A couple friends of mine, who’s names I will not mention until a later date, are writing a book together. One of them asked me to do a short write-up about our (Intentional Gatherings) time with the homeless on the streets of Ft. Worth for them to publish in the book. It was so reminiscent to think back two years ago and write out our story. Hope you enjoy…

On Becoming Homeless…

For a group of white, middle-class, suburban kids the journey we were about to embark on would prove to be quite shaping. We had been exploring what life as a follower of Christ should look like based upon what we found in scripture. It was not long after that we “broke it off” with our beloved pew, and said “goodbye” to the church as a building. While we stayed closely connected to the Body of Christ as a people we refused to allow that to hinder us from intentionally spending more time with non-Jesus followers than we did followers. From Starbucks and other “third spaces” to our neighborhoods, schools, and jobs we began exploring a life on mission outside the context of the bubble we had so unknowingly been seduced into previously.

As we devoured the scriptures communally it was not long before we noticed a theme throughout Jesus’ ministry of service to the poor and needy; not to mention His commands to us, as His Body, to take care of them. At this time in our lives ministry to the homeless was not the “hip-&-cool fad” it has become today. As we began seeking ways to live out these Gospel principles found in scripture we learned about what we would soon label the “modern-day leper colony”. About 20 minutes from our comfortable suburban homes, tucked quietly under the intersection of several major highways near the downtown area, we found what would soon become a place our souls longed to be. The majority of Ft. Worth’s homeless population called this area just off East Lancaster Boulevard “home”. For the most part they went unnoticed, and were ignored by society. Those who knew they existed steered clear of the area, or pointed down from the overpass as they attempted to teach their kids a lesson about “responsibility”.

We began taking regular trips to the streets in pursuit of being obedient to what we felt God was instructing us to do. We became students of those who had “worked” there for many years, as well as the homeless individuals we sought to “serve”. We learned very quickly how ignorant we were to the real needs of these people based upon the real reasons they were there in the first place. It did not take long to realize the abundance of tangible resources available to the homeless on East Lancaster. From churches to various non-profit, and government organizations the basic needs of the people on the street were met with excess. They did not need our Wendy’s dollar menu burgers, or our hand-me-down fashion from the closet.

A man named Michael Hatcher became our close friend and mentor. Michael had been “ministering” among these people for years, and taught us everything we know about working among the homeless in Ft. Worth. He and his family had moved into the “hood” several years before, and were dedicated to seeing lives transformed by the power of the Gospel of Jesus. Michael was known on the streets as “The Rev”. He was someone the people trusted, respected, and would give their lives for. Michael walked the streets during the week ministering to these people. He helped them get their ID’s, jobs, bus passes, but most importantly he gave them himself as a friend. We naturally followed in the footsteps of our mentor. We made a commitment early on: while countless others brought material goods to hand out to the people of the streets we vowed only to bring ourselves; a “hand-up” not a “hand-out” if you will. While others handed out food and clothes we sat on the curb to listen. Conversations led to prayer, topped with hugs, and a side of comfort knowing they had made a new friend. You must understand that many of these people had not engaged in conversation with another human being in years.

Things were going well, and we were seeing fruit from our labor. However, there was still something missing. While we had close relationships with our new friends on the street they knew we came from our comfy suburban homes, and would return there after our short time with them on the streets. We could not truly relate to them. Around that time several twenty-something’s from our newly formed “organic” church community felt a strange pull to move in, and “set up shop” among our new friends from the streets. We all began praying that God would provide a house for communal living among the poor…

By the grace of God our little crew of 15 broke college-aged kids began to make quite the impact on East Lancaster. We had organized the annual “Art-n-the Park” celebration, birthed the “Unity in the Community Network” of organizations who served among the homeless in Ft. Worth, and had the attention of many in the city. We still felt we had so much to learn. After all, we were in this for our new friends on the streets, and God’s ultimate glorification, not our own narcissism. Michael Hatcher decided that we needed to know what “life on the streets” was really like. He and his wife put together “Ghetto 101”, and about 10 of us agreed to a weekend we would never forget; a weekend our parents would not be happy to hear about…

We knew that we had to “be in their shoes” to really know how to best serve them. We had no idea what it meant to sleep on cold cement without a wallet full of plastic, or a cell phone to call mommy and daddy when things got rough. Our weekend began with turning in everything we had come with, a cold shower in the Day Resource Center, and a hopeless search through a box of clothes that would be our only possessions for the next two days. For those two days we were on our own in this place we had deemed the “leper colony”. Luckily, we had made many friends who “showed us the ropes” and “had our backs” if things got weird. We ate what they ate, walked where they walked, begged where they begged, slept where they slept, collected cans for money, and endured life disconnected from the rest of the world. The weekend was incredible. We learned a lot, gained the respect of our homeless friends (Who now saw that we were “for real”), and scared the mess out of our parents.

