Wednesday, November 5, 2014


News Clips For The Day


THE ELECTION


White House faces new challenges with GOP Congress
CBS NEWS November 5, 2014, 7:05 AM

The new Congress offers new challenges for President Obama. He is asking House and Senate leaders to meet Friday at the White House.

It is their first chance to discuss what can get done in a capital that's even more divided than before, reports CBS News correspondent Bill Plante.

Both President Obama and Republican leaders say publicly that they want to find ways to compromise after the election. History shows it may be easier said than done, but the White House says progress will still be possible.

"The president is not going to let politics get in the way," press secretary Josh Earnest said.

Earnest suggested that President Obama may find common ground with Republicans on early childhood education and infrastructure investment

"Even if there are areas of disagreement on some issues, maybe there's an opportunity to compromise on some others," he said.

Mostly absent on the midterm campaign trail, President Obama took to the radio on election day acknowledging that many voters are frustrated.

"The polarization's gotten worse, obviously I have a strong opinion as to why that happened. But, you know, that does, that cynicism I think is something that we've got to fight against," Mr. Obama said.

The Republican leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, told CBS News he's optimistic.

"We do have an obligation to work together on issues where we can agree," McConnell said. "Just because we have a two-party system doesn't mean we have to be in perpetual conflict."

But history also shows compromise may be possible.

In 1988, President Ronald Reagan worked with a Democratic Congress to ratify a major treaty with the Soviet Union.

President Bill Clinton struck deals on welfare reform and deficit reduction after Republicans took control of both houses.

But President Obama faces greater odds. He plans to move forward with executive actions on immigration and climate change, despite Republican opposition.

"I think the final two years will be a period of expanded executive power... and I think in Congress, although there will be some talk of bipartisan cooperation, Republicans will be more focused on putting forward bills that set them up for 2016," presidential historian Julian Zelizer said.

There may be issues on which both parties see an advantage in compromise, but the president's staff has already issued veto threats on his behalf for many bills passed by the House which never got taken up when Democrats controlled the senate.

If those same bills come around again in the new Congress, there will likely be more clashes than compromise.




“He is asking House and Senate leaders to meet Friday at the White House. It is their first chance to discuss what can get done in a capital that's even more divided than before, reports CBS News correspondent Bill Plante. Both President Obama and Republican leaders say publicly that they want to find ways to compromise after the election. History shows it may be easier said than done, but the White House says progress will still be possible.... Earnest suggested that President Obama may find common ground with Republicans on early childhood education and infrastructure investment. 'Even if there are areas of disagreement on some issues, maybe there's an opportunity to compromise on some others,' he said.... The Republican leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, told CBS News he's optimistic. 'We do have an obligation to work together on issues where we can agree,' McConnell said. 'Just because we have a two-party system doesn't mean we have to be in perpetual conflict.'... But President Obama faces greater odds. He plans to move forward with executive actions on immigration and climate change, despite Republican opposition. 'I think the final two years will be a period of expanded executive power... and I think in Congress, although there will be some talk of bipartisan cooperation, Republicans will be more focused on putting forward bills that set them up for 2016,' presidential historian Julian Zelizer said....

“If those same bills come around again in the new Congress, there will likely be more clashes than compromise.” An increased use of Executive power and vetos on unacceptable Republican bills, but also some compromise legislation are expected. Time will tell whether the Tea Party pushes through too many anti-democratic bills. If they do, hopefully Obama will veto them. I meanwhile will continue to vote for Democrats and give my small monthly amount to the party even though the elections for this year are over.






After A Resounding GOP Victory, 6 Tidbits That Tell The Story – NPR
EYDER PERALTA
November 05, 2014 6:17 AM ET

The big headline from last night's midterm elections is that Republicans walloped the Democrats, cashing in on enormous discontent about the state of the country to pick up seven Senate seats and wrest control of the chamber.

That, of course, sets up divided government for the next two years: a Democratic president and a GOP-controlled legislature.

Here are six tidbits that tell the story:

A Call For Bipartisanship?: Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky handily won his race — one of the toughest and most expensive fights — with 56 percent of the vote.

