The Republican Party: Taking Food Away from the Poor

The Republican Party continues attacking the most needy Americans

PoliticsJune 2011 • Views: 28,315

Gov. Scott’s veto of Farm Share hurts state’s most vulnerable.

With a stroke of his pen on May 26, Gov. Rick Scott eliminated the annual distribution of $26 million worth of fresh produce and food products to needy residents throughout Florida. Gov. Scott vetoed the Florida Legislature’s recent appropriation for Farm Share and its statewide network of non-profit distribution affiliates, who deliver food at no charge to all recipients.

To save $750,000, Gov. Scott killed a $26-million-a-year, life-sustaining program, effective July 1.

Established in 1991, Farm Share is Florida’s leader in the recovery, sorting, packing and delivery of nutritious food for people and families in need. Donated fresh produce, combined with USDA commodities, is given away from packing houses located near Homestead, in the heart of Miami-Dade County’s farming area, and at Quincy, in north Florida’s Panhandle.

In the past 12 months, Farm Share distributed 15.2 million pounds of food —10 million pounds of produce and juice, and 5.2 million pounds of USDA frozen, canned and dry goods. The total value: $26 million given away free to 732,629 poor, needy Florida children, women and men.

Rick Scott has already done incredible damage to the state’s educational system, and now he’s setting his sights on taking food away from needy children.

And this isn’t the only example. Richard Metzger pointed out this week that the GOP is also proposing to take away food assistance programs for the poor on the federal level.

There is currently a record number of Americans—14%—relying on federal food stamp assistance programs and that number is probably not going to shrink, but grow, in the near term, as more and more desperate Americans exhaust their unemployment benefit extensions. The number of recipients has risen 11% since last year and over 61% since 2007. At present there are an incredible 45 million people (21 million families) who depend on this assistance to put food in their bellies. So that they and their children do not go to bed hungry. (My parents run a food kitchen for the poor out of their church basement in West Virginia, the stories I’ve heard are sad and pitiful.)

If the evil Republicans get their way, these poor families, school-age children, veterans of foreign wars and disabled people can just… starve… Via ABC News:

The Republicans’ 2012 budget plan proposes changing SNAP [“Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program”] from an entitlement to a block-grant program that would be tailored for each individual state, much like their proposal for Medicaid. States would no longer receive open-ended subsidies and the aid would be contingent on work or job training. It would also limit funding for the program.

“Limit funding”? In certain states (see New Mexico, Florida, Michigan) they’d just eliminate it entirely.

Why should poor people think they have some kind of a right to eat?

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105 comments

The Left Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:11:21am

Fiscal responsibility: code words for fucking the poor. More Americans are on food stamps than ever before and something like 1 in 4 children rely on them and similar programs-- but by all means, let us demonstrate how terribly serious we are by cutting these programs.

Republicans make me sick.

abolitionist Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:13:28am

Has anyone run the return-on-investment numbers for vitamins and other nutrition supplements programs?

AntonSirius Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:13:41am

Gov. Scott is like a one-man rebuttal to the purists on the left who think it's a good idea to tear their party down and let the GOP run amok while they rebuild their idealized Democratic Party of super-awesome liberalness.

Dark_Falcon Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:14:10am

"The Republicans’ 2012 budget plan proposes changing SNAP [“Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program”] from an entitlement to a block-grant program that would be tailored for each individual state, much like their proposal for Medicaid. States would no longer receive open-ended subsidies and the aid would be contingent on work or job training. It would also limit funding for the program."

I don't see anything wrong with this. Block grants are cheaper by virtue of eliminating duplicate bureaucracies and they don't nannymind the states. I'm for it.

Charles Johnson Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:15:39am

re: #4 Dark_Falcon

"The Republicans’ 2012 budget plan proposes changing SNAP [“Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program”] from an entitlement to a block-grant program that would be tailored for each individual state, much like their proposal for Medicaid. States would no longer receive open-ended subsidies and the aid would be contingent on work or job training. It would also limit funding for the program."

I don't see anything wrong with this. Block grants are cheaper by virtue of eliminating duplicate bureaucracies and they don't nannymind the states. I'm for it.

Of course you are. So far you haven't blinked at a single GOP program that hurts poor people.

webevintage Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:16:53am

States would no longer receive open-ended subsidies and the aid would be contingent on work or job training.

well i would hope so.
babies and toddlers are such fucking slacker douchebags...always expecting handouts...always asking for more "juice"....when will they learn to go pick their own damn fresh fruit?
/

Varek Raith Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:17:42am

Sorry for the early OT;
Lawrence Eagleburger, Crises Diplomat, Dies at 80

Dark_Falcon Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:18:51am

re: #5 Charles

Of course you are. So far you haven't blinked at a single GOP program that hurts poor people.

Block grants have worked as a program option, Charles. Newt Gingrich (who is still an asshole, to be clear) proved their cost reducing ability in the 1990's and the logic is still sound. This is the Republican Party running a play they've run successfully before, to the nation's betterment (block grants and welfare reform helped reduce waste and pave the way for a pair of balanced budgets).

Charles Johnson Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:20:15am

re: #8 Dark_Falcon

Block grants have worked as a program option, Charles. Newt Gingrich (who is still an asshole, to be clear) proved their cost reducing ability in the 1990's and the logic is still sound. This is the Republican Party running a play they've run successfully before, to the nation's betterment (block grants and welfare reform helped reduce waste and pave the way for a pair of balanced budgets).