After eight months of praying God decided it was time. We found two duplex’s on the same property. Two of the four units were for rent, and they were cheap. By this point our organization, Intentional Gatherings, had gained its non-profit status, and donations were coming in from people who believed in the vision of the “I.G. House”. We moved two guys into one unit and four girls into the other. It was then that we truly began to learn the in’s and out’s of homelessness, and how to attack the problem at the root. We were in a neighborhood about a mile from the “leper colony”, which was full of the “working poor”. (Those who are not-yet-homeless, but hanging on by a thread) The primary focus shifted from the already homeless to the almost homeless; the work among the already homeless continued, and the relationships that had been made were fostered. The “I.G. House” crew grew close as they lived in tight-knit Gospel centered community, and sought to make a difference in the neighborhood in which they resided. As the crew grew they eventually took over three of the four units on the property. From weekend kickball tournaments to front porch after-school tutoring & Saturday morning breakfast in the yard this group of immigrants was serving Jesus in a way previously foreign to us all.

We had finally learned that in order to make a true impact among a people we had to “incarnate” ourselves among them. We had to put ourselves in their shoes, eat what they ate, sleep where they slept, and live life in their context. It was then that we truly gained a door into their lives. We refused to simply come from the outside bringing in the “answer” to life. We brought our lives to the inside of their lives, shared life, and discovered what the “answer” was with them. Thank you Jesus for “incarnating” yourself among us, sharing in our lives, and teaching us of yourself, the answer.

Climategate Criminals, and Getting Our Money Back
Article: Canada Free Press

“They are not merely bad scientists — they are crooks. And crooks who have perpetrated their crimes at the expense of British and U.S. taxpayers.

I am angry, and so should you be.” —Lord Christopher Monckton November 23, 2009

In a recent article, Lord Monckton pointed out that, far from suffering from global warming, the planet has experienced “rapid and significant cooling” over the past nine years.

That bears repeating. Over the past nine years the world has experienced “rapid and significant cooling.” There has been no global warming—it is a Big Lie.

The whole “global warming” myth is a scam, a fraud, and most significantly, a crime.

We need to start throwing some of the people responsible for this outrage into jail. And we need to start suing to get our money back, and stop this swindle by corrupt politicians, Marxist ideologues, and their dupes.

I say “Marxist ideologues” because behind the veneer of Progressivism, Communitarianism, Statism, Global Collectivism, et al., is an agenda that is rooted in Marxist/Communism.

When the Cold War ended, the old bugaboo of Communism didn’t just go away—it hid for awhile, and then reemerged in new clothes. People wearing those “new clothes” are now running the U.S. government, and “we the people” are increasingly waking up to that fact.

In the “boiled frog” scenario, a frog in a pot of water is cooked to death if the temperature is slowly increased by small increments, but jumps out of the pot, if the temperature is abruptly increased.

America was being “boiled alive” quite nicely, thank you, until the Obama Administration came along and cranked up the heat. Now the “frog’s” awake—and wants to get the heck out of the pot. Our lives depend on it.

These wolves in sheep’s clothing are hell-bent on “social justice,” “sustainable development,” and “redistributing wealth.” They are dedicated to wiping out America’s middle-class, destroying America as a world power, and installing a repressive planetary regime that will quash individual liberty, and freedom of expression.

One of the chief ways that they are going about doing this, is through crippling America’s production capacity, by making it exorbitantly expensive, illegal, or impossible, to produce food and goods.
Agenda 21, Carbon Credits, Global Warming Scam

The Cap and Trade bill is designed to put the finishing touches on a process already well underway, via the UN’s Agenda 21, and laws enacted because of the “global warming” scam.

