Race in America - Riots Explode in Chicago

[jhu72]

Nothing will change until you defund the police unions. They are the problem. They have less than zero interest in reform. This is not new.

Seems like you and the others here that wish to eradicate public sector unions and especially police unions, will be disappointed by the man you just voted for.

https://joebiden.com/empowerworkers/#

A co-sponsor of the original Employee Free Choice Act, Biden supports workers choosing to form a union if a majority signs authorization cards empowering a union to represent them. He will go beyond the PRO Act by allowing workers to use this process, called “card check,” as an initial option for forming a union, not merely an option granted when the employer has illegally interfered in the election process.

Provide a federal guarantee for public sector employees to bargain for better pay and benefits and the working conditions they deserve. Public sector unions provide the voice that workers – including educators, social workers, firefighters, and police officers – need to ensure they can serve their communities. And, public sector unions have been and continue to be an essential pathway to the middle class for workers of color and women, who disproportionately work in the public sector. Yet, in many states across the country, public sector workers do not have the right to bargain collectively. In states such as Iowa, Wisconsin, Florida, Michigan, and Indiana, these rights are increasingly under attack. As president, Biden will establish a federal right to union organizing and collective bargaining for all public sector employees, and make it easier for those employees who serve our communities to both join a union and bargain. He will do so by fighting for and signing into law the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act and Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act. He will work to ensure public sector workers, including public school educators, have a greater voice in the decisions that impact their students and their working conditions. He will also strongly encourage states to pursue expanded bargaining rights for state licensed and contracted workers, including child care workers and home health care workers. And, he will look for federal solutions that will protect these workers’ rights to organize and bargain collectively. Finally, he will reinstate the Obama-Biden rule, which the Trump Administration has since reversed, making it easier for independent-provider home care workers to join a union.

I have no problem with unions in general. I have a problem with treating unions differently depending on who they are. Police unions have the same problematic behaviors as all other unions. Allowing the inferior and problematic members to hide and not be culled. The union standing in the way of addressing those issues. The republicans seem to dislike teacher's unions for that reason (or that is the excuse they use). These same republicans refuse to see the same problem in police unions.

[jhu72]

A good COP.

[cradleandshoot]

"Reform not Defund."

How does that happen in the real world?

Simple. You invest in people and communities BEFORE they become criminals. BEFORE it's too late.

Dude, they have been trying that here in Rochester for a very long time. It goes all the way back to the midnight basketball leagues that were meant to keep kids off the street at night. It starts with the PARENTS. You can invest everything you want to. If the parents are not controlling and supervising their own kids you are peeing in the wind. What parent in your neck of the woods does not know where their 12 year old is at 11pm? If the parents don't care who the hell else will?

Not in my neck of the woods but in Illinois....you know the one that drives a 17 year kid out of state and lets him stay out and eventually kills 2 people and shoots another. That is the kind of parent.

The kid had no business bringing a rifle into that situation. The fact he wanted to play the role of security guard was stupid. That is not the point I was making but I know where you are coming from. I am disturbed by 12 year olds selling crack on street corners at 10 pm.

[cradleandshoot]

"Reform not Defund."

How does that happen in the real world?

Simple. You invest in people and communities BEFORE they become criminals. BEFORE it's too late.

Dude, they have been trying that here in Rochester for a very long time. It goes all the way back to the midnight basketball leagues that were meant to keep kids off the street at night. It starts with the PARENTS. You can invest everything you want to. If the parents are not controlling and supervising their own kids you are peeing in the wind. What parent in your neck of the woods does not know where their 12 year old is at 11pm? If the parents don't care who the hell else will?

Do you seriously think enough was done?

By the parents? No. There was discussion about having a 9 pm curfew for kids under 16. That never got off the ground.

[Typical Lax Dad]

"Reform not Defund."

How does that happen in the real world?

Simple. You invest in people and communities BEFORE they become criminals. BEFORE it's too late.

Dude, they have been trying that here in Rochester for a very long time. It goes all the way back to the midnight basketball leagues that were meant to keep kids off the street at night. It starts with the PARENTS. You can invest everything you want to. If the parents are not controlling and supervising their own kids you are peeing in the wind. What parent in your neck of the woods does not know where their 12 year old is at 11pm? If the parents don't care who the hell else will?

Not in my neck of the woods but in Illinois....you know the one that drives a 17 year kid out of state and lets him stay out and eventually kills 2 people and shoots another. That is the kind of parent.