What part of "limiting funding" is unclear? They are very deliberately undercutting these programs, and it's intellectually dishonest to ignore it.

webevintage Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:20:32am

Sorry if I sound angry, but BBC America is now running a week behind Doctor Who in the UK which means I must avoid the internet for the next week if I don't want to find out who River Song really is.
This makes me bitter and I've decided to take it out on conservatives and right wing assholes.
(not calling DF an asshole)

jaunte Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:20:42am

1. work hard to increase misery
2. blame the sitting President

Varek Raith Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:21:09am

re: #10 webevintage

Sorry if I sound angry, but BBC America is now running a week behind Doctor Who in the UK which means I must avoid the internet for the next week if I don't want to find out who River Song really is.
This makes me bitter and I've decided to take it out on conservatives and right wing assholes.
(not calling DF an asshole)

River Song is PEOPLE!
/

Charles Johnson Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:21:24am

Of course, the GOP is also proposing to do away with child labor laws. So at least those poor 5-year olds will have some way to make enough money to buy a crust of bread or two.

Disgusting.

Dark_Falcon Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:21:55am

re: #10 webevintage

Sorry if I sound angry, but BBC America is now running a week behind Doctor Who in the UK which means I must avoid the internet for the next week if I don't want to find out who River Song really is.
This makes me bitter and I've decided to take it out on conservatives and right wing assholes.
(not calling DF an asshole)

Understood.

webevintage Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:24:18am

re: #13 Charles

Of course, the GOP is also proposing to do away with child labor laws. So at least those poor 5-year olds will have some way to make enough money to buy a crust of bread or two.

well now the little moochers can pull themselves up by those mythic bootstraps and stop getting handouts based on the sweat of some other man's brow.
/

jaunte Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:24:53am

What a waste.

Farm Share partners with the Florida Department of Corrections, whose inmates learn job skills working at the packing houses at no cost to taxpayers. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services also is a strong supporter — farmers not only avoid disposal fees they would pay to landfill their surplus produce, but they get an IRS credit of up to 200 percent of the value of that produce when they donate it to Farm Share instead of throwing it away.

abolitionist Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:24:54am

re: #13 Charles

Of course, the GOP is also proposing to do away with child labor laws. So at least those poor 5-year olds will have some way to make enough money to buy a crust of bread or two.

Disgusting.

I did a web search on GOP + "child labor"
Yikes.

Dark_Falcon Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:24:54am

re: #9 Charles

What part of "limiting funding" is unclear? They are very deliberately undercutting these programs, and it's intellectually dishonest to ignore it.

Funding is being limited as part of a general effort to reduce the deficit. Almost all non-national security related programs are going to take a hit. Block grants are a tool used to minimize that hit to the actual recipients by cutting bureaucratic jobs instead.

Charles Johnson Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:27:44am

re: #18 Dark_Falcon

Funding is being limited as part of a general effort to reduce the deficit. Almost all non-national security related programs are going to take a hit. Block grants are a tool used to minimize that hit to the actual recipients by cutting bureaucratic jobs instead.

And somehow all these "efforts to reduce the deficit" seem to be directed at the poorest and most disenfranchised segments of society. Meanwhile, the largest corporations and the wealthiest Americans are enjoying enormous profits and paying almost no taxes.

Must be a coincidence. I'm sure they'll get around to noticing the disparity eventually, right?

jaunte Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:28:00am

Next up, a law to prevent the poor from scavenging in landfills.

The Left Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:30:30am

re: #19 Charles

And somehow all these "efforts to reduce the deficit" seem to be directed at the poorest and most disenfranchised segments of society. Meanwhile, the largest corporations and the wealthiest Americans are enjoying enormous profits and paying almost no taxes.

Must be a coincidence. I'm sure they'll get around to noticing the disparity eventually, right?

Trickle down!

Varek Raith Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:31:11am

re: #21 iceweasel

Trickle down!

Image: reaganomics-pic.jpg

webevintage Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:31:30am

re: #20 jaunte

Next up, a law to prevent the poor from scavenging in landfills.

Nononono, that would be ok, because they would be taking responsibility for themselves and not taking from the producers of this world.
/

allegro Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:32:00am

Isn't there a law against "depraved indifference"? Maybe it's the indifference part of this action that makes it somehow acceptable since it's a depraved act and no accident whatsoever, yet without question it is depraved. I keep thinking there is no lower these evil assholes can go but then they prove me mistaken.

The Left Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:32:45am

re: #22 Varek Raith

Image: reaganomics-pic.jpg

I'm saving that. :)

The Left Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:35:14am

re: #11 jaunte

1. work hard to increase misery
2. blame the sitting President

Step 3: run on the economy, take credit for stimulus benefits that you voted against.

recusancy Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:36:31am

To me the veil was truly lifted when they went after SCHIP and Graeme Frost. This is just the continuation.

ProGunLiberal Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:38:13am

re: #22 Varek Raith

Somethings's trickling down alright.

To DF: If you want this to continue, and hunger and poverty increase, there will be so massive a backlash, you will wish that the policies you hate would have been enacted.

Of course, I don't want it to get that far.

laZardo Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:39:36am

re: #10 webevintage

This makes me bitter and I've decided to take it out on conservatives and right wing assholes.

