What I’d Do if I Ruled the World

I am a major advocate for international government, something that has never been actualized. I am a Christian and believe in the principles of truth and righteousness. A world that I would rule would epitomize these principles. Poverty and lawlessness would be issues that I would rigorously address…

…We have local and federal governments. We need a centripetal agency that would have the legal authority to hold all of our national leaders accountable for their roles in promoting public peace and tranquility. This agency should have no fear of placing corrupt leaders and judges across its knees because we cannot draw straight lines with crooked rulers. Any of our leaders who misbehave would be replaced by those who are upright…

I would make the government equally bipartisan to best address all pros and cons of political issues and arrive at the very best laws. I would mend the global economy. I would urgently prioritize human life in my political ventures. I would call for an emergency summit meeting of all of our national leaders to work together to place each and every displaced person in the world, i.e. refugees and other immigrants and those living in deplorable conditions in developing and developed nations in decent, sanitary housing within each of our developed nations beneath the banner of my Move the World initiative. This would include placement of people in *emergency shelters, transitional facilities, and permanent homes.

I would implement my company housing initiative/provide generous incentives to participating companies.

All persons who qualify for housing choice would be privy to it and housing/utilities would be income-based for everyone living at or below the poverty threshold.

*I would provide funding to immediately house all homeless persons in shelters where they would not have to leave throughout the day unless they’d be leaving for a specific reason, i.e. a job interview or medical appointment. I would provide vans to homeless taskforces that would perpetually be on-call to retrieve homeless persons from the streets and drive them to local shelters. These vans would have each relevant city and “Homeless Taskforce” (i.e. Memphis Homeless Taskforce) and its logo and phone number inscribed on each van for security purposes.

Homeless persons who are disabled (physically and/or mentally) and/or who are elderly and qualify for Social Security benefits would be connected with this service. Others would be connected with education/job training and employment. All would be connected with permanent housing.

I would further provide funding for housing authorities to purchase, renovate, rent and sell homes to their clients, thus empowering the government to recover its investments (I would delegate purchase and renewal of abandoned and/or blighted apartments and homes for this initiative in addition to building individual homes and subdivisions of purchasable homes.

I would implement much-needed improvements to Housing Authorities that would require them to be more proactive with helping all clients who have been awarded Housing Choice Vouchers and who are in need of assistance with acquiring housing and other synonymous resources. I would require payment of voucher funds to awardees to reside wherever they are until they acquire sufficient housing, at which point their voucher funds would be directly paid to the property owners/managers of the homes that they’d rent and/or purchase…

I would require client rental deposits to be no more than the precise amount of the determined rent that they must pay; Housing Authorities would pay the residual amount of the stated deposits.

I would implement improvements to Housing Authority websites, i.e. the TNHousingSearch.org, i.e. enabling clients to request tours and apply for specific homes free of cost from these websites. I would require local agencies to routinely add all homes in their districts that accept Housing Choice (Section 8 vouchers) to this website (All property owners and/or managers who would accept Housing Choice (Section 8 vouchers) would be required to report this to their local Housing Authority). I would additionally require them to list all properties owned/managed by Housing Authorities on these websites. I would further require that all homes and apartments that are not currently available be unpublished until they are available again…

I would additionally and rigorously address corruption in any and all Housing Authorities like I have personally observed/experienced in the program myself.

I would streamline the housing application process to further enable clients to apply for all homes succeeding their initial application with that same information that would be saved in the system (Clients would be capable of updating this information when needed)…

I would enable actual ownership of homes by eliminating property taxes on them once they are paid for or make income rather than property taxes determine education and other standard of living quality for any community. I would make home title theft impractical.

I would create a perpetual crisis intervention/response system and agency that would be equipped to address any manner of crisis not requiring EMS or law enforcement, for example, delivering food to those lacking it; it would additionally consist of a homeless hotline with a toll-free number that any homeless person could call and be picked up and transported to a shelter.

I would invest mandatory and other payroll deductions for ultimate payout to workers.

I would universally ban and prosecute all forms of human trafficking. I would create residential job training programs similar to Job Corps for individuals older than 24 years old.

I would eliminate educational barriers by requiring schools to help students work through personal challenges that would otherwise prevent them from graduating. I would require all colleges to implement collegiate midterm progress reports and make parents of dependent students intrinsically privy to student information. I would make academic railroading of students punishable by law.

