Lyssa

Our North American society is garbage. Capitalism and democracy only serve to make each year harder than the last for all of us working folk. The rich keep getting richer (at our expense), governments tax us more and more, while giving the rich more and more tax breaks. Nothing makes sense to me. Its like Monopoly, you play round after round but in the end someone holds all the property and wins. Everyone else loses. That's what capitalism is doing for us. Its exactly the same, and those of us that are struggling to just make it in this economy are the game losers. I guess what I don't understand is why more people don't see this, and whatsmore, why more people don't speak out against the injustice. Its great that in capitalism some people like Bill Gates, Mark Cuban have won. However if the government wants the country to survive, it will have to redistribute the wealth, which means they will have to take from the rich and give to the poor. The board needs to be reset as it were. If we continue the way it is now, then thr rich will continue to get richer, the poor, poorer, and any middle or working class that existed will disappear into the poor.

So why aren't more people concerned about this? Does no one see the inevitable end? I don't get it.

I have a friend that is hugely musically talented. Unfortunately he writes crappy lyrics. I really think his music could take off if he just took some suggestion on changing his lyrics, but he is married to what he writes. He says that if he sings someone elses lyrics it no longer becomes his song. I have assured him this isn't true, but he is stubborn.

I have a few contacts in the entertainment business, and they all say the same thing. Great tune but I don't understand the lyrics. I am 100% certain I can get the tune to play on the radio if only my friend would allow some changes to the lyrics.

I know music is his hobby, not mine, but I write great lyrics. Should I keep pushing him or just let him be to enjoy his hobby? He also has some inane notion that posting his songs on Youtube will make him famous.

Is the way we live today really better than 50 years ago? Is our democratic and capitalistic philosophy really serving our best interests? Are we really on the track to greater happiness/fulfillment/success etc?

My answer is NO. I am posing this question because I would like to know the opinions of others. I will provide my opinion below, and invite you to provide your own answer to my question! Thanks!

Fifty years ago,a family with only one breadwinner was more than able to prosper. Families, and social connections, were central. Children and their parents behaved because of social pressures. Crime was minimal, and back then we had no problem letting our children out to play until the streetlights came on. The community as a whole watched over everyone. Our children could walk to school with no concerns.

Starting in the 80's, crime stats began to increase in proportion to immigrants entering North America. In the early 90's these stats really began taking off. Gang crime and turf wars became increasingly prevalent. Concurrently, drug crimes and drug issues increased to a previously unimagined level. Our law enforcement agencies became less and less able to deal with these crimes. Governments budgets just didn't allow enough money to pay for the officers needed to dal with these crimes. So, as with any business that is in trouble, governments started telling their law enforcement people that they have to work longer and harder. Now, in addition to their regular jobs of patrolling the streets, the officers would have to answer the calls of the public. Doing this has taken the majority of our police officers off the road, where they used to patrol for crime. I think the general public across North America (at least) would be shocked to know how very little time the police spend actually patrolling.

We no longer feel even remotely safe letting our children walk the few blocks to school. Our justice systems are a joke, as we watch guilty after guilty get slaps on the wrist. The morals and standards we grew up with in the 60's, 70's and 80's seem to have been thrown out of the window by our elected officials. Almost daily we are being told to redefine ourselves, despite the fact that we are native North Americans.

Our governments are more interested in immigrant welfare, which is illustrated time and time again via its actions. We citizens of North America seem to be continously told that we have to change our views of ourselves. I want to understand why its us that are required to change. Why aren't the immigrants required to know our language(s), customs etc?

Anyhow, I have ranted too long. My question is do you think we (north Americans) are better off today than we were 50 years ago and why or why not?

Cheers

Lyssa

I bought a full price game from Yahoo games about a year ago. Now, for the last few months, I getting charged a subsciption fee for 'gamersaver', which I never signed up for! It's $11.97/month. I called Yahoo and I may as well have been talking to a wall. I called my bank, and changed my credit card number.

I know I am not the only one with this issue, but I am wondering if anyone has had any success contacting Yahoo or Oberon? It's quite obviously a huge scam, and it needs to be shut down. I am surprised that Yahoo continues affiliation with Oberon.

Any advice? Thanks!

I have been using this food for my 5 cats for 6 years. Three times however, I have had a cat become sick from it, and the other 4 refuse to eat it. I have contacted Royal Canin, and they won't tell me if there have been similar complaints. If you are feeding your cat(s) Royal Canin (especially the Special 33), and have had any cats become sick, I would love to hear from you. Thanks