Not to worry, I'll do all the taking out for you.

Soon as I wake up. It's 1:40 AM and I gotta hit the hay. :P

Dark_Falcon Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:40:46am

I have to get going but let me say in departing that while I do support the Congressional budget action, i do not support Gov. Scott's line-item veto. It strikes me as a false savings that will end up costing the state of Florida more than it saves.

BBL

SidewaysQuark Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:41:26am

I've never been amenable to the idea of "free handouts", but over the years I've come to accept that there's a certain level of basic necessity (i.e. food, basic shelter, clean plumbing and core/emergency health care) that we simply have to supply to those in need, lest we have a major humanitarian crisis on our hands.

I'm not talking about giving free money out, I'm talking about basic material sustenance and essential services. It's not like these people are "living large".

Kronocide Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:42:21am

I have to go and prep for cooking for famfrenz:

Baked penne with butternut squash
spinach salad with strawberry, Maui onion, mac nuts
fresh fruit
fine wine
PBR

Alexzander Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:42:44am

re: #20 jaunte

Next up, a law to prevent the poor from scavenging in landfills.

3 Face Charges For Illegally Feeding Homeless

Mass Feeding At Lake Eola Leads To Arrests

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Jonathan McHenry, Benjamin Markeson and Jessica Cross were arrested Wednesday night at Lake Eola during a mass feeding for the homeless.
The three are part of the group Food Not Bombs, which continues to hold regular feedings for the homeless despite a city ordinance that only allows two mass feedings per year.
McHenry, Markeson and Cross face charges of illegally feeding the homeless.

Jeff In Ohio Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:42:54am

Eliminating subsidies is the same as raising taxes. So why is the GOP want to raise taxes on poor people?

recusancy Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:43:17am

Since its inception, Farm Share has distributed more than 283 million pounds of food valued at more than $493 million, with an administrative overhead of only 1.6 percent.

Man, government is so inefficient. //

laZardo Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:44:30am

Fuck conservatives and all they stand for, for thinking that something like this is good for the country.

And double-fuck anyone who claims this sort of thing isn't really conservatism in action.

With a rusty rake.

Good night all.

Varek Raith Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:45:48am

Last Ten Years Of Wage Gains Lower Than During The Great Depression

Indiana Will Enforce Illegal Law To Defund Planned Parenthood, May Lose All Medicaid Funds

House GOP Cuts To Nutrition Assistance Equal To One Week Of Bush Tax Cuts For Millionaires

Gov. Christie Thinks A Family Making $6,000 A Year Is Too Rich To Qualify For Medicaid

Ohio Senate Republicans Attempt To Gut State Minimum Wage Law

During The Great Recession, 12 Major Corporations Made $173 Billion In Profits And Had A Negative Income Tax Rate

Hmm, dost thou detect a pattern???

Alexzander Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:45:52am

"...the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; those who are in the shadows of life; the sick, the needy and the handicapped. " ~ Last Speech of Hubert H. Humphrey

recusancy Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:46:18am

re: #31 SidewaysQuark

I've never been amenable to the idea of "free handouts", but over the years I've come to accept that there's a certain level of basic necessity (i.e. food, basic shelter, clean plumbing and core/emergency health care) that we simply have to supply to those in need, lest we have a major humanitarian crisis on our hands.

I'm not talking about giving free money out, I'm talking about basic material sustenance and essential services. It's not like these people are "living large".

Yup. It's a matter of reality and pragmatism over idealism. That's why I'm a Democrat.

engineer cat Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:46:42am

this here rick scott walker bush feller is beginning to tick me off

Alexzander Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:46:55am

re: #37 Varek Raith

Hmm, dost thou detect a pattern???

Corporatism, "capitalism" and plutocracy?

engineer cat Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:47:34am

re: #3 AntonSirius

Gov. Scott is like a one-man rebuttal to the purists on the left who think it's a good idea to tear their party down and let the GOP run amok while they rebuild their idealized Democratic Party of super-awesome liberalness.

qft

SidewaysQuark Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:53:15am

re: #41 Alexzander

Corporatism, "capitalism" and plutocracy?

I don't see these things as inherent "evils" - they just need to be held on a leash.

I think, economic politics in a nutshell comes down to:

Unrestrained capitalism isn't fair, and unrestrained socialism doesn't work.

It's all about striking the most functional balance between these extremes.

recusancy Sat, Jun 4, 2011 10:58:28am

re: #43 SidewaysQuark

Unrestrained capitalism isn't fair, and unrestrained socialism doesn't work.

It's all about striking the most functional balance between these extremes.

Where do you think we are on that spectrum right now?

HappyWarrior Sat, Jun 4, 2011 11:02:02am

Just when you think Scott couldn't be any more of a dick, he does this. The man is a cruel joke. It's fine and dandy for him to protect the interests of the very wealthy but screw the poor and disabled seems to be his mantra. I hope Floridians realize that you shouldn't vote for crooks like this.

Iwouldprefernotto Sat, Jun 4, 2011 11:03:05am

I think only Ayn Rand would agree with this.

engineer cat Sat, Jun 4, 2011 11:03:14am

re: #20 jaunte

Next up, a law to prevent the poor from scavenging in landfills.

and who put all that soshalism in leviticus, anyway???