I would implement solid meal plans for virtual and other qualifying students, including wholesome prepackaged meals that would be distributed from virtual/hybrid and other qualifying schools and/or school board warehouses and that would be purchasable with EBT or cash at local grocery stores.

I would implement free and reduced lunch for qualifying college students.

I would make it feasible to acquire education up to a bachelor’s degree free of cost, realizing that this would be an investment that would see great returns once prospects are qualified for and working higher-paying jobs, which would mean more for Uncle Sam.

I would forgive the equivalent of 120 credit hours of student loan debt for all graduates. Educational loans would essentially be for graduate programs and student housing and any time that a student would spend in school that would exceed 120 credit hours. Those who are descendants of Native and African American and other races of people who have been slaves (forced to work for free) and/or otherwise treated disparately would be privileged to additional (racial) reparative* credit, which would eliminate educational debt for remedial and other courses exceeding 120 credit hours. *I would wholly implement my racial reparations initiative.

I would enact legit income requirements for everyone and make money exclusively digital, for sanitary purposes and to reduce crime. I would enable filing of tax returns from the Internal Revenue Service’s website. I would further enact automated income tax filing.

I would implement a universal substitute employment system and website that would provide perpetual (24 hour/7 days a week staffing coverage for any and all companies in need of workers and for all persons in need of employment.

I would implement practical solutions to locally and globally circumvent violence.

I would take proactive measures to protect and properly utilize nuclear power.

I would create a mega militia that would consist of troops from each corner of the globe, a militia that would properly intervene on global conflicts by first deliverance of cease and desist orders against national leaders who commit war crimes or other unlawful acts. The military that I would create would work to prevent wars and to stop them when they occur rather than engaging in the warfare. It would contrive intelligible, strategic plans utilizing the very best of available technology to detain culprits with the least possible casualties…

I would enact proper protocol for the military that would require all military personnel to behave with professionalism at all times and would bar practices like gaslighting and committing other criminal acts against investigated persons. I would additionally call for military officials who commit such acts to be subject to psychological evaluations and appropriate sanctions…

I would implement proliferation of rapid transit systems and personalize transit cards. I would additionally equip all city buses and rapid transit systems to accept debit/credit cards. I would further implement my suggestions for transportation assistance for job seekers/employees.

I would enact policy that would mandate provision of pin numbers on and offline on credit/debit card purchases unless specified otherwise by the cardholder.

I would form a committee that would perpetually work to improve the work force or working conditions for employees. Members of the stated committee would be dispatched to specific companies to study and articulate solutions to specific company issues. Click here to read an example, my proposals for streamlining FedEx hand…ling processes and how to improve general logistical processes.

I would implement a universal no-kill animal shelter policy/plan of care.

I would universally require all fast food restaurants to conform to optimal health standards, i.e. oven frying instead of deep-frying foods and offering meatless (impossible) and other non-beef options for burgers and sausages (Click here to read my Oven-fried Church’s Chicken proposal, noting that Church’s is my favorite fried chicken restaurant).

I would universally perfect web-based learning for routine and on-demand use.

I would implement universal gun license and registration requirements and my plan for ideal correctional reform.

All correctional facilities would be jointly managed by the departments of Education and Labor.

I would join juvenile detention facilities to local school districts and compel remote school attendance for all detained youth via computer laboratories that would be incorporated into each juvenile correctional facility.

Education and restitution would be requirements for all juvenile detention facilities. Education, employment for the capable, and restitution would be requirements at all adult correctional facilities. All adult correctional facilities would incorporate a manufacturing plant of any legitimate sort into their facility via which detainees would work.

All employed detainees would be paid minimum wage and have savings requirements.

Adult detainees lacking a high school diploma would be required to attend web-based high school equivalency (HiSET) or GED courses in on-site computer laboratories.

Detainees would remotely attend either of a conglomeration of participating colleges via the computer laboratory of their respective correctional facility. Majors might include Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (HVAC), web or software developer, nursing, construction worker, cosmetology and/or barbering, Creative Writing, Architecture, Music (song writing, etc.) essentially any offered course that could practically be completed in remote with provided synonymous resources.

