New Clear Vision


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Archive for the ‘Pat LaMarche’

The Homeless Bach

February 21, 2012 By: NCVeditor Category: Culture, Economy, Pat LaMarche

‘Can Anyone Spare a Pair of Bootstraps?’

by Pat LaMarche

In June of 2009 PBS predicted that — according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness — “The recession will force 1.5 million more people into homelessness over the next two years.” That was 1.5 million MORE people. That makes best estimates for the number of homeless people in the U.S. anywhere from three to five million. The same PBS story says that 1.5 million of the overall total are children.

These numbers are so large that it’s difficult to imagine the typical homeless person. Because homelessness is at such epidemic proportions, there is nothing typical about the conditions, circumstances, or character of the homeless.

So rather than try and imagine the entire spectrum — from aging military veteran to colicky new born — let’s just talk about one of these newer homeless folks.

Allow me to introduce a man who became homeless as a result of our nation’s economic downturn. He’s one of those million and a half extra folks added to the already existing crowd experiencing chronic homelessness. Only recently and unexpectedly, this gent found that he couldn’t keep his bills paid and a roof over his head for the first time in his life. (more…)

Easy Being Green

February 08, 2012 By: NCVeditor Category: Current Events, Pat LaMarche, Politics

A Diverse Field of Green Party Presidential Candidates for 2012

by Pat LaMarche

Comedic innovator, proud grandma and self-proclaimed domestic goddess Roseanne Barr has announced her candidacy for President of the United States as well as for Prime Minister of Israel.  Although some have argued that the former is so dictated to by the latter that holding both offices is unnecessarily redundant.

In less than 48 hours since Barr submitted her paperwork to the Green Party, a quick web search has yielded more than seven hundred links featuring news stories or commentary.

Many of the articles — like the one that appeared in the Christian Science Monitor — question Barr’s sincerity as she throws her hat into the ring.

And the wild fire of speculation on whether this was just another of Barr’s shenanigans or a true bid for the nomination representing the nation’s hundreds of thousands of Green Party members isn’t unique to the media outlets across the land, but in the discussion topic of rank and file greens as well. (more…)

An Open Letter to Santa

December 21, 2011 By: NCVeditor Category: Economy, Pat LaMarche, Politics

All We Want for Christmas Is Economic Justice

by Pat LaMarche

Dear Santa,

I watched a movie last night about you. It starred Will Ferrell and it’s called Elf. You may have seen it, and considering Ed Asner did such a great job playing you, I imagine they ran the important parts by you for your approval. So you likely already know that there ends up being a problem with your sleigh because while it’s powered by Holiday Cheer, there isn’t enough of it anymore to keep you and your toy transport aloft.

I must admit I had no idea that good will and blind faith were “lifting” your craft. I guess I thought those reindeer were strong enough to pull you through anything. At any rate, I’m writing to tell you that those of us who saw that movie won’t be expecting you this year. After all, if you travel the globe bringing joy to young people everywhere because of the faith and love of others: you’re going to be completely out of theoretical thrust this year. (more…)

Breaking the Ice

November 22, 2011 By: NCVeditor Category: Community, Pat LaMarche, Politics

Getting Back to Basics to Raise Money for the Needy

by Pat LaMarche

According to information furnished by the American Pulpwood Association and reprinted on the Maine Nature News website we should “respect mother nature.”  And that admonition is used in conjunction with the proscribed ice thicknesses on Maine lakes when it comes to traveling across them.

Here are a few of the safety hints they cite: ice two inches thick will support the weight of “one person on foot” — ice seven and a half inches thick holds “a passenger car” — and two feet of ice can hold about “45 tons.”

Now if you’re not from Maine I need to explain a few things about these ice facts.  Winter sporting enthusiasts need to know them because they play — aka fish, snow mobile, cross country ski, etc. — on the waterways as though they were land.  They even build ice shacks onto the thick ice of lakes, rivers and ponds from which they enjoy their winter activities. (more…)

Change of Heart

November 01, 2011 By: NCVeditor Category: Culture, Economy, Pat LaMarche

Jesus Never Asked if the Poor Were Deserving

by Pat LaMarche

Homeless Christ used by permission of artist deb hoeffner: www.debhoeffner.com

All across the United States homeless advocates are busily working to prepare for their most hectic season. You might call it the holiday season, the time of cheer — or as Charles Dickens explained in his epic A Christmas Carol — “a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.”

While many homeless advocates would never compare themselves to Charles Dickens they would agree that because people “open their shut-up hearts freely” their work loads get a whole lot heavier. You likely don’t know this because you’ve never heard them complain. And they never will. Many agencies make six or seven months of their budget on what kindness comes their way between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

But proof that otherwise uncaring folks suddenly give a damn at Christmas isn’t just found in anecdotal accounts by relief workers. A British study conducted by City University London in 2009 shows that charitable giving increases by 19 percent in the month of December and not because the same people who donate the whole year through give more, but because more people give. (more…)

Home Is Where the Heart Is

April 25, 2011 By: NCVeditor Category: Economy, Family, Pat LaMarche, Politics

But Is the Speaker of the House Listening?

by Pat LaMarche

You know how you can tell when a kid’s been homeless too long?  Ah, trick question.  If you actually tried to figure that out then you’re worse off than anyone imagined and you may as well turn off your computer monitor and just walk away.

See, any amount of time — even a fraction of a second — is too long for a kid to be homeless.

But I guess you could’ve been lulled into believing that a certain amount of grief and pain on the part of our nation’s most important people is acceptable.  Maybe that ignorance is why nobody took to the streets and shut the nation down after the U.S. Congress voted to hurt the poorest children and the grownups they hang with; even after continuing to give big tax breaks to multinational loser companies who operate with contempt for the people of the United States. (more…)

Fighting for Peace

April 11, 2011 By: NCVeditor Category: Current Events, Family, Pat LaMarche, Politics

A Father’s Struggle to End War and Honor His Lost Son

by Pat LaMarche

Bill Adams and his buddies from the Lancaster Coalition for Peace and Justice issued a press release last month.  It said that they were taking a fifty five mile walk from Lancaster, PA to Carlisle, PA so that Bill could drop off some baggage he’d been carrying for more than half a decade.

Bill was ready to let go of a ritual and burden that he’d used to expose wrongdoing on the part of his country.  And his country had been perpetrating this badness for a long time — from way back when he protested the Vietnam War — but now the U.S. thirst for resources and power had exacted a personal price: it had cost him his son. (more…)

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