During his victory speech, the next majority leader seemed to leave the door open to bipartisanship.

"I don't expect the president to wake up tomorrow and view the world any differently than he did when he woke up this morning," McConnell said. "He knows I won't either. But I do think we have an obligation to work together on issues where we can agree. Just because we have a two-party system doesn't mean we have to be in perpetual conflict."

President Obama, for his part, has invited a group of bipartisan congressional leaders to the White House on Friday.

A Season Of Discontent: Exit polls showed that this election hinged on popular discontent about the way the country is being run.

In other words, the vote was essentially a repudiation of Obama. Here's how The New York Times parses the exit polls:

"Just two years after Mr. Obama's re-election, the midterm results underscored just how far he has fallen in the public mind. Nearly six out of 10 voters on Tuesday expressed negative feelings about his administration, according to exit polls. For every two voters who said they had cast ballots to support Mr. Obama, three said they were voting to express their opposition to him.

"The electorate was deeply pessimistic about the country, with seven out of 10 describing the economy as not so good or poor and eight out of 10 expressing worry about the direction of the economy in the next year.

"Numbers like that discouraged Mr. Obama's aides, who said they had not done a good job getting out the president's record, noting that the deficit has fallen by half, unemployment is now below 6 percent, the price of gasoline has fallen sharply and the economy is growing at a decent rate."

Dan Balz, of The Washington Post, says those exit polls should worry Democrats, because the electorate was not as Republican as it was four years ago, yet it handed Republicans a resounding victory.

It Was A Bad Map For Democrats: In an interview with NPR member station WNPR, President Obama said this cycle just included a lot of unfavorable territory for Democrats.

"In this election cycle, this is probably the worst group of states for Democrats since Dwight Eisenhower," Obama said. "There are lot of states that are being contested ... that just tend to tilt Republican. Democrats are competitive, but they tend to tilt that way."

Let's Not Forget About The House: The GOP already had control of the House, but on Tuesday, they added 14 more seats, giving Republicans 242 members as of Wednesday morning.

GOP Has To Govern: In an interview with NPR last night, former Republican congressman Tom Davis gave some advice to his party about setting their candidate up for a good presidential run in 2016:

"They are going to have control of the Senate and the House, and they are going to have to put some work products forward. The president can veto them, but they can't fight among themselves over issues like the debt ceiling, budgets and appropriations bill... Because presidential elections, unlike midterms, are all about the future. And if the Republicans show themselves as unable to govern, then I think its going to haunt whoever their candidate is next time. On the other hand, if they put forward something, I think they are in the game."

Democrats Look To The Future: We know you don't even want to think about it, but the main headline in Politico this morning is a look-ahead at 2016.

These midterms were such a huge, demoralizing loss, Politico argues, that Democrats will want to move away from it quickly by anointing its next leader. The front-runner, of course, is Hillary Clinton. Politico reports:

"Clinton has spent two years as the prohibitive Democratic frontrunner in the polls despite keeping politics largely at arm's length until the end of the midterms. Some of her advisers have suggested opening an exploratory committee this year to allow her to raise money sooner, while others are adamant that she should wait until next year.

"Some Democrats said Tuesday night that Clinton will want to wait a bit to let the 2014 midterms pass, and to get some distance between herself and a bloodbath for her party. She also genuinely doesn't seem ready to flip a switch on a campaign: A number of decisions still remain about staffing and, more importantly, messaging.

"But others believe Clinton can't afford to be coy about her intentions beyond the next few weeks, and forming an exploratory committee without an official announcement will not satisfy some donors and activists."




Nearly six out of 10 voters on Tuesday expressed negative feelings about his administration, according to exit polls.... Dan Balz, of The Washington Post, says those exit polls should worry Democrats, because the electorate was not as Republican as it was four years ago, yet it handed Republicans a resounding victory.... GOP Has To Govern: In an interview with NPR last night, former Republican congressman Tom Davis gave some advice to his party about setting their candidate up for a good presidential run in 2016: 'They are going to have control of the Senate and the House, and they are going to have to put some work products forward. The president can veto them, but they can't fight among themselves over issues like the debt ceiling, budgets and appropriations bill...'... 'But others believe Clinton can't afford to be coy about her intentions beyond the next few weeks, and forming an exploratory committee without an official announcement will not satisfy some donors and activists.'”