Correctional facilities would form relationships with local banks that would hold detainee checking and savings accounts; inmates would be required to incrementally pay their debts, child support, and restitution where applicable to those they have injured or whose property they have damaged. They would additionally each pay housing fees to their facility of residence and premiums for public healthcare (Medicaid).

I would implement correctional pedagogy via which all correctional facilities would teach why each and every crime is wrong. All detainees would participate in routine social skills training sessions where they would be instructed on how to properly address specific crisis and/or conflict (I would ask Dhar Mann to join my team of content creators for the stated social skills instructional material). This would include anger management tutorials, etc. Every inmate would be required to write an entrance and exit essay prior to release explaining what they did to get incarcerated and what they should have done. These essays would become a part of their exit portfolios, which would additionally consist of their resumes and cover letters, HisSET diplomas or GEDs and any degrees and/or certifications that they acquire. Special snacks and/or catered food from any local restaurant would be served during these events. Goody bags would be distributed that might contain t-shirts, informative social service and other synonymous material.

Every inmate would be assigned to a career counselor who would be on staff at their respective correctional facility. The noted career counselors would work with detainees to identify career interests and to help them with enrolling in and completing synonymous major educational programs. Every inmate would be required to declare a major course of study. The career counselors would help detainees to determine whether they are eligible for certain types of jobs based on their committed offenses and/or what the detainee would have to do to acquire certain jobs if the offense would pose a challenge. The noted career counselors would additionally schedule exiting detainees for suiting at their local Dress for Success or any synonymous agency that would provide them with business attire for job interviews (I would advocate for Dress for Success to develop a male suiting program to compliment their program for ladies).

HiSET and GED completers and graduates of traditional and technical colleges of each correctional facility would be recognized during synonymous commencement ceremonies and would be highlighted in the newsletter of their facility and/or region.

I would place Successories throughout each correctional facility to lift morale and routinely have motivational speakers to visit each facility to offer hope and encouragement to detainees.

I would take interventions to make certain that detainees are treated fairly or are not abused in any way. I would not tolerate prison rape or sexual activity between or among detainees. I would incorporate latchable lavatory and shower stalls into all correctional facilities to avail detainee privacy and safety during their showers and lavatory use.

I would implement my same sex marriage/gay issues solutions.

I would implement a universal system of perfected healthcare that would yield coverage to every person in the world and that would be income-contingent and enable the government to generally collect premiums from working Medicaid recipients.

I would implement a universal medical records portal that would be comprehensive or inclusive of every person’s medical records from birth to current and would be accessible by every medical facility in the world. This would eliminate need to provide previously given information pertaining to one’s medical history during succeeding visits to any medical facility…

I would mainstream medical cures and proliferate the pharmaceutical branding of supplements that would address the causes of specific illnesses.

I would eliminate the requirement for medical unemployment claimants to submit employment applications and I would enact legislation to require all employers to respect earnings limitations for disabled workers.

I would implement my dialysis center innovations and promote dialysis facts and importance.

I would require beverage companies to reduce sugar content to healthy levels.

I would remove all harmful substances from vape pens and electronic cigarettes and perfect them for optimal health benefit.

I have eyed the United Nations over the years. It is comprised of a leader from all of the nations and collects fees from each. It has a military and is active in the world. It does not have legal authority, however. For this reason, it is not the global government that I fathom. It can be. It must be purged of all corruption prior to, however, to be what I imagine it can be and to accomplish the feat of setting the world into its intended order.

According to the Bible, the European Union or revived Roman empire is going to rule the world prior to Christ’s return and rulership. Though I am confident that this prophecy will be fulfilled, the EU is not the ultimate ideal because it is comprised of only European nations.

An impartial global government would resemble the UN. It would collect taxes from all of the nations and church and government would no more be separate. The church would too would be taxed. This would be the best way to collect the fair portion of funds that the church should contribute to world missions.

The church would be a major source of governmental revenue. These funds and global taxes in general would be utilized to quench global debt and aid in the fortification of developing nations. It would be gradually used to bring each of our nations up to par.

