The repugicans
certainly find revenue to fund billions of dollars for oil subsidies
and agricultural corporations but they claim they do not have the money
to stop cuts to…
Nearly
all Americans have experienced that physical sensation of desiring food
at some point in their life, but since they live in the richest nation
on Earth, there is really no reason any American should be hungry for
any length of time. When social scientists talk about people suffering
from hunger, they usually refer to those who are unable to eat
sufficient food to meet basic nutritional needs all human beings require
to support their bodies. It is difficult to imagine that any American
condones depriving another person from having adequate food, especially
when over 70% of them follow
christ who said “feed the poor,” but 40% of
Americans affiliated with christian wingnuts support repugicans
who deny poor Americans adequate food. One can only conclude that even
so-called christians embrace the idea of keeping Americans
hungry.
Last week in Pennsylvania congressman Tom Marino (r) said
he supports the Meals on Wheels program that provides food for seniors
who are shut in, but he supports reducing the nation’s long-term debt
more. At the headquarters for Meals on Wheels, Marino
told senior citizens that “
I can’t stand here and tell you your agency won’t be cut,” because “we do not have the money. The revenue is not there.”
Marino is a liar pure and simple. The repugicans certainly find revenue to
fund billions of dollars for oil subsidies, agricultural corporations,
and religious organizations through faith-based initiatives and
tax-exemptions, but they claim they do not have the money (
$41 million)
to stop cuts to Meals on Wheels for seniors and the disabled who will
have 19 million fewer meals delivered to their homes. The repugicans have
the revenue, but they are loath to spend it on assisting Americans with
basic nutrition because they long to keep the poorest Americans hungry;
especially children.
When the House decided not to fund food
stamps recently, they guaranteed that 22 million children in poverty
would experience that physical sensation of desiring food on a regular
basis. Add to that the sequester cuts to Head Start, and it is evident
that repugicans want to keep children hungry if they claim “
we do not have the money, the revenue is not there.”
These are the same so-called followers of christ who adhere to the
“sanctity of life” mantra, but it is a life of hunger and despair for
millions of the poor that their religion’s namesake commanded his
followers feed.
One libertarian hunger-monger, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul
explained that “
as christians, we have an obligation, I really believe that, and it’s a
deep-held belief. As humans, we do have an obligation to give to give
people food.” Paul goes on to argue
that giving people food puts them in servitude to the government and it
is about as valid an argument for cutting food assistance to the poor
as telling seniors “
we do not have the money.” It is unclear why,
or when, it became repulsive to help the poor and provide them with
food, especially when they would rather have a living wage job, but this
is 2013 and heartlessness is in vogue. As it is, 72% of food stamp
recipients are working Americans and likely the other 28% are children
and senior citizens repugicans felt were “extraneous” when they failed
to fund food stamps in the House’s version of the farm bill. However,
there is a callous disregard for hungry Americans that is rampant across
America and not reserved to Congressional repugicans.
In over 50 major American cities it is
illegal
for good Samaritans to provide food to the poor and indigent officials
admit is a ploy to drive hungry and homeless people out of the cities.
Whatever their reasons, it reveals a blatant disregard for human beings
who are hungry and a growing trend to deprive the poor from getting any
kind of nourishment; even if it is food discarded in dumpsters. In many
cities it is a violation of the law for the homeless to eat food out of
garbage dumpsters, and at a Seattle Starbucks
recently
one of their baristas who supplemented his meager income with food
stamps was terminated for eating out of the dumpster. The employee
grabbed a meal out of the trash after a co-worker threw out a stack of
breakfast sandwiches that were marked past their sell-by date. The
hungry barista said, “
I hadn’t eaten all day, and I was on a seven-hour shift.”
Several days later the manager called the hungry worker into the office
and fired him for enjoying his “dumpster dinner” because Starbucks
regards being hungry and eating out of the trash stealing from the
company.
It is a sad commentary that in the richest nation on Earth there are
nearly
47 million Americans, most of them with low-paying part-time jobs and
children, who are dependent on food assistance to keep from going
hungry. It is particularly offensive when between 73-76% of Americans
self-identify as christians and likely the percentage is much higher for repugicans in Congress. The repugicans claim the nation cannot afford to
feed hungry Americans, and it is a poor excuse when they find billions
for subsidies to the oil, agriculture, and religion industry.
There
are millions of parents who are mortified when schools are in recess or
on weekends because those free and reduced-priced lunches may be the
only nutritious meal children get each day, but they are becoming
scarcer with sequester cuts for Head Start and repugican cabal
cuts
to food stamps. The problem of mass hunger in the richest nation on
Earth is not for lack of revenue or resources, it is a lack compassion
for hungry Americans the hunger mongers know affects children and
senior citizens. There is a saying that “a nation is judged on the basis
of how it treats its most vulnerable citizens,” and America should be
judged as cold-hearted the way it treats its hungriest citizens.
(Photo: Macey J. Foronda/Buzzfeed)
There’s a really dirty war going on behind the scenes between the Postal
Service and the right-wing. In the land of despicable repugican
political practices I don’t think I find anything more despicable than
what the repugican cabal is already doing to the nation’s postal employees. Taking
full advantage of an errant legislative move nearly 7 years ago before
things collapsed completely, Congress brought us the Postal
Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 (PAEA) by unidentifiable
voice vote. That precipitated the current crisis. The repugican that will run against Cory Booker in October is Steve Lonegan, an avid supporter of tea party delusions. While Booker is considered a favorite by Democrats, those on the lunatic fringe can find a friend in Lonegan. Continuing the theme of anti-Obama rhetoric, Lonegan spoke to a group of supporters last year, attacking President Obama over his health care reform and even took shots at repugican governor Chris Christie for not being hard enough on the program. Speaking to the crowd, Lonegan stated that he didn't think the government had any part to play in providing health care, even to those who are the least fortunate. He went as far as to say he didn't wish people to get cancer, but if they did, that was their problem and not his.
You've
probably heard of "Stockholm Syndrome," in which a hostage begins to
sympathize with his or her captor, such as in stories about the Patty
Hearst case. But where did the syndrome get its name? From a case of
bank robbery in Sweden a year before Hearst was kidnapped.
