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October 16, 2013
A terrible earthquake rocked the Visayan islands of Bohol, Cebu and nearby provinces and caused untold destruction on roads, bridges, town halls, hospitals, colleges, hotels, malls and other public and private buildings. Priceless Filipino heritage – the centuries-old churches, some of them more than 400 years old, among the oldest in the Philippines – were not spared. The world famous Chocolate Hills was also affected considering that it is located in Carmen town, the epicentre of the 7.2 magnitude temblor whose power was likened to 32 atomic bombs which were unleashed during the war in Hiroshima.
Amidst the massive destruction, and the loss of lives (about 100 so far) people were still thankful that the powerful quake happened early morning – 8 a.m. – and on an official public holiday and on a Monday so that the 22 churches throughout Bohol and one in Cebu which were destroyed had very few worshippers inside. The latest report indicated that only three worshippers were trapped in a church in Loon town which suffered the gravest destruction.
Much has to be done so Bohol and Cebu, especially, could rise again from the rubbles. The support of international and local charity groups like the Red Cross and the United Nations will be needed here. Officials of the United States and Australia have come forward offering assistance. Celebrities from Bohol and Cebu are organizing a concert to help raise funds for the victims. Overseas Filipinos could also help which could be coursed through their respective embassies and consulates and their partner organizations in the Philippines. No help is too small for these victims. Now is the time to reach out to our people in need.
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Save America
“Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got
Till it’s gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot.” ~ Joni Mitchell, 1970
Joni Mitchell got it just right in Big Yellow Taxi. If the wild-eyes self-centered yahoos of the Tea Party have their way, and we default, the rest of us – all 95% of Americans! – will feel very sorely what we’ve lost when it’s gone. Try $850 billion Federal budget cuts in 2014. That will cause our economy literally to collapse like in 2008-09 or even worse. Unemployment could double in a few months. Interest rates could spike. Many more will lose their homes to foreclosure again. House prices could fall further.
The tragedy is the US economy is now the strongest in the world. It survived the Great Recession better than anywhere else. We’re exporting more and importing less. US firms are bringing plants back here, creating more jobs. Most economists say the US economy could grow faster and achieve greater prosperity in the next five years.
Someone has to tell the Tea Party to actually read Congressional Budget Office reports. In the CBO’s latest Budget Update, the US deficit will be lower than it has been in years. That means the debt will increase more slowly than in a decade.
Why on earth should this small band of completely misguided, uninformed politicians from the sticks be allowed to push us all like lemmings over a cliff – to ruin when we have prosperity within our grasp?
Why Not Impeach the Tea Party and Save America?
paul.ballard@verizon.net