I would implement my Workable Plan for Healing the Environment, which would call for the universal mainstreaming of clean energy sources and the minimization of non-renewables and for traditional sanitation sites or landfills to be transformed into recycling facilities where everything that we discard of would be recycled. It would further call for global water regulation that would mend flood/drought imbalances in the world that would quench forest fires and deliver life to barren regions of the world…

Formal public water systems would be implemented in every community of every nation and other industrialization projects that would include development of the natural and other resources of each national community. It would include the establishment of schools of all levels, municipal entities (police precincts, courts and correctional facilities, etc.).

Hospitals and clinics and other social service organizations would be incorporated into every major city in the world. Emergency shelters, homes, and other businesses would be constructed. This, with persistent effort, is something that can be achieved in a decade or less.

I absolutely adore the knotted gun and sword into plowshares statues that stand before the United Nations. The UN emblem, a world map surrounded by two olive branches hint at the Lord’s Kingdom that will be established in JerUSAlem. His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives there, according to Zechariah 14:4. I have never been to the UN or New York, where the United Nations is located, per se. I hope to visit some day. Prayerfully, some day soon we’ll indeed beat our swords into plowshares and our spears into pruninghooks and study war no more…

Why Hell Should be a Temporary Place

I was speaking with my daughter about the cartoon Hazbin Hotel and how one of the characters who is a demon has a discussion with an “angel” about reforming people who are burning in hell.

I’d given thought to this before my daughter showed me this cartoon, which should be revised to omit much of the cursing and some of the storyline, including the fact that the demon presenting her case is a lesbian, a disqualifying sin.

I believe that hell should be temporary, even for Satan and that the whole universe should be peaceful. Those who are not heaven-ready when they die should be sent to a different reformatory place or planet, both those who would be exempt from and those who should be released from hell after a certain length of time.

The people who would rule the prescribed planet would be good and would be there to help reform these individuals to enable them to graduate to heaven.

The purpose of burning is to purge of impurities…

…Hell is not otherwise a constructive place. Some there have mental illnesses and some are there because they were driven to commit crimes because of societal flaws, i.e. racial and other forms of discrimination that limit opportunities to certain people. The Bible says furthermore that a person’s heart is in the Lord’s hands… and that He turns it whichever way He wishes and that, though people have free will, He predestined us…

Considering this, hell is perhaps a bit unfair. For some, nonetheless, it is yet fated to be a permanent place; this is not set in stone, however.

God can change His mind…

A Solution to the Palestinian/Israeli War

Various United States presidents have attempted to bring peace to the Middle East or to settle the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians that began in Biblical times. You know the story. Sarah instructed her husband, Abraham, to marry and sleep with her slave, Hagar, who bore him a son, Ishmael.

God made a covenant with Abraham that he would become the father of many nations. Sarah, Abraham’s wife, also became pregnant (in her old age) and bore Abraham a son, Isaac.

Though the scriptures specify that the covenant would be established with Isaac, a covenant of circumcision was established that required Abraham and every male connected to him, whether an offspring or not, to be circumsized by eight days old (Genesis 17:9-14)…

After Hagar realized that she was pregnant, she despised Sarah, who’d treat her harshly. Hagar fled from her, and the angel of the Lord found her and instructed her to return and added that her descendants would be too numerous to count.

Ishmael was born, and he and Abraham were circumsised; this and the fact that the Lord instructed Hagar to return to Sarah could yield indication that the Israelis and Palestinians were purported to live together in Canaan.

…Fast forward to when the Lord delivered Israel from captivity in Egypt and directed them to inhabit the Promised Land. The Lord specifies the locality of this land and how the then current occupants (Canaanites) were to be driven out because of their idolatry or worshiping false gods…

…”I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the desert to the Euphrates River. I will give into your hands the people who live in the land, and you will drive them out before you. Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods. Do not let them live in your land or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you.” – Exodus 23:31–33…

The Canaanites did not take this lightly. They fought back and are still fighting back to this day. The Israeli/Palestinian conflict is a hot button political issue these days. It captivates news headlines everywhere.

Amusingly, Palestinian muslims believe in the Torah (the books of Moses and the first five books of the Bible). Since the Lord’s assignment of the land is laid out in the Torah, this should end the dispute. The Palestinians should respect this assignment and occupy land outside of this territory.

Or, since Palestinians are descendants of Abraham and the Lord did apparently intend for them to abide with or live with Israel, Palestinians who worship the God of Israel should peacefully co-habitate with them. Only those worshiping false gods are not permitted to abide in Israel/Palestine.