The kid had no business bringing a rifle into that situation. The fact he wanted to play the role of security guard was stupid. That is not the point I was making but I know where you are coming from. I am disturbed by 12 year olds selling crack on street corners at 10 pm.

The vast majority of people are.

[MDlaxfan76]

"Reform not Defund."

How does that happen in the real world?

Simple. You invest in people and communities BEFORE they become criminals. BEFORE it's too late.

Dude, they have been trying that here in Rochester for a very long time. It goes all the way back to the midnight basketball leagues that were meant to keep kids off the street at night. It starts with the PARENTS. You can invest everything you want to. If the parents are not controlling and supervising their own kids you are peeing in the wind. What parent in your neck of the woods does not know where their 12 year old is at 11pm? If the parents don't care who the hell else will?

Do you seriously think enough was done?

By the parents? No. There was discussion about having a 9 pm curfew for kids under 16. That never got off the ground.

Tell it to the single mom with two jobs, getting home at midnight.

[kramerica.inc]

"Reform not Defund."

How does that happen in the real world?

Simple. You invest in people and communities BEFORE they become criminals. BEFORE it's too late.

Dude, they have been trying that here in Rochester for a very long time. It goes all the way back to the midnight basketball leagues that were meant to keep kids off the street at night. It starts with the PARENTS. You can invest everything you want to. If the parents are not controlling and supervising their own kids you are peeing in the wind. What parent in your neck of the woods does not know where their 12 year old is at 11pm? If the parents don't care who the hell else will?

Not in my neck of the woods but in Illinois....you know the one that drives a 17 year kid out of state and lets him stay out and eventually kills 2 people and shoots another. That is the kind of parent.

The kid had no business bringing a rifle into that situation. The fact he wanted to play the role of security guard was stupid. That is not the point I was making but I know where you are coming from. I am disturbed by 12 year olds selling crack on street corners at 10 pm.

The vast majority of people are.

Disturbed, but not doing anything about it.

[kramerica.inc]

"Reform not Defund."

How does that happen in the real world?

Simple. You invest in people and communities BEFORE they become criminals. BEFORE it's too late.

Dude, they have been trying that here in Rochester for a very long time. It goes all the way back to the midnight basketball leagues that were meant to keep kids off the street at night. It starts with the PARENTS. You can invest everything you want to. If the parents are not controlling and supervising their own kids you are peeing in the wind. What parent in your neck of the woods does not know where their 12 year old is at 11pm? If the parents don't care who the hell else will?

Do you seriously think enough was done?

By the parents? No. There was discussion about having a 9 pm curfew for kids under 16. That never got off the ground.

Tell it to the single mom with two jobs, getting home at midnight.

Seems to be a common problem. Where is dad?

[Typical Lax Dad]

"Reform not Defund."

How does that happen in the real world?

Simple. You invest in people and communities BEFORE they become criminals. BEFORE it's too late.

Dude, they have been trying that here in Rochester for a very long time. It goes all the way back to the midnight basketball leagues that were meant to keep kids off the street at night. It starts with the PARENTS. You can invest everything you want to. If the parents are not controlling and supervising their own kids you are peeing in the wind. What parent in your neck of the woods does not know where their 12 year old is at 11pm? If the parents don't care who the hell else will?

Not in my neck of the woods but in Illinois....you know the one that drives a 17 year kid out of state and lets him stay out and eventually kills 2 people and shoots another. That is the kind of parent.

The kid had no business bringing a rifle into that situation. The fact he wanted to play the role of security guard was stupid. That is not the point I was making but I know where you are coming from. I am disturbed by 12 year olds selling crack on street corners at 10 pm.

The vast majority of people are.

Disturbed, but not doing anything about it.

Like a lot of things. What are you doing about childhood hunger?

[cradleandshoot]

"Reform not Defund."

How does that happen in the real world?

Simple. You invest in people and communities BEFORE they become criminals. BEFORE it's too late.

Dude, they have been trying that here in Rochester for a very long time. It goes all the way back to the midnight basketball leagues that were meant to keep kids off the street at night. It starts with the PARENTS. You can invest everything you want to. If the parents are not controlling and supervising their own kids you are peeing in the wind. What parent in your neck of the woods does not know where their 12 year old is at 11pm? If the parents don't care who the hell else will?

Do you seriously think enough was done?