'widows and orphans' mah aunt fanny

Kronocide Sat, Jun 4, 2011 11:04:00am

re: #44 recusancy

Where do you think we are on that spectrum right now?

If it was a circular gauge with a needle it would be on the capitalist side. Capitalism needs guides and regulation to work for the most. Too much freedom and it makes a mess of things.

recusancy Sat, Jun 4, 2011 11:04:04am

re: #46 Iwouldprefernotto

I think only Ayn Rand would agree with this.

Only her fictitious characters would.

Killgore Trout Sat, Jun 4, 2011 11:04:34am

Pam Geller goes Truther on Bosnian genocide
Distorting History

Why aren't the Bosnian Muslims held to the same standard as the Serb Christians? Why is this fabricated narrative protected so fiercely? The left is spitting bullets every time I post on Bosnia. They are so vested in establishing a militant Islamic state in the heart of Europe. Why?

The American people were fed an endless supply of distortions and deceptions in order to grease Clinton's war. It began with a lie. How long will these human rights activists and international law clowns ignore the Serbian people and their stories? Refuting the Bosnian Lies.

The international community jumped to manufacture a "genocide" of a couple of hundred people, when real genocides like the millions of Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians by the Muslims are systematically ignored, demied. Enough. When does the truth get a hearing?

JeffM70 Sat, Jun 4, 2011 11:06:13am

re: #6 webevintage

Thank you for saying what nobody else will. Baby can crawl, baby can carry something on its back. Baby can toddle then he can toddle his diapered ass down to McD's to get an application.

jaunte Sat, Jun 4, 2011 11:06:59am

re: #50 Killgore Trout

Enough demial!

Varek Raith Sat, Jun 4, 2011 11:07:24am

re: #50 Killgore Trout

Pam Geller goes Truther on Bosnian genocide
Distorting History

Access Demied.

Kronocide Sat, Jun 4, 2011 11:07:41am

re: #38 Alexzander

"...the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; those who are in the shadows of life; the sick, the needy and the handicapped. " ~ Last Speech of Hubert H. Humphrey

That's a really good quote. It sounds crazy progressive if you think government should just build roads and armies and then churches will take care of all the social issues. I think that sentiment is still prevalent among conservatives. It made sense in the 1700's.

But my wife is giving me the You In The Trouble look so I have to go.

jaunte Sat, Jun 4, 2011 11:07:59am

re: #53 Varek Raith

Demial is not just a length of road in England.

engineer cat Sat, Jun 4, 2011 11:09:48am

re: #46 Iwouldprefernotto

I think only Ayn Rand would agree with this.

Republican Party Turns To Fictional Character Constituency

actual people and reality deemed insufficiently loyal to conservative vision of society

HappyWarrior Sat, Jun 4, 2011 11:10:22am

re: #50 Killgore Trout

Pam Geller goes Truther on Bosnian genocide
Distorting History

She's no different than a Holocaust denier and her assertion about what the Turks did to the Armenians and others is blatantly dishonest and she fucking knows it.

Renaissance_Man Sat, Jun 4, 2011 11:12:54am

re: #56 engineer dog

Republican Party Turns To Fictional Character Constituency

actual people and reality deemed insufficiently loyal to conservative vision of society

Unfortunately, the US media has proven capable of turning actual people into fictional characters to vote.

ProGunLiberal Sat, Jun 4, 2011 11:15:36am

re: #50 Killgore Trout

re: #57 HappyWarrior

She just proved herself a dumbass for the millionth time. The Turkish-Hypernationalism that hijacked the Ottoman Empire at its end didn't have anything to do with religion. The Young Turks killed Armenian Muslims too.

Again, their actions were the precursor to the Holocaust.

ProGunLiberal Sat, Jun 4, 2011 11:27:27am

re: #59 ProLifeLiberal

And, of course, there is what I call the "Albanian Genocide." Between 1912-1913, Serbia attempted to take over Albania, along with Greece. Greece occupied the southern third, while Serbia occupied the rest.

In these two years, in the Serbia-Occupied part of Albania, between 120,000-250,000 Albanians were killed. This, at the time, was somewhere between 12-40% of all Albanians on the planet.

Also, I'm beginning to learn that there were massive atrocities against the Muslims in the Balkans overall at this time.

bratwurst Sat, Jun 4, 2011 11:29:01am

re: #50 Killgore Trout

Pam Geller goes Truther on Bosnian genocide
Distorting History

I have been fortunate enough to spend some time in Bosnia, and I can assure anyone reading this that the concept of a militant strain of Islam having significant sway among Bosniaks is absolutely laughable. As ever, Pam is strictly fanning the flames of totally irrational Islamophobia.

The Left Sat, Jun 4, 2011 11:31:41am

re: #49 recusancy

Only her fictitious characters would.

Wow. That's amazing. So Ayn Rand herself was a fictional character, it seems...

McSpiff Sat, Jun 4, 2011 11:40:22am

re: #18 Dark_Falcon

Funding is being limited as part of a general effort to reduce the deficit. Almost all non-national security related programs are going to take a hit. Block grants are a tool used to minimize that hit to the actual recipients by cutting bureaucratic jobs instead.

Which is why the budget will never, ever be balanced under the GOP. Fuck the poor over as much you want, current military and security funding is simply too high for the present economy. Thems the breaks.