We must move forward as a party to the daily actions of Congress and the Senate and the races of 2016. As caring and free thinking citizens we need to form local and national groups to care for the poor and the disabled in numerous ways – housing, food, education, civil rights, united action toward progressive goals in general. If we could get the poor, the middle class, women and minority groups to bond together for action, especially voter registration now rather than just before the next election, social action for civil rights issues such as the treatment of the homeless, the disabled and racial minorities, neighborhood reporting groups on hate crimes and police brutality, improvement on city environments, and neighborhood based literacy and job skills improvement groups.

There is a need to raise the consciousness of the downtrodden that they can work to improve their situations. I remember the activism of the 1970's. We need a new activism that is non-violent and persistent. The student movements of the 1970s were too involved with drug abuse and too undisciplined. Free love shouldn't be our goal. Our present Democratic party is too passive, but we need to be absolutely legal and logical in our activities. Groups like “Occupy” are too diffuse, or perhaps they don't voice their whole set of beliefs enough. People who just express their anger, especially in an uncontrolled way, but don't argue some kind of logical points, does little to convince me to follow them. They cause havoc rather than working actively for practical improvement. According to Wikipedia their goals are the same as mine, but their technique is more disruptive than helpful in my opinion. The following is from Wikipedia:

“The Occupy movement is the international branch of the Occupy Wall Street movement that protests against social and economic inequality around the world, its primary goal being to make the economic and political relations in all societies less vertically hierarchical and more flatly distributed. Local groups often have different focuses, but among the movement's prime concerns deal with how large corporations and the global financial system control the world in a way that disproportionately benefits a minority, undermines democracy, and is unstable.[8][9][10][11] It is part of what Manfred Steger calls the "global justice movement".[12]

The Occupy movement is partly inspired by the Arab Spring,[22][23]and the Portuguese[24] and Spanish Indignants movement in the Iberian Peninsula,[25] the 2009 University of California occupations, as well as the overall global wave of anti-austerity protests. The movement commonly uses the slogan We are the 99%, the #Occupy hashtag format, and organizes through websites such as Occupy Together.[26] According to The Washington Post, the movement, which has been described as a "democratic awakening" by Cornel West, is difficult to distill to a few demands.[27][28] On 12 October 2011, Los Angeles City Council became one of the first governmental bodies in the United States to adopt a resolution stating its informal support of the Occupy movement.[29] In October 2012 the Executive Director of Financial Stability at theBank of England stated the protesters were right to criticise and had persuaded bankers and politicians "to behave in a more moral way".[30]

Background[edit]

In 2009 and 2010, students across the University of California occupied campus buildings in protest against budget cuts, tuition hikes, and staff cutbacks that had resulted from the Great Recession of 2008. According to Dissent Magazine, "It was in the context of the California student movement that the slogan 'Occupy Everything, Demand Nothing' first emerged."[31] The Huffington Post noted that "During one incident in March of 2010, 150 protesters were arrested for trying to occupy part of Interstate 80 in protest of the budget cuts and tuition hikes, displaying a banner that read 'Occupy everything,' while shutting down the roadway for an hour, and were crushed by the same kind of overwhelming police force that was later mobilized against Occupy encampments across the country."[32] Adbusterseditor Micah White, who designed the original Occupy Wall Street concept, traveled to California for the protests and took part in the occupation of Wheeler Hall. He wrote enthusiastically for Adbusters about the "revolutionary potential of [the students] struggle."[33]






GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/03/1341371/-Tom-Magliozzi-co-host-of-Car-Talk-on-NPR-has-passed-away?detail=email

Tom Magliozzi, co-host of 'Car Talk' on NPR has passed away
Scout Finch
MON NOV 03, 2014

Sad news from NPR today:

Tom Magliozzi, one of public radio's most popular personalities, died on Monday of complications from Alzheimer's disease. He was 77 years old.

