Should homeless people have rights?

 picture courtesy of SFGate.com

In an article on today's SFGate.com website titled "Scaled-down homeless rights law advances", the author discusses how homeless people in California will be allowed to sit and lye in public spaces without the threat of arrest. In other words, homeless people can use the entrance to buildings and stairwells to rest without the fear of being kicked out or sent to jail. The previous bill included private property and businesses, but was removed due to opposition. This new bill also states that the government should provide bathrooms and showers to these individuals.

Every human deserves to be treated kindly and respected, and are entitled to basic human rights. I am not sure how I feel about this as I am not sure what programs are already available to homeless people in regards to food, health and welfare. How will the government pay for the bathroom and showers for these individuals to access? What about safety concerns? After reading this article, my heart went out to this demographic as I cannot imagine the daily challenges they face. It is heartbreaking to see another human being without the basic needs that I enjoy everyday; I'm just not sure if this is the way to go.

Your thoughts/advice/information bloggers... :)

Remembering the Road back from Broken Is not always easy.

This is Topic that is quite personal to me. By now every one knows of the "Leg Break seen by Millions Nation Wide". Kevin Ware the Louisville Sophomore who suffered one of the most traumatic injuries in all of sports. During the first half of the Louisville , Duke game Ware attempted to block a shot from the three point line and what seemed like a normal jump turned into a complete catastrophe.

  The Video Is hard to watch but is here if you would like to see it.

 May all good thoughts go out to Ware and his family. But why is so important to me. Although Kevin Ware played only limited minutes all year he was still recruited to Louisville and received a scholarship. Since the accident Louisville has actually taken away Ware's scholarship saying that he must "Apply again". Ware stated in a recent interview that he looks forward to taking the court next year, but how likely is it he will be back "If Ware looses his scholarship which he likely will" it will cut him off from all team services provided through his scholarship one being rehab services. This means he will have to come up with the money out his own pocket and these medical bills will add up. I know schools have to look into the future when making a team but it is unfortunate that they are so impatient to not wait on Ware's development instead will decide to go elsewhere.
    
     This is not the only case where a catastrophic injury has stripped someone away of their financial security. Does anyone remember Sean Livingston??? One of the last most anticipated players to come straight out of high school. Livingston was drafted as the number 4 pick in the 2004 NBA draft. Only after a few short months in the NBA Livingston suffered this dreadful injury.
       Again the video is very hard to watch.

Just a few weeks after the injury and days before the trade deadline Livingston was released from the Clippers along with his 5.8million dollar contract leaving him with a mere 375k. Livingston was forced to deal with his recovery on his own. It took Livingston  nearly 3 years to make a comeback to NBA and was not until just recently in the 2012 season Livingston has found a new home in the Charlotte Bobcats.

     These two players suffered traumatic injuries which drastically altered their careers, now we all know that clear business decisions were made and unfortunately its the way it goes. But I wanted to hear some of your thoughts. Shouldn't these players initially been given the chance by their respected  teams to make their come back. in all honesty I know why the decisions had to be made and were apart of business. But its hard to know all that hard work doesn't pay off and you have to start all over again. BUT I am strongly for certain written agreements between players and management in a case of injury which technically are already in place. But from these two examples obviously need to be clarified. 

Adopt a cleaner California

  If you have ever wondered why Oregon is so beautiful, perhaps this is the main reason. This is the litter sign posted throughout the state, which displays a fine that may seem unreasonable, but residents and travelers alike respect and obey. Imagine if in California, the fine was raised from $1000 to $6250...would that detour your from littering on the streets and highways? For a state that boasts its "eco-friendly" atmosphere, it is sad to see that everywhere you turn there is trash and garbage spewed across our great state. According to the internet, Caltrans spends approximately $15 million a year to remove litter from the highways. Quite possibly, if the fine was increased, Caltrans would spend less time picking up our trash, and more time fixing our highways.  Ok fellow bloggers, what do you think?

Are some rules meant to be broken?

Lorraine Bayless, an 87 year-old resident at Glenwood Gardens retirement facility in Bakersfield, CA, died this week due to the facility nurse's refusal to perform CPR on her. After witnessing Mrs. Bayless collapse, the nurse immediately dialed 911, but could not follow through with the operators orders to perform CPR. According to the website SFGate.com, "The retirement facility released a statement extending its condolences to the family and said its "practice is to immediately call emergency medical personnel for assistance and to wait with the individual needing attention until such personnel arrives."  So in other words, just stick close and keep an eye on the situation until backup arrives.

I comment on this article due to the fact that so often people forget to do the right thing in fear of consequences; job loss being the main concern. Every company has rules and guidelines in order for the business to run smoothly, but sometimes these rules have to be broken when the health and safety of another human being is at stake. This touched my heart deeply, and I feel bad not only for the deceased family, but also for the nurse who was put in this awful predicament. God bless both families, as healing is gonna be needed on both sides.

So, fellow bloggers, what do you think? If something like this happen to you at work, would you follow the rules, or would you act?

Whose "Broke" now?

Hello fellow bloggers,

So I have been reading on Yahoo! News about the congressional staffer that tweeted about the 2 Broke Girls Super Bowl commercial from his bosses account and was fired. According to the Yahoo! Article, Phil Hardy tweeted “Me likey Broke Girls” after viewing the shows costars pole dance to a rock song by Def Leopard. Now we all know the commercial was risqué, and intended to attract and draw in the viewer. Fine. But to respond on Idaho Rep. Raul Labrador Twitter’s account without second guessing that you would cause an uproar or lose your job is a lack of common sense (in my opinion).

This is a prime example of how individuals can abuse the freedoms of certain levels of employment without realizing the consequences of their actions. There are responsibilities in the workplace that require us to use proper judgment; obviously Phil Hardy overlooked that document when he received his offer package from HR.  All I can say is this has showed me that whatever opinions or thoughts I personally have, to make sure they don't affect my income.

 

Take care,

 

Jewel