SidewaysQuark Sat, Jun 4, 2011 11:41:51am

re: #44 recusancy

Where do you think we are on that spectrum right now?

I think we're seeing the worst of both, in a way, where a plutocracy is using the long arm of government to curry economic favors.

nines09 Sat, Jun 4, 2011 11:42:02am

How else will we get people to work for 4 bucks and hour and when they get hurt just crawl off and die? Scott is a sleezebag of epic proportions. Hey. Florida. Happy now? Rush likes it. Resident. Now he can sleep better, without oxy. Turds.

ProGunLiberal Sat, Jun 4, 2011 11:44:12am

Oh, I thought of a way to tick off Pam. Ask her this question:

Which European country was the only one to have an increase in Jewish Population during the Holocaust?

SidewaysQuark Sat, Jun 4, 2011 11:46:50am

re: #49 recusancy

Only her fictitious characters would.

Only in a fictitious Ayn Rand universe would the "best of the best" leave society to create Galt's Gulch. A real attempt at such a 'utopia' would be formed by grossly underqualified participants with a high sense of unwarranted self-importance, who would play the 'victim-card' as soon as crucial services were cut off from outside.

Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton Sat, Jun 4, 2011 11:49:52am

Hey, folks! Testing a new toy - Asus Slate. I wanted specifically a Windows tablet so as to use it for work as well for fun, and this is a truly great model that with 4 gigs of RAM and an SSD drive runs extremely fast. Recommended.

Digital Display Sat, Jun 4, 2011 11:51:51am

re: #66 ProLifeLiberal

Oh, I thought of a way to tick off Pam. Ask her this question:

Which European country was the only one to have an increase in Jewish Population during the Holocaust?

I'm almost afraid to know the answer.. Hope you are having a great summer break..

HappyWarrior Sat, Jun 4, 2011 11:52:28am

re: #66 ProLifeLiberal

Oh, I thought of a way to tick off Pam. Ask her this question:

Which European country was the only one to have an increase in Jewish Population during the Holocaust?

I'm honestly stumped. I'm guessing it has something to do with Islam though of course so I am going to take the odd guess and say Albania.

HappyWarrior Sat, Jun 4, 2011 11:53:30am

re: #70 HappyWarrior

I'm honestly stumped. I'm guessing it has something to do with Islam though of course so I am going to take the odd guess and say Albania.

or Turkey, though I thought Turkey was considered Asia.

(I Stand By What I Said Whatever It Was) Sat, Jun 4, 2011 11:55:26am

re: #71 HappyWarrior

or Turkey, though I thought Turkey was considered Asia.

You would be right: Turkey. And it's both (Asian and European).

Some reading material:

[Link: www.highbeam.com...]
[Link: www.turkofamerica.com...]
[Link: www.onuroymen.com...]
[Link: www.gslis.utexas.edu...]

Targetpractice Sat, Jun 4, 2011 11:57:06am

re: #63 McSpiff

Which is why the budget will never, ever be balanced under the GOP. Fuck the poor over as much you want, current military and security funding is simply too high for the present economy. Thems the breaks.

Yep. Look at the proposed cuts, then remember that Congress just passed a DoD spending bill clocking in at $690 billion. Not included in that figure: The eventual cost of the Libyan boondoggle. Included in it? Millions and millions of dollars in pork projects for Republicans who just spent the last five years railing on about earmarks.

(I Stand By What I Said Whatever It Was) Sat, Jun 4, 2011 11:57:31am

re: #70 HappyWarrior

I'm honestly stumped. I'm guessing it has something to do with Islam though of course so I am going to take the odd guess and say Albania.

Couldn't have been Albania, as it was pretty much under Axis rule in WWII.

Summer Seale Sat, Jun 4, 2011 11:57:33am

National Republican Strategy Meeting:

Speaker: "Gentlemen, since the last few years, we have had a national disaster on our hands. We have extremely high unemployment, house foreclosures have increased at a phenomenal rate, and we are amassing an amazing amount of additional poor people."

Representative 1: "Poor people suck."

Speaker: "It's agreed then: We shall eliminate poor people and this will be our plan to fix the economy so that only prosperous people shall survive."

All: "Aye!"

Speaker: "The Ayes have it. The motion is carried. Let's adjourn for a lunch paid for by some friends in corporations."

wrenchwench Sat, Jun 4, 2011 11:57:51am

I started writing this comment an hour ago, but got distracted (twice, darn customers). Maybe it's still relevant.

I agree with Richard Metzger that this [the topic of the post at the top] is class warfare, and I agree with Jaunte that it is a political strategy. I guess I agree more with Jaunte, because I think Richard and some of his commenters got into the violent fantasies too early. I like Richard, and I like the passion, but it is not time for violence.

Big money strategists are working to defeat Obama, without regard to whom they hurt. The pushback should be to (I've never said this before*) elect Democrats. At this point that means enfranchising the people the Republicans are working to disenfranchise. If you need a photo ID to vote, make sure everybody has one. If they have the money to have ads everywhere, we recruit the volunteers to knock on every door. That's my non-violent fantasy.