The centripetal issue is whether or not Jehovah and Allah are the same.

The Palestinian’s belief in the Torah is indication that perhaps They are.

Incremental Wage Garnishment in Lieu of Driver License Suspension or Incarceration is a Much Better Solution for Unpaid Child Support

…Arrest or suspension of the driver license of a non-custodial parent who is struggling to pay and/or not paying child support is not a sound remedy for collection. In fact, it compounds the problem by creating challenges to acquiring income. Though there actually should be work and debt payment requirements in correctional facilities, keeping a job/resources in free society is or should be the ultimate goal…

Barring an individual’s right to drive is essentially tantamount to barring their right to work in light of the fact that public transportation in many instances is not a reliable means of timely getting to and from work, i.e. if the earliest a bus would start running each morning would have one routinely late.

The only circumstances under which an individual’s driver license should be suspended is if they go completely off the radar and it would be a last ditch effort to locate them; even then it should be a temporary suspension that would be lifted upon their contacting and making satisfactory arrangements with child support services or enrolling in a Fatherhood program.

There should not be a requirement to pay substantial amounts of unpaid support before reinstatement because use of one’s driver license is essential to earning income in many if not most cases.

…Communication, including public service announcements, should be made informing subject individuals of the opportunity to contact child support services and have their licenses reinstated without having to pay anything at all if they cooperate in terms of allowing CCS to help them acquire sound employment and on making satisfactory arrangements or coming to an agreement on an affordable amount to be deducted from their pay for child support…

The affordable amount should be based upon the payer’s provable living expenses, i.e. rent or mortgage, utilities, transportation, food, and any other essential expenses…

…In situations where a payer is residing in an extended stay hotel where rent is substantially costlier than a standard apartment or home, a program should be enacted that helps paying clients acquire a standard apartment or home; for example, the program could, in addition to helping subject payers acquire and sustain stable employment, require waiver of a rental deposit and/or application fees…

If a payer is homeless, the costs of prospective housing and utilities, etc. should be rationed into the routine (affordable) payment. If the payer resides with family and/or friends and/or shares expenses, they should be required to acquire a written/signed statement from the lease holder of the amount of their portion of rental/utility expenses, etc…

…Incremental wage garnishment (in lieu of driver license suspension or incarceration) should be enacted if the client does not cooperate in terms of allowing CCS to help them with acquiring sound employment and making/agreeing upon satisfactory (affordable) arrangements for support payment. The stated would improve employment acquisition and retention, support collection, and the lives of payers and payees…

Citizens’ Arrest Training and App…

Crime in Memphis, Tennessee (my hometown) has become outrageous, not irreparable, however, particularly when you consider that there are more law abiding citizens than there are those breaking the law, law abiding citizens who have the legal authority to intervene upon and stop crime in the absence or presence of police when essential…

The law does allow private persons to arrest others for public offenses committed in their presence and when a person has committed a felony whether in the arresting citizen’s presence or not, when the arresting citizen has reasonable cause to believe that the person being arrested has committed the felony, according to Tennessee Code § 40-7-109…

There should be a program via which the general public would be trained to de-escalate incidences like jump and grab robberies, car jackings, etc. This should include training on how to safely apprehend armed individuals who are actively committing crimes.

There should be an app via which law-abiding persons can apply to intervene upon and conduct citizen’s arrests on a paid and pro re nata (PRN) or when-needed basis.

…The app would be linked to local emergency dispatchers who would place assignments or reports of active criminal activity in cue for resolution by trained and approved citizens who are within vicinity or closest to ongoing active criminal activity…

The prescribed training and app would save businesses and their insurers billions of dollars each year by preventing property damage and theft of merchandise. It would further discourage prospective copy cat criminals…

This would improve communities and public morale and save lives.

The Hispanic Paradox is Key to Improving Health Outcomes for Everyone

While helping my son (a Sociology major at the University of Memphis) with some school work last semester, I learned of the Hispanic paradox, something I’d never heard of prior to. It references the tendency of Hispanic Americans to be comparable or in some instances in better health than Whites.

More specifically, it refers to low mortality rates among Hispanics, despite their higher rates of obesity and diabetes and even among those with disabilities.

