A Call for Action, Help

These past few days, CNN and other news stations have had much to talk about. Last Friday, March 11, Japan was hit by a 8.9 magnitude earthquake near the city of Honshu, releasing tsunami waves and leaving many dead and many more missing (read more about the tragedy here on BBC's special page dedicated to information and updates regarding the happenings in Japan). This is a horrific tragedy, and one that will leave lasting consequences of the people and the government of Japan. Now, more than ever, there is a class of people needing help. This class of people is the survivors of this tragedy, the people now seeking food, water and other aid. Some of these survivors have lost everything. Their families. Their homes. Their most treasured possessions. This class is distinct in that they all share two common bonds. They have all survived this disaster, and they all need help. Below are three different charities that are helping provide immediate relief to this class of people, the survivors.



1. Lady Gaga designed a "We Pray for Japan" bracelet, with all proceeds going directly to tsunami relief efforts. This famous icon in American society, known for her outrageous outfits, is also known for her humanitarian work and her work for LGBT rights (read a great blog post about Lady Gaga and LGBT rights on Kyle's LGBT blog), so it should not come to people as a surprise that now Lady Gaga is stepping up and promoting aid efforts to the people of Japan. Whether you like or dislike Lady Gaga's music, approve or disapprove of her outfits, and support or don't support her work towards LGBT rights, we can all certainly appreciate the help she is trying to provide this class of people. Buy your bracelet here!


2. Zynga, the creator of popular games and applications such as FarmVille and CityVille on Facebook and Words with Friends (an Apple application) has begun a fundraising drive to raise money for the children affected by the earthquake/tsunami tragedy, going directly to
the Save the Children charity, which has created a special branch, Japan Earthquake Tsunami Children Emergency Fund. These games will now have a "Donate" button where users can give directly to the charity while playing the games. Facebook will donate credits for the games to donators. Zynga also did this when Haiti was struck by a horrific earthquake and raised $1.5 million. Get gaming and donating! (Source: http://www.develop-online.net/news/37276/Zynga-begins-Japan-quake-charity-drive
online.net)


3. Google has created a crisis response site to help people search for missing people, read alarms and warnings from the government, post shelter and transportation information and much more. Google is also sponsoring the Japanese Red Cross Society and is collecting donations through their website. You can donate as little as 100 yen (all donations mus
t be in yen- $20 is about 1600 yen) and all donations go straight to the Japanese Red Cross. The Red Cross is using the money to purchase and distribute aid to the survivors and help atte
mpt to bring normalcy to their lives again. Although you won't get a cool bracelet, unlike if you donate to Lady Gaga's charity, you will be donating to a charity in which the money is truly helping the people.


As you can see by just the few pictures I have posted, this class of people, these survivors truly do need our help. Hopefully one of the charities I have posted has inspired you to do more and reach out to these people. If not, hopefully I have at least inspired you to find a charity you do find meaningful and offer some type of support to the survivors of this tragedy. Let's all unite as one class of people and help our neighbors in Japan!

Wisconsin: A Clash of the Classes

Maybe you haven't been keeping up
with the news lately, or maybe you've been living under a rock, but there are some very important discussions, and protests, happening in Wisconsin these past few weeks. These discussions, mostly stemming from a $3.6 billion deficit in the state budget, include many measures such as limiting collective bargaining for unions and cutting many services throughout the state. These budget cuts will, most likely, affect some of the state's poorest and least fortunate. The state, however, is in a little bit of a bind, as 14 Democrats refuse to return to Wisconsin leaving the Wisconsin government in limbo and bipartisanship is pretty much non-existent.


With a new republican governor, Scott Walker, who took office January 3, 2011, the republicans and democrats have had much to discuss (or argue) about. Recently, Walker proposed a $96 million dollar plan that included cuts to low-income health care, programs for the disabled, and public works (lincluding snow plows). Many of his cuts will most directly affect the lower class, especially a $500 million cut to Wisconsin Medicaid, which serves 20% of Wisconsin residents. Here is a quote from Walker regarding the proposed cut to the social service while giving his budget address:

"Medicaid continues to outstrip growth in general fund revenues. While maintaining services for our most vulnerable, we must also refocus those services and find efficiencies where possible."

As shown here, these budget cuts, as well as limiting collective bargaining (read more about the issue here!), could severly affect some of Wisconsin's most struggling citizens and would greatly affect the lower class. There are two class conflicts occuring in Wisconsin right now: the democrats v. the republicans, and the government v. the lower class. As I've discussed in other blogs, classes don't always necessarily need to be economic classes. In this case, there is a battle occuring against an economic class, but also among classes of people in power, the democrats and the republicans. This class conflict and division, between the people in power, is harming the state's citizens and the state's resources. Local services, education, health care, and arts and culture are all programs/resources that are at risk if the government and classes cannot reach a compromise.

What do you think? Do you think these budget cuts are necessary for the goverment to stabilize? Or do you think the government is short-changing the lower class and "the most vulnerable" in the state? If these cuts are reduced or rejected, how should the government make up it's $3.6 billion deficit? It seems that although cuts are needed to be made to the budget, but how to make the cuts effective, yet not hurt too many people, would be an art and an incredible compromise. Whatever happens, the classes need to come to a compromise soon, or otherwise a government in limbo is of no use at all.

Source: wisconsinrapidstribune.com