to feel utterly disheartened today?

[CheerfulYank]

I work at an elementary (ages 5-11) school. I work with SN kids, usually the ones who have behavioral problems or who just always lag a bit behind. Today I found out that my favorite school counselor (he's a lovely man, all the kids love him and he's fantastic with them) will not be back next year. Half of the SN staff are retiring and I don't know that all of them will be replaced. This is all due to budget cuts.

Yesterday I read that the Pentagon got $700 billion in spending last year. Education got $38 billion. EPIC FAIL, AMERICA.

Where are my country's priorities? WHERE?! Is it any better over there? Can I come live with all of you?

I heard on the radio this morning (in the UK) that there were 68,000 maternal deaths in the US in 2005. And black women were 4 times more likely to die. That made me wonder about the US's priorities.

So you have my sympathies. It's not a bed of roses here, mind...

Yup. They have no health insurance, you see, so the care is just not as good, and they have no education, so they don't have good jobs, and they're living in places with environmental toxins, and...the list goes on.

I know people who complain about "welfare mothers" but until we right the wrongs in the school systems, what choice is there? If you graduate high school and can barely read, who's going to hire you? FFS.

I wish I had a direct line to Mr Obama, because I have some things I'd like to discuss this morning. I'm just so . Not at Mr. Obama, mind, he just got here.

Sigh...

I'm with you. Though, interestingly, there seem to be problems with even 'good' insurance cover not being good enough and people being in debt to the tune of thousands.

There's a link to the report here.