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[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqmWcpTPVGg]YouTube - ‪America's forgotten homeless students‬‏[/ame]
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Think of "food terrorism" and what do you see? Diabolical plots to taint items on grocery-store shelves? If you are Buddy Dyer, the mayor of Orlando, Florida, you might be thinking of a group feeding the homeless and hungry in one of your city parks. That is what Dyer is widely quoted as calling the activists with the Orlando chapter of Food Not Bombs "food terrorists". In the past few weeks, no less than 21 people have been arrested in Orlando, the home of Disney World, for handing out free food in a park. Food Not Bombs is an international, grassroots organisation that fights hunger. As the name implies, it is against war. Its website homepage reads:
"Food Not Bombs shares free vegan and vegetarian meals with the hungry in over 1,000 cities around the world to protest war, poverty and the destruction of the environment. With over a billion people going hungry each day, how can we spend another dollar on war?" The Orlando chapter sets up a meal distribution table every Monday morning and Wednesday evening in the city's Lake Eola Park. Lately, the Orlando police have been arresting those who serve food there, like Benjamin Markeson. He was perplexed, telling me:
"We think that it's terrorism to arrest people for trying to share food with poor and hungry people in the community to meet a community need. And all we do is we come to the park and we share food with poor and hungry people. I don't know how that qualifies as terrorism." Attorney Shayan Elahi doesn't know, either. He is representing Orlando Food Not Bombs in court. He has filed for an injunction against the city in the ninth judicial circuit court of Florida, which is presided over by chief judge Belvin Perry Jr. Judge Perry is in the news lately as the no-nonsense judge in the Casey Anthony murder trial, which is happening now in Orlando. While the judge's courtroom receives blanket coverage on cable networks, Elahi hopes Perry will have time to personally rule on his filing.
At issue is a city law, the "Large Group Feeding" ordinance, which requires groups to obtain a permit to serve food, even for free, to groups of 25 or more. Such permits are granted to any group only twice per year. Orlando Food Not Bombs has already used both of its allowed permits this year.
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Top earners pull down a salary of $172,200 a year, while three employees have a salary of $0. Most staffers fall somewhere in the middle. The average salary is $81,765 a year, while the median employee salary is $70,000. The lowest full time salary is $41,000 a year. The list is a little top heavy, with 21 sharing the title of top earner. But the names at the top are among the most recognizable the White House has to offer.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney makes $172,200, as does counterterrorism adviser John Brennan, speechwriter Jon Favreau, adviser David Plouffe and Chief of Staff Bill Daley. While that's well above the national average, White House staffers often command far more lucrative salaries in the private sector -- and some gave them up to work for Obama. Plouffe, for example, walked away from a $1.5 million salary as a consultant at Plouffe Strategies when he joined the administration.
Records also show that Daley, former Midwest chairman and head of corporate responsibility at JPMorgan, raked in $8.7 million from the bank in 2010, including a $675,000 salary and $4.8 million bonus. Obama himself earns $400,000, double the $200,000 President Clinton earned annually during his eight years in office. The president's pay hike went into effect during the presidency of George W. Bush. In total, the 454 White House staffers earn a payroll of $37,121,463.
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Jennifer Cox began teaching at an under-performing school near Baltimore in 2005. Within the first two years, she noticed a common thread among many of her students who were struggling the most: They were living in homeless shelters. "A lot of these kids were disengaged," Cox said. "They don't feel they're deserving or worthy of being successful. It broke my heart." According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, more than 100,000 children in the country live in homeless shelters.
After spending time volunteering at a local family shelter, Cox observed that the services were focused on the adults. The children's needs were largely ignored. "Kids at the shelter didn't have enough space to really be kids," she said. "They were living in stressful environments, eating unhealthy food, and I felt they were missing a lot of the components crucial to healthy development."
So, in 2015, Cox founded Empower 410 Inc. Also known as Empower4Life, the nonprofit has provided health education, fitness activities, nutritious food and other necessities for more than 1,000 children living in Baltimore-area homeless shelters. "The best way to better their situation is to offer them opportunities to feel empowered," Cox said. "As we build their confidence, our hope is that they are able to see that they can pave their own path." CNN's Laura Klairmont spoke with Cox about her work. Below is an edited version of their conversation.
CNN: What are some of the obstacles facing children in homeless shelters?
His misconduct? Allowing a homeless student, who’d been living in the woods near school, to sleep in the college library when temperatures dropped below zero. How should schools handle homeless students? “The cool thing is that the president said he would do it again,” notes ER Physician Dr. Travis Stork. “I applaud you!” Plastic Surgeon Dr. Andrew Ordon points out that the student’s life would have been in danger if he’d stayed outside – this act of charity might have been a literal lifesaver.
Legal Expert Areva Martin wonders if we’re hearing the whole story. “This stinks to me,” she says. “It seems like a case where maybe this university wanted to get rid of the president for some totally different reason.” She concludes, “I hope he gets a lawyer!” Dr. Stork believes, “When you put profits -- and this is true in health care, this is true in education – when you put profits ahead of the needs of your students, your patients, you shouldn’t be in that business.”
Areva notes that homelessness is a huge issue all over the country. The school missed a chance to get fantastic positive publicity by helping this student. Dr. Ordon believes that people need to be careful about which school they choose to attend and encourages viewers to do their homework on a school before you commit your tuition dollars!
College Fires President for Giving Homeless Student Shelter?