Tom and his brother, Ray, became famous as "Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers" on the weekly NPR show Car Talk. They bantered, told jokes, laughed and sometimes even gave pretty good advice to listeners who called in with their car troubles.

The brothers retired from their enormously popular show in 2012, but reruns continue to air on Saturday mornings. When they announced their retirement in 2012, Tom wrote:

In a goodbye message posted on their website and titled "Time to Get Even Lazier," Tom wrote, "We're hoping to be like `I Love Lucy' and air 10 times a day on `NPR at Nite' in 2075."

You can hear a sample show, "It's Snowing in My Car", below the fold.




Many Saturday or Sunday mornings I have been driving down the road to church or to work and listening to Car Talk. I'm not into mechanical things, but I am into fun, and Tom and Ray were always fun. They never once discussed a serious subject except for things that could cause my car to be dangerous to drive. They were always polite and inclusive to any and all of their callers. They will go down in radio history. May Tom rest in peace. Ray should write a book on his life and the show. That would surely sell lots of copies.





IRAN

Iran celebrates 35th anniversary of U.S. Embassy hostage crisis
CBS/AP November 4, 2014, 8:53 AM

TEHRAN, Iran - Thousands of Iranians chanted "Down with America" at a major anti-U.S. rally on Tuesday marking the anniversary of the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, just days ahead of a key meeting between the two nations' top diplomats over Iran's controversial nuclear program.

The gathering outside the former embassy compound in Tehran, which has become the annual venue for rallies commemorating the embassy attack and other American-bashing protests, was smaller compared to last year's event, which drew tens of thousands - a sign of improved Iran-U.S. relations since moderate Iranian President Hassan Rouhani took office last year.

But the rally, organized annually by hard-liners, still puts pressure on Rouhani, whose policy of outreach to Washington has faced harsh criticism from opponents at home.

Many in the crowd chanted "Death to Israel" and "Death to Britain," neither of which has an embassy here. Several protesters burned the American, Israeli and the British flag.

Following the Islamic Revolution in Iran 35 years ago, militant Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy in 1979, claiming it was a center of plots against the Persian nation, and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. Ties between the two countries were severed after the siege and formal relations have not been restored since.

The anti-U.S. gathering this year also had a religious character as most Shiites world over on Tuesday observed the Ashoura, a remembrance of the 7th-century death of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad revered by Shiites.

One of the rally speakers, cleric and university professor Ali Reza Panahian compared the U.S. to enemies Hussein faced in his final battle in Karbala in present-day Iraq.

"Today, the evil arrogant powers have learned that they should not attempt to thwart us in the same way that enemies of Hussein encircled him," Panahian said. He also denounced talks with world powers over Iran's nuclear program, claiming the negotiations cannot change the Iranians' anti-U.S. Stance.

State TV said similar anti-U.S. rallies took place in other Iranian cities and towns Tuesday.

But despite anti-American sentiments on the streets, Rouhani's government has pushed for a final nuclear deal that would end crippling Western sanctions imposed on Iran in exchange for ensuring that Tehran cannot produce a nuclear weapon.

Iranian journalist Nazenin Ansari tells CBS News correspondent Alphonso Van Marsh that U.S.-led sanctions against Iran over their nuclear program have stung the country.
"What Mr. Rohani has realized and certainly sections of the establishment have realized, that this cannot continue - Iran's isolation cannot continue," Ansari said.

But government conservatives, some in power since the hostage crisis, say the West cannot be trusted because it is demanding an end to Iran's nuclear development program.

The two sides have a Nov. 24 deadline to seal the final deal. The West suspects Iran's nuclear program is aimed at producing atomic weapons, a charge Tehran denies, insisting it's for peaceful purposes only.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all Iranian state matters, has repeatedly backed the talks even though he has expressed doubts about the intentions of the six-member group - the five permanent U.N. Security Council members and Germany - in the negotiations.

In Oman's capital of Muscat next week, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif are to hold trilateral talks, which will also include European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

Zarif's adviser Ali Khorram said Iran-U.S. relations have now changed from being openly hostile to friendly but that "it's a friendly relation not based on trust, not yet."