Corporation shareholders should be insisting that their CEOs instigate lawsuits to recover funds paid for “carbon credits” and other expensive nonsense.

Taxpayers should be instigating class-action lawsuits to reclaim the money that has been misspent in various bogus “global warming” agendas.

And yes, people who were instrumental in propagating the “global warming” fraud, should be sent to jail.

The “global warming” lie, is the largest rip-off in history. It is nothing less than the criminal attempt (largely successful) to defraud the public, and bilk us out of billions, possibly trillions, of dollars.

The LSM (Lame Stream Media) is doing their best to sweep Climategate under the rug—hoping that by ignoring it, it’ll just go away. “We the people” must insure that it is put on the front burner, and stays there.

Let’s get out of the pot, and put them in it.

Laus Deo.

Dean: Obama Care is a Bailout That Makes AIG Look Cheap

Animated US Map Shows Startling Growth of Unemployment

Those who know me well, know that I have a hang-up about unions. Perhaps they had a real purpose in the days of the Industrial Revolution when America was coming out of the agricultural age, but they have no useful purpose today, than to promote socialism. They were a tool used to boost individuals from agricultural serfdom to the industrial middle class.  On the political side, unions were used to elect Democrats. My Dad, who was forced to join a union when he worked for the railroad was told how to vote by union bosses. Eventually,  American workers abandoned unions as a tool because unions no longer  function to their benefit in this society

Today, unions are a business. Their goal is to make money, and  to keep union bosses employed. Many times, unions are in the pocket of the management. They know the management position is right, and the unioin is left with a “take it or leave it” proposition. Much of the export of  US industry to foreign countries is the result of union demands making business more expensive  to work in. Unions also demand more pay for less work.  Very often, the negotiated work rules have no reason, and offer a company less flexibility. For example continuing to demand a coal-shoveling fireman on deisel-electric locomotives. Too many union/management relationships are adversarial in nature. Instead of building a relationship that will foster a “together we will prosper’ attitude, it is a “we’ll take you down before we give in” credo. 

Last week, I read an article about a Boy Scout who built a hiking-biking trail as his Eagle Scout project. Having served in the BSA for twenty five years, I thought he picked an remarkably ambitious project. He might become an Eagle Scout as a result, because with his leadership, he completed the project. His Eagle Board of Review has to determine if he met the requirements of  an Eagle class project.  Meanwhile Allentown benefits.

The Service Employees International Union argued that the work should have gone to fired union employees instead. Did the SEIU or their members conceive the project? Did they take it before  a Scout board of approval? Did they get  permits from the park district? Did they plan the work? Did they recruit people to work? Did they lead the workers, and arrange for removal of the trash? The SEIU leaders who filed the complaint against Allentown, PA  got paid. The Boy Scout didn’t, nor did his recruits. I guess the SEIU calls him a SCAB.   

Perhaps the SEIU should redefine what it’s mission statement is and what it stands for; “The desecration of the basic human values that make our country great.” They fill that requirement exactly.

For years, politicians and commentators have been ringing the bell for the end of class.  A decade ago, Tony Blair announced that we were all middle-class now, though I had already suspected something was afoot when my Nanna upgraded from Spam to wafer-thin ham. 

Since then, the consensus has been that the old delineations of upper, middle and lower are dead.  This, though, is far from the case.  In the last few weeks, I have become aware of a class that is as likely to shop in Waitrose as it is Farmfoods.  It likes Jedward but it listens to Verdi too.  It has a place in Provence, but also a fortnight’s all-inclusive in Benidorm.  And I am part of it.

We are the Daytime Class.  We are mothers with prams who are thinking of white wine and wondering if they’ll ever go to the cinema again.  We are pocked-up heroine wallahs in every shade of sallow.  We are doughty pensioners chatting in the rain.  We are unemployed twenty-seven year-old men who put on their wives’ shoes to watch Loose Women. 

While you’re all at work or serving your sentences, we come out.  Droves of us.  You should see the streets, teeming, brimming with people who serve about as much purpose as this board I took a picture of in Cowdenbeath:

Nothing to see here. No, seriously, there's nothing to see here

We have strength in pointless, café-dwelling unity.  We know what time the post is delivered, and that Fat Sandra is having a lesbian affair ‘just because she got bored’.  We are the people that go into Poundland and use libraries.  We have favourite coffee beans and drug dealers. 