By the parents? No. There was discussion about having a 9 pm curfew for kids under 16. That never got off the ground.

Tell it to the single mom with two jobs, getting home at midnight.

Maybe she can scoop her kid off of the street corner at midnight on her way home? It sad when her 12 year old is making better money than her.

[kramerica.inc]

"Reform not Defund."

How does that happen in the real world?

Simple. You invest in people and communities BEFORE they become criminals. BEFORE it's too late.

Dude, they have been trying that here in Rochester for a very long time. It goes all the way back to the midnight basketball leagues that were meant to keep kids off the street at night. It starts with the PARENTS. You can invest everything you want to. If the parents are not controlling and supervising their own kids you are peeing in the wind. What parent in your neck of the woods does not know where their 12 year old is at 11pm? If the parents don't care who the hell else will?

Not in my neck of the woods but in Illinois....you know the one that drives a 17 year kid out of state and lets him stay out and eventually kills 2 people and shoots another. That is the kind of parent.

The kid had no business bringing a rifle into that situation. The fact he wanted to play the role of security guard was stupid. That is not the point I was making but I know where you are coming from. I am disturbed by 12 year olds selling crack on street corners at 10 pm.

The vast majority of people are.

Disturbed, but not doing anything about it.

Like a lot of things. What are you doing about childhood hunger?

Working, feeding my kids and the neighbors. And donating to food banks from time to time. You?

[Typical Lax Dad]

"Reform not Defund."

How does that happen in the real world?

Simple. You invest in people and communities BEFORE they become criminals. BEFORE it's too late.

Dude, they have been trying that here in Rochester for a very long time. It goes all the way back to the midnight basketball leagues that were meant to keep kids off the street at night. It starts with the PARENTS. You can invest everything you want to. If the parents are not controlling and supervising their own kids you are peeing in the wind. What parent in your neck of the woods does not know where their 12 year old is at 11pm? If the parents don't care who the hell else will?

Not in my neck of the woods but in Illinois....you know the one that drives a 17 year kid out of state and lets him stay out and eventually kills 2 people and shoots another. That is the kind of parent.

The kid had no business bringing a rifle into that situation. The fact he wanted to play the role of security guard was stupid. That is not the point I was making but I know where you are coming from. I am disturbed by 12 year olds selling crack on street corners at 10 pm.

The vast majority of people are.

Disturbed, but not doing anything about it.

Like a lot of things. What are you doing about childhood hunger?

Working, feeding my kids and the neighbors. And donating to food banks from time to time. You?

Much of the same (minus the neighbor’s). I don’t believe the “vast majority” of people are doing those things. I have also mentored some kids that are doing very well. Not going to be a burden on the government and definitely on a different track than their parents.....have done some JA volunteering in tough schools also. Every little bit helps and you never know when you may make a difference.

[cradleandshoot]

"Reform not Defund."

How does that happen in the real world?

Simple. You invest in people and communities BEFORE they become criminals. BEFORE it's too late.

Dude, they have been trying that here in Rochester for a very long time. It goes all the way back to the midnight basketball leagues that were meant to keep kids off the street at night. It starts with the PARENTS. You can invest everything you want to. If the parents are not controlling and supervising their own kids you are peeing in the wind. What parent in your neck of the woods does not know where their 12 year old is at 11pm? If the parents don't care who the hell else will?

Not in my neck of the woods but in Illinois....you know the one that drives a 17 year kid out of state and lets him stay out and eventually kills 2 people and shoots another. That is the kind of parent.

The kid had no business bringing a rifle into that situation. The fact he wanted to play the role of security guard was stupid. That is not the point I was making but I know where you are coming from. I am disturbed by 12 year olds selling crack on street corners at 10 pm.

The vast majority of people are.

Disturbed, but not doing anything about it.

Like a lot of things. What are you doing about childhood hunger?

paying my taxes. What are all these parents doing with the SNAP benefits given to them by the government to buy food for their kids? I'm only asking for a friend.

https://otda.ny.gov/programs/snap/#benefits

The supplemental nutrition program in NYS provides 374 a month to buy food for your kids. That averages out to 85 dollars a week. That may not seem like a ton of money but there is something wrong when the parent is still letting their kid go to school hungry. I could buy 85 dollars a week in food for 2 kids and they could eat pretty darn good. Unless of course it is just more convenient to let your kid eat at school?

[MDlaxfan76]

"Reform not Defund."