Khorram said the two have "common fields of cooperation in Iraq and Syria" against Islamic State extremists.




“The gathering outside the former embassy compound in Tehran, which has become the annual venue for rallies commemorating the embassy attack and other American-bashing protests, was smaller compared to last year's event, which drew tens of thousands - a sign of improved Iran-U.S. relations since moderate Iranian President Hassan Rouhani took office last year. But the rally, organized annually by hard-liners, still puts pressure on Rouhani, whose policy of outreach to Washington has faced harsh criticism from opponents at home.... The anti-U.S. gathering this year also had a religious character as most Shiites world over on Tuesday observed the Ashoura, a remembrance of the 7th-century death of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad revered by Shiites.... Panahian said. He also denounced talks with world powers over Iran's nuclear program, claiming the negotiations cannot change the Iranians' anti-U.S. Stance.... But despite anti-American sentiments on the streets, Rouhani's government has pushed for a final nuclear deal that would end crippling Western sanctions imposed on Iran in exchange for ensuring that Tehran cannot produce a nuclear weapon.... 'What Mr. Rohani has realized and certainly sections of the establishment have realized, that this cannot continue - Iran's isolation cannot continue,' Ansari said. But government conservatives, some in power since the hostage crisis, say the West cannot be trusted because it is demanding an end to Iran's nuclear development program.... Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all Iranian state matters, has repeatedly backed the talks even though he has expressed doubts about the intentions of the six-member group - the five permanent U.N. Security Council members and Germany - in the negotiations.... Zarif's adviser Ali Khorram said Iran-U.S. relations have now changed from being openly hostile to friendly but that 'it's a friendly relation not based on trust, not yet.' Khorram said the two have 'common fields of cooperation in Iraq and Syria' against Islamic State extremists.”

I'm happy to see that talks will go on in an apparently “friendly” relationship, even if it isn't trusting “yet.” Peace talks between rivals and even enemies do go on and produce positive results many times, and there is only endless conflict without talks. If Israel and the Palestinians could only make peace I would really be happy. I would like to see us cooperate with Iran in fighting against ISIS, as they have suggested. Every possibility of peace in the Middle East is encouraging to me, as the chaotic conditions that currently prevail does make me worry about a wider war. I hope these talks will produce a provisional ally in Iran, and I do like Rouhani as he seems to be a more liberal and personable leader than others in the past. I personally think it has been a long time since the Embassy was taken, and we can try to achieve some goodwill. I hope for the best.





The origins of ISIS: Finding the birthplace of jihad
By CLARISSA WARD CBS NEWS
November 4, 2014, 7:52 PM


The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) seemed to come from nowhere as it grabbed territory in Iraq and Syria.

But where did it start?

CBS News traced ISIS back to a U.S. military prison.

Camp Bucca was known as the largest, and one of the toughest, American prisons in Iraq.

As a vicious insurgency raged across the country, Bucca's numbers swelled.

But there is growing evidence that the sprawling prison was also the birthplace of ISIS.

According to a CBS News investigation, at least 12 of the top leaders of ISIS served time at Camp Bucca, including the man who would become the group's leader, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. CBS News obtained photos of 10 of them in Bucca's yellow prison jumpsuits.

At the time, few predicted that Baghdadi would become one of the world's most wanted men. He spent 10 months at Camp Bucca for an unknown crime. But during his time there, he would have rubbed shoulders with some of the most dangerous Islamic extremists.

"I think it's undeniable that one of the main causes of ISIS's explosive growth after 2010 was Bucca. It's where they met, it's where they planned," said Patrick Skinner, a former CIA case officer in Iraq.

"Everybody could see what was happening but nobody could do anything about it," Skinner said.

U.S. officials who worked at Bucca told us they were concerned that prisoners were becoming radicalized. The prison has been described as "a pressure cooker for extremism."

And that wasn't the only problem. It was at Bucca that an unexpected and powerful alliance was formed between the Islamic extremists and the Ba'athists loyal to Saddam Hussein, who were angry at losing power.