It’s high time we mobilised as a political force.  Led by somebody suitably pointless like Sue Perkins, The Daytime Class Party would advocate a complete ban of the question ‘what time did you get up today?’  The class war is on, but only once Doctors has finished.

My new post on Politics Daily / Woman Up:

Lou Dobbs has quit his news anchor job at CNN, his network home for three decades. Currently he’s considering all kinds of offers, including opportunities in politics.

Dobbs has a reputation as an anti-immigration racist and a right-wing nut. His detractors lump him in with Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck. And, of course, Hitler.

I confess – for years I watched the now-defunct “Lou Dobbs Tonight” on CNN. Whenever I let that detail slip, friends respond with shock or horror. Or both. But that’s because they assume I watched Dobbs for his politics. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Lou is the grandfather I never knew. If you factor in his use of language – words like balderdash and phrases like “preening buffoons” and “lily-livered cowards” – he’s the great-great grandfather I never knew…

Read the rest on AOL. Lou Dobbs: The Haters Are Wrong.

Khosla ka Ghosla remains one of my favorite movies. But the reality behind that happy ending story is certainly not a happy one. Land being a scarce resource in India is at the root cause of several crimes and corrupt practices. But what makes me frustrated is the plight of the average person willing live by the law. He apparently has no saviour.

Looking around I can only see a forest of people, Jana-Aranya. Just like the one portrayed in Satyajit Ray’s classic (all his movies are classic isnt it?) The Middleman. almost every profession today and especially the government service has become corrupt to the core. injustice seems to be the only thing that is assured.

From education to software industry, from politics to media, cricket to bollywood. The truth behind Armani suites and khadi remains so stark that it instills fear in my heart. An average person in Mumbai plays exorbitant rent for one room devoid of even basic facilities such as toilet and bathroom. He travels in the most celebrated and uncomfortable travel arrangement called local trains. These trains are better only because road transport sucks.

We can not deny that Indian middle class has struggled a hell lot. In fact the struggle of this class during the socialist regime of nehruvian politics is simply unbelievable. But that struggle for survival has killed so many good things about the middle and poor class. 80% of India’s  population remains middle and poor class.

The middle in last few decades tried hard to survive and raise its level above their past. They tried to acquire education by all means. Traveling hundred kilometers to get a better college staying hungry to save money. Their parents worked hard so that their children could study. The government had to build only schools. Provide transport and infrastructure to its people and people would have figured out rest. In fact people did. The government however did exactly opposite. IT mindlessly controlled education and milked this cow for its political benefit.

Just as the middle-class of my parents generation had discovered that education is their only salvation. The political class discovered that education can be exploited to keep people ignorant and less aware. Hence they controlled education just as British did. Quality of this education was kept very low and access was made extremely difficult.

Education leads to jobs was another belief that the middle class had. Government controlled even that. License quota raj ensured that no new jobs are created and if created only the chosen once would get entry. The middle class in its desperation and helplessness did not leave any stone unturned to get a job. Today we see the result. Getting a government job means paying bribe to those who offer a favor. It also means after you get a job you are free to rape, ripe and squeeze your position as per your will.

Today it is not possible to move an application without giving away your hard-earned money to some one who does not deserve it in the first place. What scares me is the attitude that the average man has developed for this phenomenon of corruption. He is the “Sahib” he has to take bribe, after all he has paid lakhs to get the job, he has to get return on his investment. I was told by a driving school agent.

When I visit malls, shopping complexes, multiplexes, Mac Donalds and KFCs I see that a lot of so-called youth is hanging out there. A lot of middle class families come there to enjoy. Certainly as it would appear from outside the Mango Man of this country has come a far away. He has raised himself above a level he was 20 years back. He has worked hard for it. But while doing so he has paid a big price.

Behind all that glory and glitter of Malls and Multiplexes lies a sad truth. All this has come up with a price. That price is , all of our systems have become corrupt and in-efficient. Not just these systems are going to suck our blood and money over a period of time, they are also going to ensure that we remain in that exploitive bracket so that we remain an easy prey  for that system. If you want to get out of that bracket you will have to turn yourself into an exploiter. A person willing to survive by fair means has no place left here.