_{*Full disclosure: At one time in my life the reason I wouldn't have said that was because Democrats were too conservative and not differentiated from the Republicans.}

Targetpractice Sat, Jun 4, 2011 12:01:08pm

re: #75 Summer

National Republican Strategy Meeting:

Speaker: "Gentlemen, since the last few years, we have had a national disaster on our hands. We have extremely high unemployment, house foreclosures have increased at a phenomenal rate, and we are amassing an amazing amount of additional poor people."

Representative 1: "Poor people suck."

Speaker: "It's agreed then: We shall eliminate poor people and this will be our plan to fix the economy so that only prosperous people shall survive."

All: "Aye!"

Speaker: "The Ayes have it. The motion is carried. Let's adjourn for a lunch paid for by some friends in corporations."

Always thought Mel Brooks showed the best representation of the modern GOP in History of the World, Part 1:

Youtube Video

Tiny Alien Kitties are Watching You Sat, Jun 4, 2011 12:05:32pm

Hey, I didn't vote for him...

Actually the Wingnuts are getting exactly what they voted for, hell they can't even reign him in enough to make it possible for any other Republicans to win in this state in 2012.

I hope he just goes on alienating everyone but the few hardcore faithful clear thru the next elections, I really do. The next Governor can fix Florida (mostly), it is a bit more difficult to fix the entire country, especially if the Wingnuts were to get free reign to write new legislation at this point. :(

HappyWarrior Sat, Jun 4, 2011 12:07:05pm

re: #74 000G

Couldn't have been Albania, as it was pretty much under Axis rule in WWII.

Yeah I knew that sounded wrong. Turkey though, that's interesting.

(I Stand By What I Said Whatever It Was) Sat, Jun 4, 2011 12:13:05pm

re: #79 HappyWarrior

Yeah I knew that sounded wrong. Turkey though, that's interesting.

See also here:

A new era of Turkish assistance to Jewish refugees began in the early 1930's, when Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his Minister of Education, Hasan Ali Yücel, took advantage of Hitler's dismissal of Jewish educators and scientists to bring hundreds of them to Turkey, where they contributed significantly to the development of Turkish universities and scientific establishments as well as to the fine arts and music before and during World War II.

Shiplord Kirel Sat, Jun 4, 2011 12:13:41pm

(Boiling point)

Wake up, Randian assholes.

It is not entirely fuzzy headed altruism that drives these programs.

Today, this society has the benefit of millions of trained and educated people who would be illiterate if libertarian extremists and their predecessors had prevailed in the education funding debate. There are doctors, lawyers, and distinguished scientists whose early brain development would have been stunted without publicly funded food "giveways." You wonder why academics hate your guts? Many of them KNOW they would have starved as children if your ilk had gotten its way.
Those who were privileged as children know their best students wouldn't have made it to the fifth grade, let alone college, without these "giveways, this "theft" from pockets of "hard-working" folk like you morons.

Communists did not overthrow the Russian Empire and the Chinese Republic because the peasants wanted a free ride or thought goatees were cool. The peasants joined the Reds because they could see people starving in the streets, good, smart people, while inbred fatcats waltzed away the wealth that was their alleged birthright.
I hear racists bitch about the fat minority women who buy mountains of groceries with WIC cards at the local store. Good, maybe they are too fat and their kids are too busy doing homework to run me through with a pitchfork when they see me in my Rolls-Royce. I pay a LOT in taxes, goddammit, more than most Randian fantasists, and I would rather be dead than see this bill reduced at the expense of letting children grow up hungry and stunted, fodder for crazed revolutionaries.

"It can't happen here." That's because we didn't let it happen. A lot of people seem hellbent on changing that.

ProGunLiberal Sat, Jun 4, 2011 12:14:54pm

re: #69 HoosierHoops

re: #74 000G

It was actually Albania by some miracle. The number of Jews wasn't large to begin with, but for some reason, even under Axis rule, they had a gain.

From Wiki:

Albania is reputed to have hidden and saved not only all Albanian Jews, but also several hundred Jewish refugees from other countries, including Serbia, Greece, and Austria, although there are those who disagree with this.[21] In 1997, Albanian Muslim Shyqyri Myrto was honored for rescuing Jews, with the Anti-Defamation League's Courage to Care Award presented to his son, Arian Myrto.[22] In 2006, a plaque honoring the compassion and courage of Albania during the Holocaust was dedicated in Holocaust Memorial Park in Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, New York, with the Albanian ambassador to the United Nations in attendance:

In 1943, the Nazis asked Albanian authorities for a list of the country's Jews. They refused to comply. "Jews were then taken from the cities and hidden in the countryside," Goldfarb explained. "Non-Jewish Albanians would steal identity cards from police stations [for Jews to use]. The underground resistance even warned that anyone who turned in a Jew would be executed." ... "There were actually more Jews in the country after the war than before—thanks to the Albanian traditions of religious tolerance and hospitality."[23]

(I Stand By What I Said Whatever It Was) Sat, Jun 4, 2011 12:16:03pm

re: #79 HappyWarrior

Yeah I knew that sounded wrong. Turkey though, that's interesting.

See also the examples of Selahattin Ülkümen, Necdet Kent, Namık Kemal Yolga and Behiç Erkin.

(I Stand By What I Said Whatever It Was) Sat, Jun 4, 2011 12:17:40pm

re: #82 ProLifeLiberal

re: #74 000G

It was actually Albania by some miracle. The number of Jews wasn't large to begin with, but for some reason, even under Axis rule, they had a gain.

