The Spammer. Who is on First?

Isn’t blogging grand? What a great way to share conversation, thoughts and ideas. Do we have to agree on everything?Hopefully not. Otherwise, we could all just find a mirror and talk to ourselves. What we hope for is that the conversation will always be real, at times interesting, sometimes entertaining, sometimes thoughtful and often thought provoking. I happen to notice some comments on GroundUp by a group of different gravatar names that all seemed to have the same “voice.” All of the comment entries, regardless of whether they disparage the President or health care, say so in the same tone. So I did a test. I read each comment consecutively and confirmed that I was hearing the same voice, i.e., the same stress levels and patterns. Then, I listed the gravatar names alphabetically and here’s what I found.

Feeding Connecticut’s Hungry, Ticks, Deforestation and Deer.

In mid-November,  U.S. Department of Agriculture released its annual, national hunger survey stating that 49 million Americans struggle with hunger.   What is alarming is that this was the highest number since the USDA started its national hunger survey in 1995, “and those numbers were gathered before the worst of our economic downturn.” What may be surprising to some in the state of Connecticut is that:

“Connecticut experienced one of the country’s largest jumps in hungry households — a nearly 3 percent increase from the previous survey to 11 percent. One in nine Connecticut households — 390,000 residents — struggled with hunger, according to the study.”

Connecticut’s Homeless.

I have a friend who once lived along an affluent shoreline in a lovely home and all was good.  The relationship soured, the economy plummeted and life has become a struggle to find housing, to find employment.

Connecticut, often considered one of the most affluent state’s in the union, has a growing homeless population.  On average, 33,000 Connecticut citizens are homeless every year, and 13,000 are children.  Among the organizations that seek to change these statistics is the Connecticut Partnership for Communities, known also as CTPartnership Housing.  CTPH believes that:

Health Care Reform Becoming a Reality

Someone sarcastically posted a comment on GroundUP calling for a drumroll when the Senate passed it’s bill.  Will if I had a drum, I’d strike up a drum roll!  Since I do not, you’ll have to settle for this:

Happy Holidays!

Holidays and Tradition

Sometimes, the best gatherings are those that are organic.  Maybe that’s why my family just seem to “come together” somehow, sort of, but all of a sudden and with little notice.  It’s the phone call you get “out of the blue,” “Hey! What are you doing? … I’ll be there in about three hours … changed my mind and am coming up after all.”

Last week, we all made our annual trek to New York for our pre-Christmas brunch.  This year, someone decided on a Japanese sushi bar.  There was much chatter about, “Can I order prime rib or am I stuck with dead, raw fish?” Mine is definitely a hold-back-nothing kind of crew.  Inevitably, someone broke down in the snow on their long drive to the City.  But 90% of us made it, coming from as far away as Tucson, North Carolina, Delaware and places closer by.  The restaurant, which we