> Before I go on vacation, I'd like to
> stimulate your brain cells.

> We have a lot of problems in this world,
> right? We all know that. But how many of you
> have thought about SOLUTIONS?

> I have. Viable? Feasible? Who knows, but at
> least I have been able to come up with some,
> even though they probably will never get
> acted on.

> My SOLUTION for two major problems, Jail
> Space and Welfare Reform...

> Let's put the mothball fleet to work.
> Instead of letting these small aircraft
> carriers and big ships rust in some harbor,
> let's "put them to sea" again.

> I propose a federal/state penitentiary
> comprised of a few small aircraft carriers
> be built in the Gulf of Mexico about 11
> miles off the Mississippi or Louisana coast.

> Let it house death row and lifers. A central
> "oil rig" type anchor can be
> centered in between the floating jails.

> This is just an overview by the way.

> Then let's send a ship to the harbors,
> including the Great Lakes, for example a
> helicopter carrier to Cleveland.

> Where local welfare recipients along with
> business volunteers strip it down, scrap the
> armament and make it usable...

> These little cities already have living
> quarters, galleys to feed hundreds of
> people.

> I can see a young mother on welfare either
> going to or living on a barge next to the
> ship...and on the ship she has BABYSITTING
> services while she prepares herself for the
> future, getting or continuing her education.

> Learning computers. Learning how to cook...

> a program run by the Northeast Ohio
> Restaurant Association in conjunct with
> Universities, that teach people the
> restaurant business, staffed with volunteers
> from the industry...their benefit is to find
> qualified people to work in their stores...

> or a variety of educational/employment
> opportunities.

> All run by volunteers, and the young college
> kids who receive credits for their work.

> It eliminates the transportation problem, it
> makes it easy for a mother to be with her
> children while trying to better her
> life...there would be doctors and interns on
> board under the auspices of a collaborative
> community effort...again to TRAIN people
> also.

> We're facing a critical nursing shortage,
> one program that can be run on the ship...

> The feds pay a little, the state pays a
> little and the counties from where the
> people come from pay a little...and the
> businesses pay with volunteers and
> expertise.

> The object is to give welfare and low income
> families the OPPORTUNITY to really
> escape...unlike today's system which has
> been institutionally designed to prey on the
> poor.

> All those BILLIONS, NAY TRILLIONS of your
> tax dollars that supposedly go to help the
> poor do NOTHING more than to support some
> agency (scores of them) who are in the
> business of staying in business. Did you
> know many not for profit agencies, even
> those within your county, pay their
> executives, $150,000.00 OR MORE to
> administer the funds?

> These agencies finaces are as cooked as
> Enron books, and very little gets down to
> the level it is intended for.

> Between a 100 bux of tax dollars and the
> buck 98 the poor person actually gets, is a
> long line of agencies with their hands out
> to "administer" the good deeds.
> What nonsense it is.

> Let's put these ships to use. Let's get them
> located, refitted...the cost of which can
> come from the combination of
> scrapping/training...and start to put an end
> to the major scam of "helping the
> poor".

> Helping the poor is multi-TRILLION dollar
> boondoggle that is draining us...and I would
> say the young black man in the projects of
> today stands no closer to the vision of
> Martin Luther King than he did in 1968.

> With all the programs that have been
> introduced, all the Trillions of dollars
> spent on affirmative action, there exists in
> America of today still, a racism that
> underscores much of our troubles.

> The PROBLEM is looking upon people and
> seeing them as a liability instead of an
> asset.

> So instead of getting the money to the level
> where it would do the most good, we have
> lasagna layers of agencies that look out for
> the good of our poor, all the while making
> it nearly impossible for them to receive
> services without being made to feel like
> they are second or even third class
> citizens.

> We as a nation have the ability to SOLVE
> problems...and one of the first we have to
> take a closer look at is our CORRUPT
> Corporate Culture which is being supported
> by YOUR CONGRESSMAN and SENATOR the likes of
> which are Gary Condit, Jim Tafficant and
> about 490 others on the dole.

> We have resources. Tell your congressman to
> use them. We have voices and VOTES.

> We don't have to accept things as they
> are...let's do something about it, even if
> it is only some talk on some little forum in
> the middle of the Internet ocean.

> Criticism welcome, any civilized debate is
> appreciated, and any SOLUTIONS you may have
> would be well received here.

> Thanks for your time and attention. We plant
> seeds here, feel free to sow your
> own...differening opinions welcomed, as long
> as they are civil.

> Gordon Alexander

> PS. ONE other solution is to CLEAN HOUSE,
> get rid of every congressman that has been
> around for two terms or more, he/she has
> been corrupted by the power of the
> offices...and bought by the big
> businesses...but then, if your's has brought
> JOBS into your district, screw the country,
> right?
----
AMEN Gordon...Amen!...Good thinking and great potential with fantastic probability. Everything in this World has been created from the single thought of one Mind...Thoughts are Things...Reality...let's make this one, one of the best ever...ED