From Wiki:

Huh, that's interesting. Wasn't aware of that. Would be interesting to compare data between Turkey and Albania in this respect.

HappyWarrior Sat, Jun 4, 2011 12:25:21pm

re: #83 000G

See also the examples of Selahattin Ülkümen, Necdet Kent, Namık Kemal Yolga and Behiç Erkin.

Cool, thanks. Love reading stories like this of heroes who risked everything to save people during the war.

ProGunLiberal Sat, Jun 4, 2011 12:43:04pm

re: #85 HappyWarrior

Of course, there's the corollary. Us and the UK did things that were not exactly helpful.

Turkey and Albania deserve praise, and us (to a point) deserve shame on this matter.

HappyWarrior Sat, Jun 4, 2011 12:54:24pm

re: #86 ProLifeLiberal

Of course, there's the corollary. Us and the UK did things that were not exactly helpful.

Turkey and Albania deserve praise, and us (to a point) deserve shame on this matter.

You mean like FDR refusing the admittance of Jewish refugees? That's actually one of the reasons I am not a huge FDR fan. I like him mostly overall but he's not my favorite for that and similar reasons.

ProGunLiberal Sat, Jun 4, 2011 12:56:50pm

re: #87 HappyWarrior

Same here, but Britain were twits too on this. Denmark and Sweden both deserve praise as well.

jaunte Sat, Jun 4, 2011 12:58:46pm

re: #37 Varek Raith

During The Great Recession, 12 Major Corporations Made $173 Billion In Profits And Had A Negative Income Tax Rate

From the Citizens for Tax Justice report (pdf):

"Citizens for Tax Justice is releasing a preview of its forthcoming major study of Fortune 500 companies and the taxes they paid — or failed to pay — over the 2008-10 period. Today’s release details the pretax U.S. profits, federal taxes paid and effective tax rates of (in alphabetical order):
American Electric Power
Boeing
Dupont
Exxon Mobil
FedEx
General Electric
Honeywell International
IBM
United Technologies
Verizon Communications
Wells Fargo
Yahoo
CTJ’s full corporate report is scheduled for release this summer.
....snip.....
Not a single one of the companies paid anything close to the 35 percent statutory tax rate. In fact, the “highest tax” company on our list, Exxon Mobil, paid an effective three-year tax rate of only 14.2 percent. That’s 60 percent below the 35 percent rate that companies are supposed to pay. And over the past two years, Exxon Mobil’s net tax on its $9.9 billion in U.S. pretax profits was
a minuscule $39 million, an effective tax rate of only 0.4 percent Had these 12 companies paid the full 35 percent corporate tax, their federal income taxes over the three years would have totaled $59.9 billion. Instead, they enjoyed so many tax subsidies that they paid $62.4 billion less than that. If just these 12 companies had paid at a 35 percent tax rate over the past three years, total federal revenues from corporate taxes would have been 12 percent higher than they actually were.
....snip.....
...Citizens for Tax Justice and many others take the position that at a time when our country faces huge long-term deficit problems, corporate tax reform should be significantly revenue-positive, as it was under President Ronald Reagan in 1986. Since then, the corporate tax code has once again become overburdened with loopholes, shelters and special tax breaks.
Citizens for Tax Justice and 250 organizations from all 50 states with constituencies across America have signed a letter to Congress stating that “most, if not all, of the revenue saved from eliminating corporate tax subsidies should go towards deficit reduction and towards creating the healthy, educated workforce and sound infrastructure that will make our nation more competitive.”

Spocomptonite Sat, Jun 4, 2011 1:02:14pm

re: #18 Dark_Falcon

Funding is being limited as part of a general effort to reduce the deficit. Almost all non-national security related programs are going to take a hit. Block grants are a tool used to minimize that hit to the actual recipients by cutting bureaucratic jobs instead.

Okay dude, really? "reduce the deficit" through food assistance slashing? First off, this is a miniscule part of federal spending. $750,000 to Florida's state government is like 3 high-up people's salary. It's like a .001% tax hike. But no, it's daily food to THOUSANDS of people.

Second, this promises to have longer-term ramifications, both financial and social, that completely negate any short-term savings and result in a net-negative impact.
Poor children don't have access to good nutrition? Then their school performance will plummet. Instead of being able to escape poverty and move around the socio-economic ladder as their abilities and desires allow them like I thought was the supposed grand American Dream, they'll be trapped there by virtue of something as idiotic as malnutrition in this rich country causing them to miss out on opportunities they might otherwise have been able to pursue. Poverty more or less (I'm very very oversimplifying the complex chain of causes here) breed crime and other detrimental impacts to society as a whole; it's better to help people escape it as much as possible instead of cutting things that only makes it harder to escape.

You think block grants are great? Fine, but don't tie it in with cuts to programs like this and say its a good idea simply by virtue of it being block grants. If we should do spending cuts (I personally think we should raise taxes being as they are lower for all brackets than they have been for 20-90 years), they should start at the top, not slash things for people at the bottom that, by definition, already don't have enough to make it on their own. The comparative marginal cost-benefit analysis should make this patently obvious financially, not to mention socially.