There are some important characteristics of corruption. It is rationalized by instincts to survive and it is driven by greed. It initially breeds on money but later it’s survival and growth demands larger sacrifices. Hence it spreads its tentacles through guns and goons. They suck so much that nothing more remains to be sucked up. They rely on the average man’s ability to rise above all odds. They figure out every possible way to screw a helpless and poor man. Most important casualty in this process is the freedom. A look at city life will assure you that freedom of speech, trade,right to property come with several illegitimate caveats.

There is little difference left between exploited and exploiters. It all about lick above and kick below stuff. But while all these things are true about corruption. There are other truths as well. While we feel that all is well and we are progressing. Behind this progress we are digging our own grave in which one day we will fall with a catastrophic destruction. This catastrophe will come uninvited and unanticipated. It will swipe not just corrupt but also those at the bottom of this exploitation pyramid.

For optimists there is another hope also. Someone will rise against this and will single handedly turn the wheel. He will be the messiah for religious minded. I dont belive in Superman either.

Obama Allies Want New Tax To Pay For Cost Of Protecting Afghan Opium Fields, Bribing Taliban

Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
November 20, 2009

Any war surtax will merely go straight to maintaining the agenda that Obama inherited from Bush, the continued looting of Afghanistan under the pretext of a “war on terror” that, as revelations about bribing the Taliban prove, doesn’t even exist.

Cap and Trade: A License Required for your Home

Nachi.org
November 19, 2009

Greater Energy Efficiency in Building Codes establishes new energy efficiency guidelines for the National Building Code and mandates at 304(d), Application of National Code to State and Local Jurisdictions, that 1 year after enactment of this Act, all state and local jurisdictions must adopt the National Building Code energy efficiency provisions or must obtain a certification from the federal government that their state and/or local codes have been brought into full compliance with the National Building Code energy efficiency standards.

andi is 21 years old

she was born in london but grew up in beverly hills

andi grew up in a large mansion

andi never understood the concept of having little money

andi went to private school

andi was very smart because of her private school

her mother and father loved her

andi has been to almost every country

andi supports worker unions and welfare

because poor people seem alien and retarded

andi has a trust fund and spends it on anything she wants

andi has a boyfriend and he also grew up wealthy

but he wears a beard and lives in a bad neighborhood

he is in a band but his music is bad

but he can play the guitar really well because his dad hired the best guitar teacher

andi is happy but sometimes feels bored

andi’s dad grew up in a working class area of london

he was not educated but he became wealthy from his record company he started

andi was in london and wanted to visit her dad’s old neighborhood

she saw some  ‘ poor people’ from pakistan and she thought quietly ‘ pieces of shit ‘

moments later those ‘ pieces of shit’ from pakistan robbed her

they stole her car and all her money

they went to the atm and took money out

they cracked her skull in with a club

she died or something

it’s not good to ‘ rob ‘ somebody

but she did not earn her money like her dad did

fuck the rich kids

fuck middle class kids

fuck people born in 1st world countries

it’s to okay to steal from rich kids because they don’t have any feelings

Watch out. Reader beware. I am about to go on a verbal rampage. Frankly because, I can. Mean people suck. No, not just a little, they really suck. And I am sick of them. I am really tired of having to co-exist beside random people who are valueless, immoral, corrupt and all-around just basically immature. Enough. What is it with people enjoying hurting other people?  Did your mother’s not hug you enough as a child? Seriously! If you are so pissed at the rest of the world for however you feel that you have been wronged in life, the “poor me” syndrome, then seek help. Honestly. But why take it out on the rest of the population because you have this narly chip on your shoulder. GET OVER IT! Everyone has experienced crap in their lives. Why make your baggage define you. You would have to know me years and years and years and I still might never share certain things with you, that is my way. The past is the past. We can joke about it, talk about, rant about it but at the end of the day, emotionally leave it there.