"You put them together and you get a mixing of organized military discipline with highly motivated, highly active ideological fervor, and the result is what we see have today," Skinner said. "I mean, there were other circumstances, but the toxic brew of Bucca started this recipe."

The U.S. set up a rehabilitation program at Bucca to try to combat extremism, but some who worked there have said that it wasn't implemented effectively.

At the time, Iraq was in a state of complete chaos. There were 100,000 prisoners in the country, and the U.S. was completely focused on the insurgency -- they weren't necessarily thinking of the future.




“According to a CBS News investigation, at least 12 of the top leaders of ISIS served time at Camp Bucca, including the man who would become the group's leader, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. CBS News obtained photos of 10 of them in Bucca's yellow prison jumpsuits.... 'Everybody could see what was happening but nobody could do anything about it,' Skinner said. U.S. officials who worked at Bucca told us they were concerned that prisoners were becoming radicalized. The prison has been described as 'a pressure cooker for extremism.' And that wasn't the only problem. It was at Bucca that an unexpected and powerful alliance was formed between the Islamic extremists and the Ba'athists loyal to Saddam Hussein, who were angry at losing power....

“The toxic brew of Bucca” – The American military's tactics (kicking people's doors in supposedly to catch enemies) has been the source of complaints from  Hamid Karzai as the reason why he didn't want the US to stay longer in Afghanistan. The terrible scandal at Abu Ghraib is another “toxic” situation. Our measures which seemed to some to be justified at the time have produced the hatred that I always knew would result. Wherever the US has gone since 9/11 we have behaved with brutality in too many cases, and yet we hope the people will trust and like us. Those peoples in that area are proud and united under their beliefs, and we create implacable enemies when we run over them as we have done. I would like to say that a Democrat in office would have made a difference, but Johnson was in office during most of the Vietnam War, and we still had the My Lai massacre which was approved by the commanding officer in charge. Now we have to fight ISIS because they are there and they are slowly but surely coming for us. For us to be at war and involved in what seem to me to be war crimes is very much a norm nowadays. Nothing good can result from it.





http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/04/justice/florida-feeding-homeless-charges/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

90-year-old Florida man charged for feeding homeless people
By Kevin Conlon and Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN
Wed November 5, 2014

(CNN) -- Arnold Abbott handed out four plates of food to homeless people in a South Florida park. Then police stopped the 90-year-old from serving up another bite.

"An officer said, 'Drop that plate right now -- like I had a weapon,'" Abbott said.

Abbott and two pastors in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, were charged for feeding the homeless in public on Sunday, the city's first crackdowns under a new ordinance banning public food sharing,CNN affiliate WPLG reported.

Now they face possible jail time and a $500 fine, WPLG said.

Despite some criticism from homeless advocates, city officials have vowed the new rules will be enforced.

"Just because of media attention we don't stop enforcing the law. We enforce the laws here in Fort Lauderdale," Mayor Jack Seiler told WPLG.

He defended the law in an interview with the Sun-Sentinel newspaper.

"I'm not satisfied with having a cycle of homeless in the city of Fort Lauderdale," Seiler said. "Providing them with a meal and keeping them in that cycle on the street is not productive."

But Abbott, who has been helping feed homeless people in the area through his Love Thy Neighbor nonprofit since 1991, said authorities are targeting the city's most vulnerable residents.

"These are the poorest of the poor. They have nothing. They don't have a roof over their head," he said. "Who can turn them away?"

Recently, the city has also passed an ordinance limiting the storage of personal property in public, WPLG said. Then came the restrictions for food sharing.

"The city passed an ordinance requiring us to have a Porta-Potty. It's ridiculous. The whole thing was designed to rid Fort Lauderdale of its homeless," Abbott said. "Police told me anyone who touches a pan ... anyone who is involved, will be arrested."

It's a battle Abbott has fought before. In 1999 he sued the city for banning him from feeding homeless people on the beach -- and won, according to WPLG.

He said the threat of charges won't stop him from doing it again.

