Pew Research Study: Does Ron Paul really get ignored by the media?

If you talk to most Ron Paul supporters, they will almost always vent about the media bias against their hero.  Are they over-reacting, or are they right? Has he actually been blocked out of the media? Mistreated perhaps? A study by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism has some convincing evidence that shows that their accusations are indeed accurate. 

Take a look at this graph. The bar represent the amount of coverage each candidate received by the media. Which candidate had the least amount of coverage? Ron Paul, of course. However, when the Pew Research Center looked at non-traditional media coverage (individual driven blogosphere, social media, etc), Ron Paul had the highest amount of favorable coverage. 54% of the sentiment was positive and only 15% was negative.  

The study says, "The blogosphere, it turns out, is proving a much rougher environment than the news media for candidates, including contenders associated with the Tea Party movement. But one candidate has emerged as the winner of the blog primary so far—Texas Congressman Ron Paul."

Read the entire study. Facts are facts.

Top 5 Reasons to Abolish the Department of Education

Ron Paul recently announced a budget reduction plan (Restore America Now) that would include the elimination of the Department of Education, saving taxpayers an estimated $77.8 billion in Federal spending. The idea of eliminating the Department of Education sounds a little radical, but when I did some research online, I found some pretty convincing arguments in favor of it's demise.

1. Failure to meet it's mission - Simply put, the Department of Education has failed it's mission. It was put in place to improve education, but there isn't any evidence that shows any improvement. In fact it's quite the opposite. I don't think many people would argue with this fact, but if you wish find me a study that proves otherwise.

2. Spending on the DofE has increased about 500%. When the Federal Government formed the department, supporters promised that the budget would be small and stay small. That certainly didn't happen. When the agency was formed in 1979, the annual budget was $14.5 billion. It is now $77.8 billion. Do the math. Since the department was formed per pupil spending has increased from about $3,000 to almost $5,600 (adjusted for inflation).

3. Unconstitutional - The 10th amendment of the Constitution says, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." The Department of Education has put numerous rules and regulations in place regarding education, instead of leaving it up to the states 10th amendment dictates.

4. Probability of failure - If all 50 states had competing programs of education, the possibility of some, or most of the programs being successful would go up substantially. Sure, some states probably wouldn't be as successful as others, but it would be better than having one nationwide plan that doesn't work. Logically, how can a bunch of bureaucrats create a educational program that meets the unique needs of millions of children in 50 unique states?

5. Cookie-cutter approach - An improvement in education needs to start at the micro-level before any improvement can be seen on the macro-level. The most successful education happens when children learn to love learning. Very few children will love learning if they are pushed through a cookie-cutter curriculum that stifles creativity and imagination. In a society with problems of ever increasing magnitude, what we need are people with imaginations - people who think different. It may just be me, but using a standard curriculum for all students doesn't seem to be the answer.

1 Person Dies and 100 Million Cry - 1 Million Die and No One Cries

Kind of makes you think doesn't it? This year about a billion people won't have enough food. In the horn of Africa alone, experts are projectioning that death tolls could in the hundred thousands due to the recent drought and subsequent famines. Yet this devastation hardly makes the headlines. Steve Jobs dies and the world is in mourning.

Don't get me wrong, I think Steve Jobs did make a positive impact on the world (yes, I know, as some will say he had his problems), but I think it would be good to think a little more about the suffering in the world. So next time you use your iPad or iPhone and think of Steve Jobs, think for a second about the people don't have one and probably never will.

Yes, RIP Steve Jobs, but, RIP 1 the million who starved to death.

Help support the suffering in the world.