Friday Peace Vigil, Casa Grande, AZ, and surrounding area:

PEACE VIGIL
CASA GRANDE, AZ
Friday, January 21, 2011
4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Corner N. Trekell Rd. and E. Florence Blvd.

Tony Fasline (520-426-0070) will hold his weekly Peace Vigil this Friday, January 21, from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., at the corner of N. Trekell Rd. and E. Florence Blvd. In Casa Grande, AZ. Tony invites anyone who is interested in showing their support for ending conflict in the world to join him. Hold out positive thoughts for that!

Peace Vigil, Casa Grande, AZ, and surrounding area:

PEACE VIGIL
CASA GRANDE, AZ
Friday, January 14, 2011
4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Corner N. Trekell Rd. and E. Cottonwood Ln.

Tony Fasline (520-426-0070) will hold his weekly Peace Vigil this Friday, January 14, from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., at the corner of N. Trekell Rd. and E. Cottonwood Ln. In Casa Grande, AZ. Tony invites anyone who is interested in showing their support for ending conflict in the world to join him. Hold out positive thoughts for that!

Peace Vigil, Casa Grande, AZ, and surrounding area:

PEACE VIGIL
CASA GRANDE, AZ
Friday, January 7, 2011
4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Corner E. Florence Blvd. and N. Arizola Rd.

Tony Fasline (520-426-0070) will hold his weekly Peace Vigil this Friday, January 7, from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., at the corner of E. Florence Blvd. and N. Arizola Rd. In Casa Grande, AZ. Tony invites anyone who is interested in showing their support for ending conflict in the world to join him. Hold out positive thoughts for that!

New Year’s Eve Peace Vigil, Casa Grande, AZ, and surrounding area:

PEACE VIGIL
CASA GRANDE, AZ
Friday, December 31, 2010
4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Corner E. Florence Blvd. and N. Colorado St.

Tony Fasline (520-426-0070) will hold his weekly Peace Vigil this Friday, December 31, from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., at the corner of E. Florence Blvd. and N. Colorado St. in Casa Grande, AZ. Tony invites anyone who is interested in showing their support for ending conflict in the world to join him. Hold out positive thoughts for that!

I don't know if I'll be able to join Tony and whoever else shows up, but if not, my spirit will be with all. As I continue to emphasize in my writing, ending the policy of war will be only one step toward building a truly peaceful society, but it is definitely a vital one. Most importantly, we must do everything we can to end poverty as a policy of governments around the world, because that condition is the primary condition that fosters wars.

I wish for love and peace to all, not only during the year-end holiday season but throughout the entire year and all those to follow!

Enlightened drug policy saves money, lives, communities

The humble poppy is such a pretty flower, yet it’s the source of so many

addictive substances society must contend with, hopefully in more enlightened ways

than we have been doing for decades.

(Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons: Public Domain)

Prof. Dr. Otto Wilhelm Thomé
Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz
1885, Gera, Germany

For years, authorities from many disciplines, from health care to law enforcement, have argued that the current policy of treating drug addicts as criminals is not only wrong-headed but far too expensive, and certainly dangerous. Now Portugal has joined the growing number of countries to prove that providing medical treatment to drug addicts instead of locking them up does pay off.

Of course, there are still critics of reform who argue that drug addicts must be punished and treatment is expensive. They’re correct about the latter, but I contend that the facts make the former point moot. Drug addicts suffer physically and emotionally throughout their lives, even after they become sober. In fact, staying on an even keel is, for them, a lifelong struggle, marked by ups and downs.

What’s more, the economic arguments are actually balanced on both sides when comparing the ongoing cost of throwing drug users into prison versus sending them to treatment. But the nay-sayers fail to consider the long-term economic benefit when they deny the need for enlightened change. Considering only the cost of law enforcement and incarceration misses the point, as that’s only one part of the equation, both economic and social.

Wherever a high percentage of the population spends time in prison, the overall community ends up being victimized. Security becomes a vital and expensive item in community and personal budgets. That extra charge is written into the cost of everything, both goods and services, sold in the neighborhood. That’s why in the U.S., for instance, prices for basic commodities are higher in inner-city stores, at least in those places where there are any grocery, department, or discount stores left.

Sending people to prison for possessing and using hard drugs merely turns them into hard-core criminals, bringing down not only their lives but that of their families and their communities. On the other hand, providing medical and social support to addicts has a beneficial effect not only on their future, but that of their loved ones and the entire community.

The greatest positive argument comes from the social improvements, which affect all of us. Turning people from prison to medical treatment has a positive effect on the community at large, as has been shown in Lisbon. In the past decade, formerly depressed drug-infested neighborhoods have become lively communities where families thrive. The few addicts left are treated humanely, and the government has a standing offer to help them overcome their dependency on hard drugs.

In the long run, any government would benefit both economically and socially by implementing the following policies:

• Treat drug addiction as a public health issue by offering treatment to anyone willing to take advantage of it.
• Arrest drug addicts only when they commit a crime involving more than simply using a dangerous drug.
• Provide educational, job training, and employment opportunities to recovering drug addicts.
• Provide counseling and support to families affected by drug addiction.
• Direct funds currently used to enforce a failing drug policy toward community improvement projects.

