Sign the Petition to Make Ending Homelessness a Priority!

One of my concerns with the present administration is that they are concerned with economic issues that benefit the upper and middle classes, with gun control, with health care, but not with issues such as homelessness that occur longterm cost and create a significant economic burden.

I believe that eliminating homelessness should not only be a priority, but should be addressed by the White House on a five year plan. Previous attempts to address this on a state and local level have only resulted in the homeless migrating to new locales that are friendlier to the homeless, thus kicking the can down the road.

The Coalition for the Homeless presents some sobering statistics. I've presented a few of them below. More can be found at the CFH website (Coalition for the Homeless):

-- Over the course of a year, the odds of experiencing homelessness for a person in the general US population are 1 in 194;>br>
-- for a person discharged from prison or jail, the odds are 1 in 13;

-- for a person living doubled-up (living with friends, family or other nonrelatives for economic reasons), the odds are 1 in 12;

-- and for a person who has aged out of foster care, the odds are 1 in 11.

-- Although the national homeless population decreased, the homeless population increased in 24 of 50 states plus the District of Columbia.

--The average real income of the working poor increased slightly from $9,300 in 2009 to about $9,400 in 2010.

-- However, there’s not a single county in the nation where a family with an average annual income of $9,400 can afford fair market rent for a one-bedroom unit.

--The number of poor households which pay more than 50% of their income on rent increased 22% from 2007 to 2010.

-- Nationally, 1 out of every 45 housing units had a foreclosure in 2010, a more than 100% increase from 2007.

I have decided, laptop in hand, to create a White House petition on the site now infamous for the secession and Death Star petitions. I need 100,000 signatures to merit a White House response, a total I believe I can reach with your help. If hundreds of thousands can "vote" to secede, of tens of thousands can "vote" for the construction of a Death Star, surely 100,000 can vote on a five year plan to end homelessness.

With effort, we can once again become the greatest nation in the world. But we'll only do it by remembering to care for "the least of these". (Petition site: )

Learning to Fall

I have a confession to make, one that's probably a little peculiar coming from someone who's never ridden anything fiercer than the old mechanical horse that used to sit out in front of the TG&Y in my home town of Enid, Oklahoma: I love rodeo.

It's not very politically correct, and it certainly couldn't be called a gentleman's sport, but I have loved the intricate ballet between man and beast since I was old enough to see it.

I love it most of all, though, because it taught me life's greatest lesson: how to fall.

First off, I don't believe in failure. If you woke up today, if you're reading this, you have an opportunity to shake off all the mud, all the dirt of your past and move on. But first you have to change your mindset: you do not FAIL, you FALL. And when you falls, the first thought on your mind as you wipe away the dust, the mud, and the manure, should be what you are going to do next.

If you've ever watched a rodeo, falling happens pretty much 100% of the time in bronc and bull riding events. It's not a matter of if, but when. And if you watch the rider closely, you will see they tuck their extremities, they roll...and most of the time they hustle out of the arena before their mount decides to grind them into the turf.

And that is, I believe, one of the greatest lessons you can learn. When obstacles come, and they will, plan for them. Know how you're going to land, know where you're going to land, and know what you're going to do next. Each ride makes you stronger, each fall makes you wiser, and each time you rise and walk makes you bolder.