There seems to be an issue with automatically posting my blogs. This should have published Sunday. Only a part of the information is outdated, however...
—your editor
First I want to tell you, Measles are going around. Talk to your health provider about getting immunized. Rubella can be deadly, especially to children.
With the Easter holiday coming up, I would expect a little more news about what is being offered to help homeless people and their families during this time. But, alas, nothing much again along those lines. I did find that some of our local shelters will feed the hungry on April 24.
All the news is about how the federal government could shut down (and very well may have when this posts) because the 112th Congress is too busy playing party politics to actually approve a budget for our country. Some servicepeople’s salaries have already been cut in half, and if a shut-down occurs, they will be asked to continue risking their lives for no pay at all. Of course, you and I, friends, know the United States’ policies toward veterans has been negligent (to use a polite word) since Vietnam. If I were in active duty or a veteran, I would seriously question my county’s commitment to me and my family, and re-evaluate what I am fighting for.
A halt to daily business at the federal level will affect us all in many ways. Valley Mental Health laid off 100 people today. ATK, where they built boosters for the space shuttle, has laid of hundreds in the past year due to cuts to our space program. Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security are always first on the chopping block. Our state government refused federal funds to continue unemployment benefits for thousands here in Utah. The list goes on.
President of the Utah State Senate, Michael Waddoups, basically told unemployed Utahns to “get a job.” Click on his name for contact information. Please let him know how you feel about that. He says there are plenty of jobs out there. Read what type of jobs below.
As a writer, I feel it’s important to include news about how the power of words can affect great social change. SLCC does a great job of impressing that upon the community with their outreach at Community Writing Center. Next Monday’s conference might be a great place to find out how you can help others, writer or not. Or drop into the center on Library Square and get some more information on what we do.
I am always concerned when I hear misinformation about, or encounter stereotypical attitudes toward, homeless people. What do you really know about homelessness? What are you willing to do to help? Those are the topics of this week’s lead article.
Here are this week’s links”
What do we know about homelessness? by Bill Sermons, Director of the Homelessness Research Institute
Social media advocacy survey from the National Alliance to End Homelessness Take a very brief (five mins. or less) survey about your willingness to help end homelessness through simple online activities.
Talking Medicaid: First Steps in Building Effective Homelessness-Health Care Partnerships from NAEH
“Jobs Are Coming Back, But Expect to be Paid a McWage You Can’t Live On” by Robin Marty at care2.com http://www.care2.com/causes/politics/blog/jobs-are-coming-back-but-expect-to-be-paid-a-mcwage/ Also see the related story below*
Friar puts his shoulder to wheel By Patricia Montemurri, 
Detroit Free Press via Deseret News “Brother Al Mascia (left) makes it his ministry to peddle his bicycle around Detroit with a cart stocked full of goods for the needy.” [photo: Mandy Wright, MCT]
Unemployed Single Mom Speaks Out about State’s Decision to turn away Federal Money submitted by Nineveh Dinha, Weekend Evening Anchor/Reporter Fox 13 News
“Senate President Michael Waddoups says the federal extension for unemployment benefits is a tax increase in the making. “At some point people need to get a job”, he said. For one single mom, getting a job is easier said than done, “It’s scary, it’s really scary, says Amanda Kener, a single mother of two.”
Homicide charge dismissed because witnesses can’t be found by Stephen Hunt The Salt Lake Tribune
* McDonald’s wants to fill 50K jobs on hiring day by Tribune Staff and News Services
Video Spotlight from invisiblepeopletv at YouTube
Entertainment
Lerner and Loew’s My Fair Lady is not just funny and 
entertaining, it also explores poverty and outdated social class distinctions. Through the magic of television, Julie Andrews sings a duet with her character Eliza Doolittle in a video I found on YouTube. Wouldn’t It Be Loverly is a song I think homeless people can relate to. I know it came to my mind more than once when I was on the streets.
Benefitting The Road Home Do Good Feel Good, Bees Ugly Sweater Night, One By One Breakfast
Benefitting Salt Lake City Mission The Feinstein Foundation’s 2011 14th Annual $1 Million Giveaway to Fight World Hunger Campaign and the Mission’s Easter meal
Rescue Mission of Salt Lake’s Easter Dinner
Salt Lake Community College 2011 Student Conference on Writing and Social Justice April 11 Keynote speaker Nicholas Kristof “A Call to Action: Turning Opression into Opportunity” All events free and open to the public. South City Campus Grand Theatre. Sessions of particular interest: Analys Barton “Sheltering the Homeless,” Stacy Barnett “Homelessness,” Steven Butler “Mental Health Care: Convincing Veterans They Need It.”
“Writing for Change: Community Writing event” April 12 Does change in democracy require civic dialogue? If so, where is it and who gets to talk? OR write? Join the CWC, the City Library, and fellow concerned citizens to learn techniques of writing for change. Come with a concern and stay to write a letter to a Public Official. The CWC writing coaches will be on hand to assist with the writing process, and the City Library will pay for postage.
Well, according to the local news I had tuned in [Friday night], lawmakers have adopted a stop-gap measure to allow the government to stay open.
Until next week, Keep warm, keep reading RGR, keep learning, and keep looking up...
—Your editor
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