Communities around the country that are doing this kind of thing are reaping the benefits of this open-minded policy. The time is long past due for both state and federal authorities to try the same thing, for the benefit of all.

Poverty: What It Is and How to End It

On the first day of January, Arizona will join 16 other states that have a higher minimum-wage levels than federal law requires. The purpose of Arizona’s 10-cent increase is commendable: to raise the average income of many of the lowest wage earners in the state. But, as usual, the result will be incomplete and the goal--to ease the rate of poverty in the state--will remain elusive.

In the first place, not every worker is covered by the minimum-wage law. Many people with developmental disabilities work for charitable organizations funded by government subsidies and/or government contracts. These groups aren’t required to pay disabled people a living wage in exchange for semi-skilled labor. Also exempt are people who receive tips, such as many hotel and restaurant employees.

And even though wages are set to go up for many low-income workers, the prices of many goods and services make it impossible for a family of any size to subsist on a minimum-wage income. Even those few extra dollars each week will barely make a ripple in the great need so many families face today.

So, how do we solve the problem of poverty? How can the current economy produce enough well-paying jobs so that workers and their families won’t have to struggle just to pay for the basics, let alone enjoy any of the extras that provide them with some small measure of choice in their lives and their futures?

The best way to answer that question is to define the condition of poverty. Thus, the important question:

What is poverty?

The Oxford American Dictionary (Avon Books, 1980) defines poverty as:

1. being poor; great lack of money or resources.
2. scarcity; lack.

My personal definition of poverty is more to the point:

Poverty is a lack of access to one or more of the basic goods or services necessary to enjoy a dignified existence.

In the first chapter of my book, The World I Imagine: A creative manual for ending poverty and building peace, I explain the difference between needs and wants. I also include a short list of many of the basic goods and services required for a decent life. Sadly, millions of people in this country and billions around the world spend their entire lives in this condition of need, with little or no hope of ever being able to change or improve their situation in life.

I remember hearing the term “war on poverty” when I was a young woman. President Lyndon B. Johnson introduced the term in his State of the Union address on January 8, 1964. The rest of the ‘60s was marked by a concentrated effort to improve the lives of many people who’d previously been ignored by both public and private economic programs.

Unfortunately, the clash of economics and politics created a system that has spawned a class of multi-generational dependents who seem to have lost hope of ever breaking the cycle of poverty. That’s why I published my essay collection on the issue in The World I Imagine.

Throughout that book, I explain innovative ways in which we can develop and implement creative ideas for educating and training everyone to the extent of their abilities and interests, then match them to the various jobs that need to be done to run a successful economic system. Then, of course, the powers-that-be must ensure that all the basic goods and services necessary for a dignified existence cost no more than half the amount that the lowest-paid full-time worker is able to earn. That will ensure that no one lives in a state of poverty, and everyone will have a bit more than just the basics and, thus, at least a small measure of choice in their lives.

In fact, in a later essay, which I plan to include in my next book, I explain that if we can tackle the twin issues of providing universal education and universal employment, then we’ll have the means necessary to solve all the rest of the problems our society faces at this dangerous time in world history.

Most importantly, we must be ready to develop new and creative ways of managing resources, always keeping firmly in mind the vital goal of ending poverty as an acceptable social policy.

Caps for Good: Knit or crochet a baby’s hat by February 28, 2011

Just in time for Christmas, I read the article by Cokie and Steve Roberts about Caps for Good, the program run by Save the Children to collect infant caps knitted and crocheted by volunteers around the country. The caps will be sent around the world to help keep newborns warm during their earliest weeks of life, when they’re most vulnerable to illness. Imagine: Something as simple as keeping a baby’s head warm can help raise the rate of infant survival among the poorest populations of the planet.

After reading the article in the Casa Grande Dispatch, I went to the Save the Children website and downloaded the instructional booklet for Caps for Good. It’s a good thing I did, because it turns out the current campaign to collect infant caps will end on February 28, 2011, just a couple of months from now. That means if you want to knit or crochet a cap to donate to this worthy cause, you’d better hurry.

If you want to help by making a cap that will warm the head of a vulnerable little tyke, the instructions for making both knitted and crocheted caps are on page 3 of the booklet (technically, page 4 of the PDF document). I intend to dig out some of my old yarn and knitting needles or crochet hooks and see if I can produce a cap or two. It’s been some years since I wielded those implements, but I used to turn out beautiful sweaters every couple of months, and many smaller items, from gloves to caps. Making a simple baby’s cap should be no problem at all.

And lest you fellows think such a project is too sissified for manly men, you should know that men and boys around the country are making a point to learn how to make the caps so they can be real heroes and save the lives of thousands of precious children. So, don’t let anything stand in your way. Make a cap, then use the forms in the PDF booklet to add a personal message to the infant’s mother, then send the cap with the form to the President or your Congressional Representative to let them know what you’re doing and urge them to make enough money available to provide care for children in the poorest countries.

Then you can do one more thing: Tell someone else about the Caps for Good project. Be sure to do that right away, so they can produce a cap before the deadline when this campaign ends. Remember, February 28, 2011. Mark your calendar.