This is paradoxical because Hispanics, like other minorities, typically have lower average income and education, which is ordinarily associated with poor health and higher death rates.

…Though, per research, the Hispanic paradox is disappearing, as cardiovascular and mortality rates increase among Hispanics, significantly due to the Covid pandemic in recent years, according to a 2023 study, and, clearly, due to Hispanics taking on American and diets of other countries into which they assimilate, it is obvious that the conventional Hispanic diet is the origin of this phenomenon…

Hispanics should, thus, return to their dietary roots and share their recipes with the world, i.e. hosting/proliferating healthy cooking seminars in grocery stores, on television, in public libraries, and other public localities.

…Schools could additionally incorporate Hispanic recipes into Home Economics/Teen Living, etc. courses in which students are taught to cook. It may be that the Creator sent Hispanics into the U.S. and other countries for the stated purposes. Let us mimmick the best that each of us has to offer…

By the way, my son made the dean’s list last semester!

Housing Property Managers/Realtors Should be Required by Law to Offer Eviction Prevention Resources

I was disheartened to see one of my neighbors being evicted in recent, all of their belongings, likely everything they’ve spent much of their life working for, sitting out in the parking lot vulnerable to theft and/or damage from the elements. I myself experienced this as a form of corporate violence over my intellectual properties and surrounding litigation of my involvement…

This is a travesty and reality that should never occur in a civilized society.

All housing property managers/realtors should have social service offices/representatives to which their tenants can resort and communicate their unique issues should they experience challenges paying their rent or mortgage, etc.

This office would connect said tenants with resources from rent and utility assistance to employment, transportation and food, etc. Housing security insurance claims would additionally be processed via this office.

If a tenant must move or has abandoned their residence, their belongings should never be ejected into the streets; their belongings should rather be moved to income-contingent storage facilities. The stated social service officers would too make these referrals and arrangements…

No one should lose everything they’ve worked for simply because they lost their job and/or are between jobs, if they got sick and can no longer work and/or are victims of domestic or corporate violence or whatever the case may be…

Eviction prevention would promote public safety/stability and save individuals and the government millions of dollars that would be spent for synonymous social rehabilitative services…

Police Should Never be De-funded

Scandals involving some police have prompted calls to de-fund them all. This is not commonsensical, however. This would be tantamount to doing away with law enforcement altogether with the exception of the very few if any who would continue working without a salary. Police, like everyone else, have bills to pay and they should never be deprived of a salary and proper resources…

If anything, their pay should be increased, considering the risks involved with the job and the financial devastation that it could cause their families if they lose their lives or if they are significantly injured during the line of duty. The Police Benevolent Association should not have to solicit donations for this cause. No other organization should have to either…

Police improprieties should be properly addressed with merited corrective/disciplinary interventions. There are a number of good police; they should not incur penalty for the unscrupulous behaviors of some officers.

Order is one of the things that we as a society need most. Despite the prevalence of crime, the police does provide a very significant level of order; pause to think of where we’d be without them, utter chaos.

Proliferation of National Islamic Health-food Stores/Restaurants

I’ll say in opening that I am a bonafide Christian. I happen to admire certain principles of Muslims, however, namely their desire to improve living conditions for African Americans and other minorities and their promotion of healthy eating among these groups.

Though I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the fried chicken and other great-tasting unhealthy foods I’ve eaten at church functions, I recognize the need to improve and that we can take pointers from Muslims in this area.

Not too long ago when I saw a group of Muslims wearing suits and ties in scorching heat selling fruit and bean pies, etc. at street corners (something I’ve seen many times), I thought of how today they should have climate controlled stores and more publicized restaurants to market their foods and products.