How does that happen in the real world?

Simple. You invest in people and communities BEFORE they become criminals. BEFORE it's too late.

Dude, they have been trying that here in Rochester for a very long time. It goes all the way back to the midnight basketball leagues that were meant to keep kids off the street at night. It starts with the PARENTS. You can invest everything you want to. If the parents are not controlling and supervising their own kids you are peeing in the wind. What parent in your neck of the woods does not know where their 12 year old is at 11pm? If the parents don't care who the hell else will?

Do you seriously think enough was done?

By the parents? No. There was discussion about having a 9 pm curfew for kids under 16. That never got off the ground.

Tell it to the single mom with two jobs, getting home at midnight.

Seems to be a common problem. Where is dad?

jail, dead, gang banging...or in another state.
De-Criminalization of drugs is big part of the long term solution, that's the here and now.

[Typical Lax Dad]

"Reform not Defund."

How does that happen in the real world?

Simple. You invest in people and communities BEFORE they become criminals. BEFORE it's too late.

Dude, they have been trying that here in Rochester for a very long time. It goes all the way back to the midnight basketball leagues that were meant to keep kids off the street at night. It starts with the PARENTS. You can invest everything you want to. If the parents are not controlling and supervising their own kids you are peeing in the wind. What parent in your neck of the woods does not know where their 12 year old is at 11pm? If the parents don't care who the hell else will?

Do you seriously think enough was done?

By the parents? No. There was discussion about having a 9 pm curfew for kids under 16. That never got off the ground.

Tell it to the single mom with two jobs, getting home at midnight.

Seems to be a common problem. Where is dad?

jail, dead, gang banging...or in another state.
De-Criminalization of drugs is big part of the long term solution, that's the here and now.

Or divorced

https://ifstudies.org/blog/the-marriage ... gile-today

[MDlaxfan76]

"Reform not Defund."

How does that happen in the real world?

Simple. You invest in people and communities BEFORE they become criminals. BEFORE it's too late.

Dude, they have been trying that here in Rochester for a very long time. It goes all the way back to the midnight basketball leagues that were meant to keep kids off the street at night. It starts with the PARENTS. You can invest everything you want to. If the parents are not controlling and supervising their own kids you are peeing in the wind. What parent in your neck of the woods does not know where their 12 year old is at 11pm? If the parents don't care who the hell else will?

Not in my neck of the woods but in Illinois....you know the one that drives a 17 year kid out of state and lets him stay out and eventually kills 2 people and shoots another. That is the kind of parent.

The kid had no business bringing a rifle into that situation. The fact he wanted to play the role of security guard was stupid. That is not the point I was making but I know where you are coming from. I am disturbed by 12 year olds selling crack on street corners at 10 pm.

The vast majority of people are.

Disturbed, but not doing anything about it.

Like a lot of things. What are you doing about childhood hunger?

paying my taxes. What are all these parents doing with the SNAP benefits given to them by the government to buy food for their kids? I'm only asking for a friend.

https://otda.ny.gov/programs/snap/#benefits

The supplemental nutrition program in NYS provides 374 a month to buy food for your kids. That averages out to 85 dollars a week. That may not seem like a ton of money but there is something wrong when the parent is still letting their kid go to school hungry. I could buy 85 dollars a week in food for 2 kids and they could eat pretty darn good. Unless of course it is just more convenient to let your kid eat at school?

Avg American family of 4 spends $10k per year on food.

But you are correct that one can eat pretty darn well for an average of $3-4 a serving if making your meals at home using ingredients on sale at your grocery store (my company makes the technology of that easier).

But that assumes you live in an area where there is a good grocer, with fresh food with prices not jacked up. And that you have the transportation to get to that store. And that you have the space to store food, refrigeration and pantry, so that you can buy optimal sizes to save money. And that you have the resources to actually have pantry items, aren't living week to week.

In most of these situations we are discussing, there is no full line grocer with food at prices comparable to the suburbs, and there is little transportation. So, it often requires multiple bus trips just to go to such a store (delivery services don't serve these neighborhoods and don't accept SNAP). How many groceries can you carry on the bus? And you have two jobs as it is.

So...in these 'food deserts' of poverty, there are often lots of crappy bodegas with jacked up prices and little fresh food, but lots of access to fast food, fried chicken and fish, burgers, etc. "food swamps". Actually more like $4-5 a serving, eat out of a bag...any wonder why there's so much heart disease and diabetes in poor populations in America?

