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World Refugee Day. What Does This Mean To U.S.? ©

Yesterday morning I awoke to news that I wish I had known earlier. “Today, June 20, 2006, is World Refugee Day.” I found my own lack of awareness for the date troubling. I pondered further; I wondered of our collective consciousness.

Currently, there are fifteen to twenty million refugees. There may be more. There are millions of persons without a home, a community, a family, or any real belongings. These individuals have experienced violence that few of us in the can imagine. We sit in our safe havens, and occasionally, we watch the misery on television. We read of their lives, and the plight these people suffer. At times, some American citizens acknowledge that the refugees have lost their homes and their health. Their existence has been threatened. We know something; yet, we understand little. Our lives in the U.S. are so separate from those that were banished from their homeland. It is beyond sad.

As I reflect on the homeless in distant lands, I remember, there are those here in the United States that are also without permanent shelter.

Bush and His Billionaires Caused It. Let Them Pay ©

All the talk of Catastrophe Funds seems silly to me; the reasoning is apt. I think there are better sources for these subsidies than the government. In my mind, our efforts are misplaced.

It is true; we as a nation and as a world have seen an increase in the number and intensity of cataclysmic storms. Tornados, droughts, hurricanes and other recent disasters have caused great calamity. We are mired in misfortune. However, we are working to pay for what we caused. We are closing the barn door behind us; our prides and joys are all long gone. We now, belatedly, prepare for what was our own ignorance. We elected George W. Bush, twice. Well actually,