Republican Congress Candidates Unfit

MEMORIAL DAY - the meaning of war - preserve American freedom. beliefs and way of life.  Over 58,000 DIED in the Viet Nam War and 6,000 died in the Iraq War. Died for us. Yet, many will not vote. Many will not serve - this has become a "volunteer" war. Because many refuse to serve, the same "volunteers" go back for three, four, and five tours of duty. Death and injury mounts. War.
That is why I feel the Republicans candidates for Congress are not suitable. If they were no going to run for Congress they can turn their backs on patriotism. But as young men, especially Whelan who just graduated from school and still lives off parents, they must know the sacrifice of men. They can too easily send others into war to fight in their place. Whelan, Garcia, and Tacherra refused to serve and shirked their duty.
Today we honor those who have stood up for America..

Children's hospital food is good

There is a lot of attention to the food in the hospital of children's hospitals. The complaints are, in summary, no real healthy entrees. Since I have worked in many hospitals, I can attest that all of the hospitals I worked in had a wide selection of healthy and less-healthy foods In the public cafeteria you will find salads, fruit, soups, vegetables, juices, milks, etc. In addition, you will almost always find fried chicken, pastas, pizza, hot dogs, rice, ice cream, sodas, etc. Some also have grills for burgers, much like a university cafeteria.
A hospital, like a university, is a world of its own. Some employees work double shifts or overnights and might need a "special snack" to keep the energy up in the wee hours. Students can relate to that. Many employees bring their own food and only come to the cafeteria for certain items. There were periods when I regularly worked 36 hour shifts without ever seeing the light of day - my meals varied with my stress.
Visitors come to hospitals for a brief visit or may find they "live" in the hospital, next to a patient for months. Many of the people who visit the public cafeteria do not want "healthy " food. Many have eaten elsewhere and just visit the cafeteria for a snack. They want sweets and sodas. Many use the cafeteria for meetings. Many people in hospitals are dying and really have no interest in spending their last days counting calories and avoiding yummy favorite foods.
The world of the hospital and the hospital cafeteria is very complex. In universities and hospitals, the cafeteria just wants to meet everybody's wants. Workers, and most patients, don't want limited menus because they can't order out.
Hospitals have improved greatly over the years. The quality of hospital cafeteria food is much better because a lot of people did complain or avoid the cafeteria. Today, most cafeterias are cheery, bright, well-decorated, clean with varied layouts and a wide food selection. If employees are unhappy, most cafeteria services will adapt. Just as universities can't run on salads, yogurt and water, hospitals can't either.
If you want to better understand the complexity of a children's hospital, volunteer to read to the kids or deliver presents to the children and listen to their stories. These are not ordinary kids.

We must stop the predators

Joseph Son, 40, was convicted of one count of torture in August after his DNA linked him to the abduction of a then-19-year-old victim as she walked her dog near her apartment on Christmas Eve.

Son and a co-defendant, Santiago Lopez Gaitan, 40, drove the woman to Huntington Beach at gunpoint, where they raped and sodomized her in the back of the car. They repeatedly threatened to kill her, hitting her with the pistol and telling her she was going to die.

The badly injured woman begged for her life, prosecutors said, and the two men released her naked and blindfolded with her own pants.

Police collected DNA evidence, but couldn't match it to her attackers until Son was required to provide a DNA sample after he pleaded guilty to felony vandalism in 2008 and violated probation.

Son's co-defendant was sentenced to 17 years and four months in state prison after he pleaded guilty in January to five felonies, including kidnapping and sodomy by force in concert.

Stop child sex slavery

The child sex trade is a huge problem in the US and abroad. No country is immune. In the US kids are often lured via the internet or corrupted neighborhood kids and adults. Girls and boys are bullied or lured with promises of love, money or other things. Usually the kids who are targeted are from broken homes and demonstrate emotional problems. The child may have already suffered issues of abandonment, neglect, low self-esteem, and physical and/or emotional abuse. The child may be in the foster care system or even disabled. She or he may be looking for food, money, self-worth, and shelter.
What the child finds is more violence and abuse when the man takes the child to a hotel room where he/she is beaten, sedated and confused with drugs and raped.
Then child is then sold via the Internet, transported to various areas around the country and the world, and sold to other pedophiles.
This is sex slavery and it even happens to adults, especially people who audition to be models.
Of note, churches often send their pedophile priests to foreign countries, like Africa, where they can escape American laws and continue to interact with children under the guise of priest.
I even heard of one country that incarcerated an American in a dungeon-like prison. The American was surprised to find he could buy a child in the prison to be his slave. He bought a child.
We must protect our children from these abusers of children.

Goodwin Announces Run for Congress

Goodwin Announces Run for Congress

AAAH! The ignorant spew racism and hate in the newspaper - it must be election time again in the valley. 

As the old-time Madera bigots regurgitate their frothy, green fowl-smelling words and accusations filled with hate, they hope to keep minorities and women out of elected office.  They offer no answers for our global problems, just attacks for attempting to make the Central Valley a better place.

We must prepare our children to recognize that smiles and head nods can bring a continuation of suppression and joblessness.  Only true INCLUSION will make the valley a better place. As a teacher, I want to reassure our Central Valley kids that these "haters" should not deter you from running for any elected office you wish to pursue. Much like the idiots we have in Congress now, who speak in TV sound bites and regurgitate party lines, they only serve to act as a blockade, but offer no real hope or ideas for the future. They only show up for fundraising parties. 

I hope no one will feel losing an election, especially when you are not a professional politician, is a bad thing. Denham, my opponent, had been in state office for over ten years. He had several fully staffed offices and banked funds. I, in contrast, was in my first big election and had no local Democratic structure. I was expected to lose, but I was learning. Losing was not a bad thing. The only bad things are: not showing up when we have our elections; not expressing your views in a civil,honest, respectful and intelligent way; and not voting for the best candidate, regardless of race or gender. I hope in the near future, we will be able to elect a minority representative to Congress in the Central Valley. We have had only white congressmen representing us for over two hundred years and the valley needs help. Old water wars still rage on and money is slipped under the table. 

United we are stronger. I am seeking to build communities in Madera and Merced that value diversity, compassion, and inclusion. I want the people in the valley to value education and the positive future changes it can bring. 

I was able to help integrate the Madera Unified school board, and we now have 5 of the 7 board seats filled by Hispanics. Due to “white flight,” MUSD has had a 60% to 80% Hispanic student population for many years with high dropout, suspension and expulsion rates and a wide achievement gap. A costly failing system. We needed better representation on the board by parents of children who are most affected by the school district. 

In 2007, my first year in office, I was able to create the MUSD Farm-to-School Program which ensures Madera kids enjoy the valley agricultural produce on a regular basis at school. I had to fight hard to create the Farm-to-School Program because the superintendent was against it. It is now a tremendous success. I hope in the future many more people will decide to run for a school board position - political office is NOT meant to be a career. 

The “haters” want to keep us all out of office, regardless of our qualifications, demean our efforts towards UNITY, COMPASSION and INCLUSION, and keep minorities divided. I know we can and will do better for our Central Valley communities in 2012. UNITED WE ARE BETTER!! We must encourage our kids to seek higher education. As we all know from 9/11, hatred kills.

For my supporters, 64,000 strong, yes, I will run for Congress again and you can follow me and contribute via www.ActBlue.com or via my website: www.drgoodwin.info. Remember:register to vote.

Dr. Loraine Goodwin, M.D.,J.D

Physician, Attorney Arbitrator, Hearing Officer, Teacher, Role Model for Kids

Candidate Congress 2012