A few years ago, I was heading over to meet my ex-husband to drop off our son. He used to reside about an hour away from us, so he had driven up early to meet us and was chilling in this parking lot. As I pulled into the center yellow median to make a left turn, some crazy man crossing the street (not where the cross walk existed,) was irked I pulled into the yellow median where he preferred to be walking, silly me. He kicked my truck. Now mind you, at the time I had a brand new lifted Tacoma Pre-Runner. Then he gave me the finger and crossed the street into the parking lot. This was another one of those moments, are you serious? This guy just thought since I was a female and alone with a child, I was bait. He could vent his frustrations at the world on me and walk away. Ha ha, he really showed me who was boss. He may have gotten away with it, except for one minor detail. When he reached the other side, he was face to face with one very pissed off Marine. Now, I am not certain as my reader your level of involvement in my personal life. If you have met my ex-husband, you can imagine that this man just risked his life by being mean to me. My ex-husband has a general rule he follows in life, no one is mean to Mon Cherie except him. He retains the sole privilege to pick on me. But I know this man, if you mess with me, you will be sorry. Maybe not today, but he will defend me and his child with his life. That is just who he is. Okay, I kid you not, the man ran. When my ex walked up to him and said, “again, did you just kick my wife’s truck?” He bolted. An Olympic sprinter couldn’t of made better time. My ex went running after him.  True story. He is a marathon runner and an athlete. Moral of story, men will harass and abuse a woman only when they clearly imagine they will get away with it. Had that man known he was meeting a Marine on the other side of the street, he probably would have let me cross the road unimpeded, offered to pay for my gas and checked my oil.

 Which leads to this morning! Cruising through the morning daily commute, all went as planned. Well sort of. I did a laundry check list as we pulled out of the driveway which was met with groans, rolled eyes and sarcasm. I listed them off: ID Cards, lunch, back packs, homework, sweaters…Yet we still did the commute twice because Baby #1 realized that she had grabbed two right shoes. Her Vans, one pink and one red. I was soooo tempted to make her walk around all day like this to learn her lesson: put shoes on before you leave the house, not after. No, I felt mercy for her, so we rushed back home to switch out her shoes, laughing the entire way.

Drop the kids off at school, pulling onto a street in the neighborhood next to the school, driving along and then *&%$!!!! This man pulls out of his driveway at Mach 10, with another car behind him doing the same thing. He pulls right in front of me as if I didn’t have the right of way, or there were cars following me closely. I skid not to hit him as did the car behind me. Meanwhile I just had a very scary flash back to my car accident two weeks ago. I am still periodically wearing the neck brace, which I had on and trying my hardest not to take any pain meds. (aka Motrin.) My seatbelt locked so hard my neck and shoulder are now actively throbbing. Thanks. As if that stunt was not bad enough, the man proceeds to sit at a dead stop. He allows the 2nd car to pull in front of him. Not only did this psycho almost cause me to hit him (which I am certain would have been my fault,) then he stops traffic to play this little charade. To punish me further, me the female alone, he puts his SUV in reverse and proceeds to punch it into the front end of my car. I am putting it in reverse whilst laying on my horn, trying to back up with nowhere to go because the 16 year old behind me is in a panic to figure out what is going on. I did NOTHING to this man, I have never seen him before in my life, I am a total stranger who was driving down his street. Honestly, what is so mentally wrong with this individual that he has to take his angst and hostility at the world out on lowly me? He appears mad that the school is in his neighborhood. What enrages me more is that I am an adult in my thirties. Teenagers drive there constantly. What if this man had done this to one of the kids? I held up my cell phone as if I was taking pictures of his car and his plates; he speed off down the street at full speed.

Now answer me this. If I return on Monday, my next time there, and take a pic of his home and car and place it on my Blog to illustrate this gentleman as an example, is this illegal? Someone must know, comment me back, or email me. Because that is exactly what I am thinking to do. Why should he be anonymous? “Hey, a really horrible mean creep lives here…” Had I been in the car with a man would he have pulled his little, “good morning, I hate the world and everyone in it,” stunt? Doubtful. If I was planning to harass someone, and I certainly never would, I surely wouldn’t do it on my own front lawn. Really obtuse people pick fights with strangers. You never know sometimes exactly who you are dealing with. For that reason, and the fact that I am a Christian, I try not to go around instigating with other people. Why bring more headaches and draw attention to yourself by starting battles with someone where you might be guaranteed to lose?