So, mom typically is scraping by, not feeding herself the last week of the month. Kids often needing to get their own food. And that's with school lunches.

[MDlaxfan76]

"Reform not Defund."

How does that happen in the real world?

Simple. You invest in people and communities BEFORE they become criminals. BEFORE it's too late.

Dude, they have been trying that here in Rochester for a very long time. It goes all the way back to the midnight basketball leagues that were meant to keep kids off the street at night. It starts with the PARENTS. You can invest everything you want to. If the parents are not controlling and supervising their own kids you are peeing in the wind. What parent in your neck of the woods does not know where their 12 year old is at 11pm? If the parents don't care who the hell else will?

Do you seriously think enough was done?

By the parents? No. There was discussion about having a 9 pm curfew for kids under 16. That never got off the ground.

Tell it to the single mom with two jobs, getting home at midnight.

Seems to be a common problem. Where is dad?

jail, dead, gang banging...or in another state.
De-Criminalization of drugs is big part of the long term solution, that's the here and now.

Or divorced

https://ifstudies.org/blog/the-marriage ... gile-today

sure, or unmarried, my 'out of state' was loosely covering both...absent from the daily picture. Too many incarcerated or dead creates bad dynamics for family relationships across the board. When there are exceptions, it can make a huge difference, assuming everyone manages to have decent mental health and stay away from substance abuse...but so much trauma makes that really difficult too.

[Typical Lax Dad]

"Reform not Defund."

How does that happen in the real world?

Simple. You invest in people and communities BEFORE they become criminals. BEFORE it's too late.

Dude, they have been trying that here in Rochester for a very long time. It goes all the way back to the midnight basketball leagues that were meant to keep kids off the street at night. It starts with the PARENTS. You can invest everything you want to. If the parents are not controlling and supervising their own kids you are peeing in the wind. What parent in your neck of the woods does not know where their 12 year old is at 11pm? If the parents don't care who the hell else will?

Do you seriously think enough was done?

By the parents? No. There was discussion about having a 9 pm curfew for kids under 16. That never got off the ground.

Tell it to the single mom with two jobs, getting home at midnight.

Seems to be a common problem. Where is dad?

jail, dead, gang banging...or in another state.
De-Criminalization of drugs is big part of the long term solution, that's the here and now.

Or divorced

https://ifstudies.org/blog/the-marriage ... gile-today

sure, or unmarried, my 'out of state' was loosely covering both...absent from the daily picture. Too many incarcerated or dead creates bad dynamics for family relationships across the board. When there are exceptions, it can make a huge difference, assuming everyone manages to have decent mental health and stay away from substance abuse...but so much trauma makes that really difficult too.

We can do a lot by investing early instead of caring for prisoners. Less cost and more economically beneficial at local, state ans federal levels. I looked into some of those head start studies. It makes a difference. Federal funding cut from
Programs in the early 1980’s compounded the crack problem. Some of what we see now are remnants from the crack generation.

[MDlaxfan76]

"Reform not Defund."

How does that happen in the real world?

Simple. You invest in people and communities BEFORE they become criminals. BEFORE it's too late.

Dude, they have been trying that here in Rochester for a very long time. It goes all the way back to the midnight basketball leagues that were meant to keep kids off the street at night. It starts with the PARENTS. You can invest everything you want to. If the parents are not controlling and supervising their own kids you are peeing in the wind. What parent in your neck of the woods does not know where their 12 year old is at 11pm? If the parents don't care who the hell else will?

Do you seriously think enough was done?

By the parents? No. There was discussion about having a 9 pm curfew for kids under 16. That never got off the ground.

Tell it to the single mom with two jobs, getting home at midnight.

Seems to be a common problem. Where is dad?

jail, dead, gang banging...or in another state.
De-Criminalization of drugs is big part of the long term solution, that's the here and now.

Or divorced

https://ifstudies.org/blog/the-marriage ... gile-today

sure, or unmarried, my 'out of state' was loosely covering both...absent from the daily picture. Too many incarcerated or dead creates bad dynamics for family relationships across the board. When there are exceptions, it can make a huge difference, assuming everyone manages to have decent mental health and stay away from substance abuse...but so much trauma makes that really difficult too.