These stores and restaurants would thoroughly reflect Muslim dietary restrictions; they would exclude haram (prohibited foods and beverages), including alcohol and any drinks or foods containing it, in addition to shrimp, prawn, crabs, pork and pork products like ham, bacon, sausages, and deli meats…

…They would include halal (allowed) products like lamb, goat, beef, and chicken, fish and other acceptable sea food, eggs, olives and olive oil, rice, eggplants, lemons, garlic, grains, nuts, seeds, peanut butter, tofu, dried lentils, vegetables and legumes, and those fruit and bean pies, of course. They would basically include and exclude foods that are spelled out in the Quran and Torah (Leviticus 11 specifically)…

…Racial reparative small business awards and other grants should be disbursed to finance the prescribed and other merited initiatives…

The whole of society can benefit from Islamic health standards. Because many Muslims are unaware of what they should and shouldn’t eat, the prescribed would benefit Muslims and the general public…

All Qualifying Students Who Attend Virtual Schools Should Receive State Funded Meal Allowances

…All students who qualify for free or reduced meals should receive them, including students routinely attending virtual schools. I presumed that all qualifying virtual students did receive meal or EBT allowances. They do not, however, or at least that’s what I was told by the Department of Human Services when I inquired about EBT meal allowances for my daughter who is currently attending Volunteer State Virtual Academy (VSVA)…

…The Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (…P-EBT) that students enrolled in brick and mortar schools who attended those schools online via issued devices at the onset of Covid was only for students enrolled in brick and mortar schools while attending hybrid under stated and other qualifying circumstances. My daughter was disbursed $120 in …P-EBT benefits for this whole year post forfeiting more than $300 in benefits after we lost her P-EBT card and were not aware that the funds had been disbursed…

She had stopped receiving disbursements prior to our losing her card, which is why we’d stopped expecting them. When I contacted DHS to inquire about why my daughter’s benefits had stopped I was told that they simply were not available at that particular time and that when they became available they would be disbursed. Unfortunately, by the time we requested a replacement of my daughter’s card her benefits had expired and were not recoverable…

Many students, like my daughter, are attending virtual schools due to issues like bullying that raise concerns for the students’ safety. In other words, attending virtual school could be a matter of life and death or preserving the mental and often physical well-being of subject students, who should neither suffer from hunger throughout any ordeal…

Stated benefits are essential, furthermore, for students from households experiencing financial crisis due to domestic violence, especially those who do not qualify for traditional EBT because of their gross income, not considering all expenditures of synonymous families…

…Many students who would not ordinarily qualify for free or reduced meals due to the income of their parents/families are now receiving free meals in traditional public school systems like Memphis-Shelby County in light of the fact that it is often these particular students who struggle most with hunger because they/their families do not qualify for EBT; despite often substantial gross income, the families’ net income after deductions and expenditures is not sufficient to purchase adequate food supplies and/or to purchase school meals for affected students…

…Qualifying students attending virtual schools should routinely receive state meal allowances or, preferably, nutritional and wholesome prepackaged meals* that would be purchasable from local grocery stores and/or retrievable from designated schools or school board pantries. These could also be boxed and mailed to students (*These would include five meals for breakfast and five for lunch and up to seven additional meals for dinner and weekends for eligible students who struggle to eat outside of the parameters of schooling)…

…Students perform better academically when they are properly fed; diets of empty calories that are more affordable for financially challenged families contribute significantly to health crisis and synonymous costs. It is the duty of our states to supplement nutritional resources of economically challenged families with attending school-aged children. The return on investment is that these children would perform better in school and in life. Fact…

The Living Room, a Chain of (In Person) Chat Lounges

While visiting the post office in recent (fairly), I joined a conversation, I and nearly every customer and employee there. I do not recall what we were discussing, just that it was a wonderful dialogue that we all enjoyed and nearly all of us customers extended our stay to participate in it.

I thought of how there should be formal places for any and everyone to participate in conversations of the sort, something more personal than a traditional open forum.

I have long envisioned a chain of lounges or diners via which such conversations could be routinely held. It would be like gathering with your family at grandma’s house, in The Living Room; only it would be your neighbors, friends, and perhaps some of your family.

You would be able to order and eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, listen to clean music, watch television, or simply engage in the conversation. Dialogues would be conducted by an emcee. The diners could have security who could simultaneously resume other duties within the facilities.

Since the stated diners would be family-friendly, children would be welcomed and capable of attending with their parents or other authorized adults and to join conversations and games in designated children’s areas. Parents/guardians could sign the children into stated areas, which would have adult monitors…

…Each facility (Living Room) might be different or offer certain features or amenities that others do not…While there are various places to go for entertainment, few of them really encourage meaningful interaction among attendees…

The prescribed would encourage meaningful interaction, addressing the crisis of boredom and loneliness/providing an outlet for constructive socialization or for neighbors to familiarize themselves with one another…