“Who’s Celebrating the Fourth This Year?
By
Gerry Niskern
Do you remember the first time you held a sparkler on the Fourth of July? That’s all the little kids got to hold, but what a thrill; holding fire for the first time. And it was okay!
I had intended to go down memory lane with some descriptions of past Fourth of July celebration stories. I have a lot and it would have been easy. But something stopped me. I didn’t have the heart.
How could I write about celebrating the Fourth and our country’s promise of “liberty and justice” for all when suddenly the United States Supreme court struck down Roe vs Wade. Over half of our nation’s population, women, no longer had liberty to control their own bodies?
In my lifetime I have watched our country go from strict anti-abortion laws to the “right to choose” and now, back again! I remember as a young wife talking with other women about our relief when the court handed down their decision. Abortion was legal for those who chose. We thought it was settled!
As a young girl I remember reading a book about the courageous efforts of Margaret Sanger, the famous American birth control activist. Even though I was impressed I really didn’t realize what a great service she had done for women. She devoted her life to legalizing birth control and making it universally available for women.
When she began her work, In the early 20th century, family planning and women’s healthcare were not spoken about in public. She was charged with breaking the law by making information available thru the mail to poor women. She was arrested more than once and went on to open a clinic in 1923 that eventually became the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Sanger’s story was just one of many activists who have worked courageously for the inalienable rights of women over the life span of our country’s history. It is going to take many, many activists to work towards bringing the right to choose back to the women in the United States. I have a granddaughter, a great-grandaughter and a great-great too! They will all, in their lifetime, be effected by politicians passing unfair laws effecting not only their right to control their own bodies, but even the use of contraceptives. It seems unthinkable, but it is going to happen.
The young women in this country have a fight on their hands. I think they are up to it!

“Who gets to come?”
By
Gerry Niskern
The argument about immigration in this country has gone on for years. Politicians use the problem on the border to make campaign promises they know they can’t keep. The situation at the border needs to be solved immediately and there is no excuse why our government, with its access to some of the best minds in the world, hasn’t developed a good workable plan.
It’s also been estimated that there are at least l2 million undocumented people living in the United States today. They need a way out of the shadows. Many have been here for years. They have bought homes, sent kids to college and paid taxes. Many benefits that have been deducted from their paychecks will never be realized by them.
The last Amnesty bill was passed in 1986 under President Reagan. At that time about 3 million illegals were allowed to become citizens. The bill expired and we need another one desperately. Everyone working in this country needs to be accounted for.
Immigration has always been a great social, economic and cultural benefit to this country. We have benefited from more innovation, stronger work ethic and overall economic productivity.
People want to come here for a better life for themselves and their families. They are willing to make sacrifices, work long hours and take jobs that U.S. citizens will not do in service and construction. They do not have an easy way of life! The birth rate in this country has fallen dramatically and we need these workers and taxpayers to maintain the social safety net in the country.
As the granddaughter of an immigrant, I feel a kinship with other immigrants in my everyday life. And when I stop to count them, there are a lot! My hair stylist is from the Philippines. A family that helps me with the yard, occasional house clean up, and other chores I can’t do any more are from Mexico. When I needed home care after surgery a couple of years ago, I had various women from Haiti, Brazil and parts unknown. My plumber is from Russia, two of my doctors are from the Middle East and the Cardiologist is Chinese. And the mechanic who keeps my l6 years old CRV running smoothly is Vietnamese.
This country of immigrants needs help. A workable plan to control the border and a plan for Amnesty to help the thousands of workers living in the shadows.

“Inflation 101”
By
Gerry Niskern
“Inflation is the time when those who saved for a rainy day get soaked.” Unknown author
A white haired lady stopped me at the grocery store the other day. “I can remember when toilet paper was fifty cents for a 4 pack!” she declared indignantly as she waved the pack at me.
“Hey,” I replied. “I can remember when we were first married and our weekly food budget was ten dollars. It went up to fifteen when we had our first baby.”
We had that budget because a wise insurance agent gave us a budget book to keep for the first year. “Always go to the store together and write down every single thing you buy, even a pair of shoe laces.” He continued, “Do that for the first year and you will never be asking each other in years to come, where did the money go?” I always chuckle when I remember my young husband discovering the price of Philadelphia Cream Cheese. Needless to say, we didn’t buy any, but he did remark to his parents later that he hadn’t realized the cost of cream cheese when he was eating it at home. In later years he loved to tell the story later of how he would put donuts and bananas in the cart, but when we got home they weren’t there. “She always put them back when I wasn’t looking!”
We didn’t buy the salesman’s insurance, but I was always grateful for his wise consul.
That morning at the market last week was unusually busy and then I remembered. Of course, it was the day the Social Security checks had arrived! Seniors were out in force armed with their coupons and indignation. Being on Social Security makes everyone really good at math. There’s a kinship among those “first of the month” shoppers. “Hey, there’s a sale on Libbys canned green beans, and there is a good price on eggs today too. Did you see bananas are 59 cents a pound?”
There is a quote that goes, “Basic Economics: It’s the most complicated simple subject there is”
The Pandemic created worldwide economic turmoil, insurmountable supply chain issues and inflation followed. Political parties are being blamed by the other side. Economists are saying it is going to take time. Seniors are saying, “ Hurry every chance you get.”
I stopped for gas on the way home. Don’t Ask!