The most ironic, part is this. Albeit the kid’s school is in a very poor neighborhood, these people have houses. They have decent cars parked out front. Just because my child is at this expensive school does not mean I am wealthy. It means he pushed himself non-stop for years and achieved perfect grades so he could get the academic scholarship to go there. He and I slipped in the back door of this institution through good old-fashioned American hard work. The kids and I had just been discussing the fact that these “poor” people were in fact wealthier than I am. In order to avoid living in their dangerous neighborhood, I have to shell out “top dollar” for my tiny place to put a gate between me and them. They have no right to be pissed off at the world, I do. My rent is basically the same for a small apartment as I paid for my 3500 sq foot house backed up on a lake in Colorado. I have lived in this state most of my life, I grew up here. I should have been able to become an adult here and buy myself a house, afford a decent living. I cannot even afford health and car insurance here in Orange County, let alone a house and a nice expensive car. I have to live like a squatter in my little place to accommodate all of the people who have migrated to my beloved County and are milking our system. Literally depleting it of everything good left. As a single mother, I have already paid over $40,000 towards my son’s education to keep him out of a public school system that is failing (I just saw the stats yesterday, so I can correctly say this,) to educate our kids to American standards. I have to sacrifice even more than they do to keep my son’s mind up to the Middle Class so he has a chance, not a guarantee, a chance to rise above our current standard of living. Now I promised to not be controversial on this Blog and I intend to stick to it, so I will end this rant with a thought. Is it more prudent to take steps urgently to save a sinking ship, or wait until it has hit bottom and all the best people in it have drowned with it, to try to haul up the wreckage? That is our County today.

Immediately following this altercation, I headed over to CVS and bought bleach, lysol and clorox.  I will vent my frustrations the healthy way, by cleaning my place.

The hard-working American middle-class is filing bankruptcy in higher numbers than ever before. It’s not the rich, nor the poor, but the middle-class that is falling behind on all payments quicker than they can catch up, and it’s costing them their credit score, their financial future, and their wallet.

In the past, the path to financial freedom and success has been a college degree and home ownership. These days, the path to financial freedom and success is anyone’s guess.

The proportion of bankruptcy filers who have been to college, whether they dropped out or graduated, increased from 46.5% in 1991 to 58.9% in 2007, a recent study called “The Vulnerable Middle Class: Bankruptcy and Class Status” has found.

Wrap this amazing number around your head; 100,000 middle-class Americans filed for bankruptcy every single month in 2007, and that number has only grown. That’s every month that 100,000 hard working Americans toss in the towel, throw up the white flag, and give up to financial ruin.

The study found that many college graduates are not graduating with the forward momentum that they used to. That forward momentum that would get them to financial freedom and avoid bankruptcy has been hindered by the outrageously high costs of college and the time it takes to pay back student loans.

The falling value in middle-class homes has also created a huge problem and led many into bankruptcy. While a home and a fixed income used to be an American consumer’s nest-egg, it has now become a burden. Most American’s these days are paying more then there home is worth, burying themselves in debt from fraudulent second and third mortgages that they can’t afford.

In this domino effect, as USA Today puts it, student loans matched with the failing housing market matched with record high unemployment rates, and the middle-class just didn’t stand a chance. While foreclosures brought more bankruptcy filings, new homes were just not being built which led to more jobs lost in the construction industry, which led to more bankruptcies.

When times were good, many middle-class admit to living beyond their means. It’s now, when so many are filing for bankruptcy, that many are learning the value of money again and hopefully teaching younger generations of their financial flaws.

If you’re thinking about filing for bankruptcy, give us a call first: 1-877-386-3606 or visit http://www.thedebtsettlementprogram.com.

I have been questioned on what I believe to be the “middle class”, and do I define it only by income. My answer is no. Although I used median and average household incomes in my post re: middle class whining, I personally do not consider middle class to be based on incomes. Nor, for that matter, do I personally view people in general as part of a class based on their income. Instead, from the perspective of economics and politics I tend to consider groups of people based on their adversity to risk, which I allude to in that same post.

For instance, I consider the ditch digger to be far higher in class than a Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO of Goldman Sachs who is apparently doing “God’s work” even though the ditch digger earns a mere fraction of Blankfein’s annual income. To that ditch digger, a mortgage on a modest home may be a risk but he’ll work 20hr days between three jobs to pay for it if he has to. Same goes for a single, working mother, who will do the same. I have tremendous respect for both of them, and others like them, and hold them in very, very high regard.

