Act or Idle...

Thursday Afternoon Actionables

That's fine, Gov. Rick Perry, Texas can go ahead and secede from the Union

Gov. Rick Perry of Texas grabbed national attention again this week during the anti-tax teabag ruckus by suggesting that Texas might just at some point get so fed up with federal taxation that they'd want to secede from the United States. He bragged that the Texas economy is in good shape compared with other states, let alone compared to the "federal budget mess," said Fox News.

I say we call that bluff. I live in Texas; I know that Texas is, according to State Representative Eliot Shapleigh, "On the Brink." Here's a small sample of Texas's rankings compared to the 50 U.S. states (1=high, 50=low):

State Government Taxes & Spending

• Tax Revenue Raised Per Capita--------------49th
• Tax Expenditures Per Capita------------------50th
• Per Capita Spending on Mental Health-----46th
• Parks & Rec--------------------------------------49th
• Police Protection--------------------------------48th

Education

Percentage of Population over 25 with a High School Diploma---50th

State of the Child

Percentage of Uninsured Children---------1st

Health Care Issues and Environment

• Percentage of Population without
• Health Insurance----------------------------1st
• Air Pollution Emissions----------------------1st
• Green House Gases Released----------------1st
• Toxic Chemicals Released into Water-----1st
• Hazardous Waste Generated----------------1st
• Carbon dioxide emissions-------------------1st

Workforce Issues

• Income Inequality between the Rich and the Poor--2nd
• Job Discrimination Lawsuits-----------------------------1st

Public Safety

• Number of Executions-----------------------1st
• Number of Gun Shows-----------------------1st
• Number of Registered Machine Guns------1st
• Deaths by Floods/Tornadoes----------------1st

Sorry, Gov. Perry. There's not a lot here to brag about. And there's even less if you look at the entire listing in Shapleigh's document. So, should Texas decide to secede, it might actually be doing the rest of the states a favor. Because, quite honestly, it looks to me like Texas might be pulling the average down.

Sliding Scale Bake Sale Reveals Plight of World's Women

I attended a local event at the Women's Intercultural Center for Women's History Month/International Women's Day last week that paired a special movie screening with a "sliding scale bake sale." Cupcakes and drinks cost a dollar each. But women got a special deal: those without children paid $.90, married moms paid $.73, and single moms paid $.60 for those same $1.00 items.

A sign explained what was happening:

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"WHY THE DIFFERENT PRICES?

We don't mean to discriminate. But this is a

SLIDING SCALE BAKE SALE

The prices reflect the REAL WAGE GAP

between men, women, and women with children.

Even today, for each dollar that a man earns, a woman can expect to earn $.90, a married mom can expect to earn $.73, and a single mom can expect to earn $.60.

If this seems unfair at a bake sale, imagine how it feels in the real world, WHERE RENT AND FOOD ARE NOT SOLD ON A SLIDING SCALE.

Info source: www.momsrising.org"

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all the same under the skin

in this economic downturn in america, it is easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. i try not to. that doesn't mean that i don't appreciate everything i have and the fact that i live in a land of excess. i do. but it makes me aware that because i have so much- many have nothing. america has always been the land of plenty for most, but we have always had our share of poverty too. we don't like to think about them, but their numbers are growing.

i just read a post with a few interesting links- about poverty, malnourishment, need:

one in 5 humans starving

this earth cannot survive the billions we have become but that doesn't tell the whole story. human beings run on a monied system and the folks with the most money- always win. if you take the planet as a whole- and look at the inhabited continents- most of the world is poor. it isn't just ethiopia that is starving anymore. i just want people in this country to be aware that because of poverty, war, drought, blight, and myriad other issues- one in 5 people on the planet are currently starving.

what can we do? grow our own food; consume less overall; pressure washington to pressure other western nations to stop propping up dictatorships in impoverished nations and to put together plans to help our fellow human beings. we can help end poverty globally by working together for peace and realizing that for all of our differences- we are all the same underneath- human beings.

one.org