We can do a lot by investing early instead of caring for prisoners. Less cost and more economically beneficial at local, state ans federal levels. I looked into some of those head start studies. It makes a difference. Federal funding cut from
Programs in the early 1980’s compounded the crack problem. Some of what we see now are remnants from the crack generation.

Agreed, longer term the resources spent on incarceration can be redeployed to build a more productive population with significant benefits to social equity and justice, and reducing policing challenges.

Shorter term, the transition will take increased resources, not less, to get there.
But great ROI.
And that's where fiscal conservatives and social justice liberals could come together.

[cradleandshoot]

"Reform not Defund."

How does that happen in the real world?

Simple. You invest in people and communities BEFORE they become criminals. BEFORE it's too late.

Dude, they have been trying that here in Rochester for a very long time. It goes all the way back to the midnight basketball leagues that were meant to keep kids off the street at night. It starts with the PARENTS. You can invest everything you want to. If the parents are not controlling and supervising their own kids you are peeing in the wind. What parent in your neck of the woods does not know where their 12 year old is at 11pm? If the parents don't care who the hell else will?

Not in my neck of the woods but in Illinois....you know the one that drives a 17 year kid out of state and lets him stay out and eventually kills 2 people and shoots another. That is the kind of parent.

The kid had no business bringing a rifle into that situation. The fact he wanted to play the role of security guard was stupid. That is not the point I was making but I know where you are coming from. I am disturbed by 12 year olds selling crack on street corners at 10 pm.

The vast majority of people are.

Disturbed, but not doing anything about it.

Like a lot of things. What are you doing about childhood hunger?

paying my taxes. What are all these parents doing with the SNAP benefits given to them by the government to buy food for their kids? I'm only asking for a friend.

https://otda.ny.gov/programs/snap/#benefits

The supplemental nutrition program in NYS provides 374 a month to buy food for your kids. That averages out to 85 dollars a week. That may not seem like a ton of money but there is something wrong when the parent is still letting their kid go to school hungry. I could buy 85 dollars a week in food for 2 kids and they could eat pretty darn good. Unless of course it is just more convenient to let your kid eat at school?

Avg American family of 4 spends $10k per year on food.

But you are correct that one can eat pretty darn well for an average of $3-4 a serving if making your meals at home using ingredients on sale at your grocery store (my company makes the technology of that easier).

But that assumes you live in an area where there is a good grocer, with fresh food with prices not jacked up. And that you have the transportation to get to that store. And that you have the space to store food, refrigeration and pantry, so that you can buy optimal sizes to save money. And that you have the resources to actually have pantry items, aren't living week to week.

In most of these situations we are discussing, there is no full line grocer with food at prices comparable to the suburbs, and there is little transportation. So, it often requires multiple bus trips just to go to such a store (delivery services don't serve these neighborhoods and don't accept SNAP). How many groceries can you carry on the bus? And you have two jobs as it is.

So...in these 'food deserts' of poverty, there are often lots of crappy bodegas with jacked up prices and little fresh food, but lots of access to fast food, fried chicken and fish, burgers, etc. "food swamps". Actually more like $4-5 a serving, eat out of a bag...any wonder why there's so much heart disease and diabetes in poor populations in America?

So, mom typically is scraping by, not feeding herself the last week of the month. Kids often needing to get their own food. And that's with school lunches.

Then let's feed all of the kids at schools and arrange for home delivered meals to all of the impoverished kids. We were not rich growing up MD. My mom was a fanatic when it came to making sure all of her kids were fed and taken care of. I do not want to insult you but your pathetic excuses here do not hold water to me. We were lucky, there was a Wegmans store near my house on Driving Park Ave. There was a Star Market several miles away that had cheaper groceries. I walked many miles with my mom to that store with her granny cart in tow. Your trying to feed me bullchit excuses. My mom taught me you do what you have to do for your kids. Why do you think she walked all those extra miles to save a couple of dollars? My mom grew up dirt poor during the worst years of the depression. What she taught me was you do whatever you have to do to take care of your family. That is the lesson I gave to my own kids. They knew where the food was and knew how to make their own breakfast and lunch. It was really complicated to pour the cereal in a bowl, put milk on it and pour yourself a glass of juice. It was equally as difficult to make their lunch. It involved bread and peanut butter and jelly and it got really tough when bologna was put into the mix. I guess I should have been charged with child endangerment, sometimes I bought twinkies for them. I was such a bad father teaching them to be self dependent and do things on their own. I guess I should have just let the village take care of them?