"I'm not afraid of jail. I'm not looking to go, but if I have to, I will," he said.
On Wednesday, Abbott said he'll be at Fort Lauderdale Beach, ready to serve another meal.



http://lovethyneighbor.org/about-us/mission/

Love Thy Neighbor nonprofit 

About Us

Love Thy Neighbor Fund, Inc is a interfaith organization of volunteers who are at the forefront of helping the homeless in Broward County, Florida. As the numbers of homeless continue to increase, more volunteers are needed to help make a difference in the lives of these men, women and children. Each volunteer possesses special and unique talents. A combination of those talents give us not only our compassion and kindness, but action-oriented results.

Love Thy Neighbor (LTN) volunteers have provided meals for over 1400 homeless persons per week since 1991. While the feeding program is an essential component of our mission, the organization’s #1 priority is to create ways to get the homeless off the streets and back into society as productive, contributing members. We believe that this goal can only be accomplished when the people of our community join together to provide shelter, healthcare, education, clothing, food and funding for our LTN Culinary Skills Training Program.

These efforts will actively assist the homeless to RE-ENTER our community successfully. In addition, we are able to help the homeless achieve a sense of dignity, pride and self-worth that they may have never had the opportunity to experience before.

We encourage YOU to become a contributor or volunteer for Love Thy Neighbor. Thank you for your support!

[get_latest_tweets username="tjrbusiness" count=1]


Mission and Vision

Love Thy Neighbor Fund, Inc. is an all-volunteer, not for profit interfaith organization, committed to helping the homeless among us. We believe in “Giving a Hand Up, Not a Hand Out.”
We are dedicated to finding and implementing effective solutions to reduce and mitigate the existence of homelessness in Broward County, Florida.
We believe there are no quick-fix solutions, so we are committed to supporting the basic human needs of the homeless on a daily basis, while working toward the ultimate goal. These efforts include the coordination and provision of hot, nourishing meals, clothing and temporary shelter by working with local non-profit charitable organizations and government entities. We now provide education which will lead to the homeless obtaining gainful employment.
Love Thy Neighbor believes that homeless people, with proper nutrition, counseling and training, can become productive, contributing members of our society.

Comprehensive Community Re-Entry Program
Love Thy Neighbor Fund, Inc. acknowledges that the food service industry is the largest industry in South Florida and in the United States. As a result, we believe that bountiful opportunities for employment at all levels exist within this industry. To that end, in 2003, we began Love Thy Neighbor Culinary Skills Training Program.

Homeward Bound Program
Love Thy Neighbor has returned hundreds of formerly homeless to their homes across the country.

Good Neighbor City
This city, where the homeless take charge, has been Arnold Abbott’s long-term dream, and unrealized (as yet) goal. He envisions 1000 acres, away from the city, where we supply the raw materials and the homeless use their considerable talents to build homes, stores and a hospital…(a city) away from the daily harassment they are subject to in their present locations.

Culinary Skills Training Program

Give a man a fish and he will have a meal for a night. Teach a man to fish and he will have food forever.” 
Such is the premise of Love Thy Neighbor’s nine-week Culinary Skills Training Program. We enlist temporarily-housed homeless individuals, train them in every aspect of cooking and sanitation, and provide them with a career with no limits. At course end, the trainees can continue without cost toMcFatter Technical Center for advanced culinary studies, or we can help them secure good jobs in Florida’s burgeoning restaurant industry, where in Broward County are over 45,000 jobs available.

Feeding Program

What differentiates the Love Thy Neighbor homeless feedings from all other similar programs is the atmosphere that we try to project through presenting food that is a joy to behold, and a pleasure for the palate, when it is consumed.
In short, our message is that we are aiming to spread a message of love and caring for those we serve, through gently providing a carefully-planned mélange of good food, nutritionally balanced, with something to suit everyone’s taste. We always include two entrees; a starch; steamed and/or sautéed vegetables; a unique fresh salad; fruit; a variety of chips, cakes, candy and chilled or hot refreshing drinks.
Our object is to provide some joy to our friends, who are experiencing difficult times in their lives, which we hope will be temporary, but of primary importance, is our goal of keeping those we serve, strong and healthy, until we can do our part to return them to society as productive individuals.