The people whose opinion I have little respect for are those who want zero risk and yet want all the returns. They seem to be the ones doing the most whining when it comes to the economy, jobs, and bailouts. They are those who are not willing to make the sacrifices that our parents and grandparents made and yet expect others to do it for them along with providing some sort of guarantee as to their living or security.

The Founding Fathers took risks. Present-day entrepreneurs are taking risks. Military service men and women are taking risks. When I look at and talk to many “middle class”, it seems they hardly take any. They are also much more likely to spend their discretionary income on material things and creature comforts only to turn around and demand more from their employers (more income, increased benefits, more time off, etc.), or their government (more handouts, lower taxes, etc.) when they realize that looking rich, and feeling rich, isn’t actually being rich.

The “middle class” then, as I see it, are those who risk a modest amount of their certainty and stability to achieve something greater. The “lower class” wants no risk at all and expects others to take it on for them. The Ken Lays, the deadbeat dads, and the welfare queens are those who I consider to be in this category. The “upper class” to me are those who bet it all – the Fred Smiths, the Sam Waltons, the Steve Jobs, the Steve Wynns, the Bill Gates, and the Richard Bransons of the world. Those who have done far more for putting food on peoples’ tables than any government or charity ever has.

The middle class always seem to be whining and demanding things from large corporations and the government. I often wonder why.

According to an article I read which quoted census figures, the median household income for an American was about $48,000US. The average range was $24,000 to $96,000. That works out to between $23 and $46 per hour for $48k/yr and $96k/yr, respectively (thanks, Ben!)

A babysitter makes about $8/hr. Do they work any less harder? A laborer makes less, and a fast food employee makes probably the least. Do they work any less hard than someone with a middle-class job? I doubt it. Yet I don’t see the middle class running out to double their wages. In fact, they’re usually trying to grind them down. Doesn’t your carpet cleaner deserve $20/hr for cleaning your thousand dollar carpets, or doesn’t your babysitter deserve $20/hr for the care of your kids while you go out for a $200 dinner and show that you feel is so well-deserved for all your hard work?

You “bought” your house for ten or fifteen percent down because you felt you deserved one that big and that nice. You bought your car for ten or fifteen percent down because you felt you deserved that, too. My grandparents wouldn’t buy a house they couldn’t pay off in 10 years or less, and we’re here taking on 40-yr mortgages at interest only with $40k+ cars over and above that. Why? Because we need them? No, because we believe we deserve them. Based on what?

Your boss never guaranteed you a job. The government never guaranteed you a thriving economy, and our capitalist system never guaranteed you a lifestyle beyond your means, yet as a middle class citizen you feel somewhat entitled to all three.

Success is not about hard work, otherwise ditch diggers would be successful. It is about taking risks, which only the upper class have truly done. As the middle class, it would be enough if you feared risk and simply avoided it, but you don’t. Worse, you take it and then try and change the rules, wanting all of the upside and none of the downside. And again, the only reason you can provide as to why you deserve this luxury is because you “work hard”. Again, it isn’t enough. (Btw, this is the same reason why I’m against the upper class getting bailouts of any kind).

The rich got to where they are by risking more; sometimes by risking it all. They’ve done so in good economies and bad economies. There are middle class people becoming millionaires as we speak, and they’re not becoming them based on hard work, they’re becoming them based on risk.

If you want more, risk more. If you can’t, or won’t, then you should stop whining for more pay, less debt, or a better job because you’ve both created and accepted all of it through the choices that you alone have made. Neither the government nor your “crooked” jerk of a boss can, or should, change it – it comes down to you, the individual. That’s beauty of this country, and of capitalism.

I had a rotten night last night. Couldn’t get into a deep sleep. Was still just dozing at 5.53am. I did have one dream though.

I was back in the house of my childhood (I never dream about the house we moved to when I was 14), under attack from zombies. No surprises there as I’ve just finished reading the fantastic World War Z by Max Brooks. It tells the stories of the people who survived the zombie war. Even if you don’t like zombies, you should check it out because it’s so well written.

Anyway, we had sticks with sharpened ends to ram into their heads. Most of the zombies died (again) straight away. Except the middle class ones. The sticks wouldn’t go into their heads. Yesterday I had a rant at work about the ridiculousness of David Penberthy’s piece in The Punch, complaining about how no one has asked men what they think of female body image. Because, you know, middle class blokes always struggle to be heard.