Oprah

I recently watched the heartbreaking special on tent cities with Lisa Ling on Oprah. I've always liked Lisa Ling and admire her work. She showed the sadness and heartbreak of people who had a home and a job last year who now live in tent cities across the country and are homeless. It's outrageous that we send money to care for people in other countries and not care about our people first.

It's not okay for children to be homeless. It's not okay for anyone to be without adequate shelter and food. It's not okay for anyone to be without health care. We need to invest in the potential of people. We need to make a university education free to anyone willing to do the work and who wants to learn. I'd love to go back to school. I have my bachelors degree but I want to get my MFA in writing. Sometimes I regret not going to law school. It would be fun to go to law school and become an advocate for the people without a voice and who feel powerless.

I switch to another channel and I hear Republicans that want to go back to the way things were so they can steal more money and dig an even deeper economic hole. I shake my head and sigh. Has everyone forgotten the last nine months of devastation? Just because President Obama has started to turn things around doesn't mean we can go back to the way things were. Change is needed. Permanent change to prevent further problems. Social security needs to be protected. The elderly and children need to be protected. The standards of education must be lifted up to compete with the best education you can receive anywhere in the world. People must be held accountable. Businesses must be held accountable and not allowed to charge a zillion times the price of a product just to take advantage and pad their bank account. Just because they have gotten away with it in the past, doesn't mean it's okay. It's not okay. The quality of life in our country must be raised and protected. We need to invest in people. We need to make sure that preventions are in place and secure so that everyone has a chance to dream and have a better life. No one should worry about being homeless or going hungry. No one should worry about health care or illness.

Oprah is a shining star on television who has the courage to make a difference and speak out on issues important to all of us and to help people. She has sacrificed so much to be a great leader. I admire her and love her.