Compassion For Kids

Love Thy Neighbor is always cognizant that well cared-for children are the key to a better society in the future. We have sponsored children with AIDS and one needing a new prosthesis (annually) for 14 years. Community-wise, we partner with the Lee Family YMCA each year to provide a gala Christmas party for 600-700 underprivileged children. This party is the talk of the town! Every child receives a Polaroid photo of him or herself on Santa’s lap and many gifts. Pizza, snow cones and cotton candy abound. A bounce house, clowns, elves, a magician, puppet show and face painters cater to the childrens every desire..


Anti-Homelessness Legislation
Wikipedia

United States[edit]
Further information: Criminalization of homelessness in the United States

The National Coalition for the Homeless reports that there is a growing trend in the United States towards criminalizing the state of being homeless.[7] Proponents of this approach believe that punitive measures will deter people from choosing to be homeless. To this end, cities across the country increasingly outlaw activities such as sleeping, eating, sitting, and begging in public spaces, and selectively enforce more neutral laws—such as those prohibiting open containers or loitering—against homeless populations.[7] Violators of such laws typically incur criminal penalties, which result in fines and/or incarceration.

In Jones v. City of Los Angeles,[8] the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the Eighth Amendment prohibits the City from punishing involuntary sitting, lying, or sleeping on public sidewalks that is an unavoidable consequence of being human and homeless without shelter in the City of Los Angeles. It is important to note, however, that on October 15, 2007, the Court vacated its Opinion after the parties settled the case and sought withdrawal of the Opinion.[9]

Critics of homeless criminalization claim that such measures do nothing to actually solve homelessness and in fact make matters worse. Homeless people find it harder to secure employment, housing, or federal benefits with a criminal record, and therefore penalizing the act of being homeless makes exiting such a situation much more difficult.[4] In fact, a recent federal appeals court ruled an anti-homeless policy in Los Angeles as unconstitutional.[10]Similarly, in response to growing reports of hate crimes, some state governments have proposed the addition of "people experiencing homelessness" to their hate-crimes statutes.[citation needed]




“The National Coalition for the Homeless reports that there is a growing trend in the United States towards criminalizing the state of being homeless.[7] Proponents of this approach believe that punitive measures will deter people from choosing to be homeless. To this end, cities across the country increasingly outlaw activities such as sleeping, eating, sitting, and begging in public spaces, and selectively enforce more neutral laws—such as those prohibiting open containers or loitering—against homeless populations.[7] Violators of such laws typically incur criminal penalties, which result in fines and/or incarceration.”

An interesting article on the mental characteristics of conservative people I found recently spoke of psychologists who had tested a group of subjects, both liberal and conservative, on how negatively they reacted to certain visual stimuli. The particular picture I saw was a close up of a cockroach. The extreme negativity of conservative people (they were all questioned on their political and religious beliefs after taking the test) was much greater than that of liberals.

The Republicans have gained a reputation in the last ten or so years as being “the party of NO.” The reaction of conservative people to something like homelessness is not sympathetic and caring like most liberals, but punitive and characterized by avoidance. I was eating lunch at a workplace several years ago – a very small family business – which was almost exclusively made up of avid Republicans, and I said innocently that if I won the lotto I would like to help the homeless. A woman who had previously been friendly to me literally shouted “You would help the homeless?!!” It seems she lived in a part of Jacksonville Beach where homeless people congregated, and she absolutely hated them because they came through her neighborhood. I was taken completely by surprise and shouted back at her. Above all, however, I was shocked that she, who espoused belief in Christianity, could have such feelings about people who so obviously needed help.

The Fundamentalist American Christians have become too distanced from the poor and people of different races, and more and more warlike, being tied up in their religious dogmas rather than the teachings of Jesus. The Pope is encountering some of that as he tries to broaden the viewpoints of the old style Catholics. Some are not pleased with him. I truly hope no insane parishioner tries to kill him. He's a very good man, it seems to me. See my blogs entitled Cities And The Homeless and The Conservative Personality. Those will be published by tomorrow morning around 9:00. I found some very interesting things on the Net about those subjects.