On the plus side, over the long term this could solve our illegal immigration problem. I mean, if we make things as bad for poor people here as they are in Mexico, Central America, and parts of South America, then why would they ever leave?
///

William Barnett-Lewis Sat, Jun 4, 2011 1:08:12pm

re: #81 Shiplord Kirel

Amen.

(I Stand By What I Said Whatever It Was) Sat, Jun 4, 2011 1:14:18pm

re: #81 Shiplord Kirel

Communists did not overthrow the Russian Empire and the Chinese Republic because the peasants wanted a free ride or thought goatees were cool. The peasants joined the Reds because they could see people starving in the streets, good, smart people, while inbred fatcats waltzed away the wealth that was their alleged birthright.

Slight correction: The Bolsheviks never had support from the Peasants, and only for a very brief time had somewhat of a support in general society (though never a decisive majority). The Bolsheviks actually waged war against the peasants for the first few decades of their brutal rule.

funky chicken Sat, Jun 4, 2011 1:35:28pm

re: #20 jaunte

Next up, a law to prevent the poor from scavenging in landfills.

Oh no, religious nuts are A-OK with that. Ask LaZardo next time he's on about the situation in the Phiippines.

Lidane Sat, Jun 4, 2011 1:44:44pm

re: #1 iceweasel

Fiscal responsibility: code words for fucking the poor.

Yeah, this.

funky chicken Sat, Jun 4, 2011 1:51:09pm

re: #33 Alexzander

3 Face Charges For Illegally Feeding Homeless

Mass Feeding At Lake Eola Leads To Arrests

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Jonathan McHenry, Benjamin Markeson and Jessica Cross were arrested Wednesday night at Lake Eola during a mass feeding for the homeless.
The three are part of the group Food Not Bombs, which continues to hold regular feedings for the homeless despite a city ordinance that only allows two mass feedings per year.
McHenry, Markeson and Cross face charges of illegally feeding the homeless.

Well, the state is supposed to do that, with donated food efficiently packaged and distributed so it won't create traffic problems.

Uh Oh.

I am kinda stumped as to Gov. Scott's motivation here. I don't see a political upside, and it's obviously morally bankrupt.

sagehen Sat, Jun 4, 2011 2:05:44pm

re: #45 HappyWarrior

Just when you think Scott couldn't be any more of a dick, he does this. The man is a cruel joke. It's fine and dandy for him to protect the interests of the very wealthy but screw the poor and disabled seems to be his mantra. I hope Floridians realize that you shouldn't vote for crooks like this.

So these people who aren't getting food anymore... I wonder how many of them, after too many nights in a row of listening to their hungry kids cry themselves to sleep, will do something that puts them in prison. At $30k per year, each.

Mr.Boots Sat, Jun 4, 2011 2:48:23pm

re: #45 HappyWarrior

Just when you think Scott couldn't be any more of a dick, he does this. The man is a cruel joke. It's fine and dandy for him to protect the interests of the very wealthy but screw the poor and disabled seems to be his mantra. I hope Floridians realize that you shouldn't vote for crooks like this.

The point is to get them to leave the state or die. I'm certain that Scott would find the money for one-way bus tickets north for all who would apply.

As a part-time Floridian, I often wonder how the Florida Tea Party's pet anchor baby senator, Rubio, can look Scott in the eye without cringing, considering that so many Cuban emigrants still can't do without government subsidies.

Mr.Boots Sat, Jun 4, 2011 2:49:29pm

re: #97 Mr.Boots

eeerrr . . . immigrants.

Charles Johnson Sat, Jun 4, 2011 6:00:43pm

re: #97 Mr.Boots

As a part-time Floridian, I often wonder how the Florida Tea Party's pet anchor baby senator, Rubio, can look Scott in the eye without cringing...

Whenever you wonder something like that, the answer is either money or power.

100

celticdragon Sat, Jun 4, 2011 7:00:33pm

re: #33 Alexzander

I cannot even come up with words for this.

If there is really a God and if Christ really is coming to judge us...this is an example of just how screwed we are.

101

WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.] Sat, Jun 4, 2011 8:21:42pm

re: #97 Mr.Boots

The point is to get them to leave the state or die. I'm certain that Scott would find the money for one-way bus tickets north for all who would apply.

As a part-time Floridian, I often wonder how the Florida Tea Party's pet anchor baby senator, Rubio, can look Scott in the eye without cringing, considering that so many Cuban emigrants still can't do without government subsidies.

please, you don't look someone in the eye when you fellate them :D

102

theheat Sat, Jun 4, 2011 8:22:10pm

If the poor set money aside for emergencies they wouldn't be hungry when they get a flat tire. It's all about planning. Why should I care about people who can't make lemonade from lemons? Lemons prevent scurvy and spare tires prevent abortions. It's that simple.

103

charlie.the.ad.man Sun, Jun 5, 2011 4:50:46am

Please, let not for profit social agencies and the church handle the poor. The government screws up everything! Besides, what is one of the biggest problems with the poor in American? Obesity!

104

Obdicut Sun, Jun 5, 2011 5:15:19am

re: #103 charlie.the.ad.man

Please, let not for profit social agencies and the church handle the poor

But they don't. We have too many poor for them to handle.

The government screws up everything!

So you're an anarchist?

Besides, what is one of the biggest problems with the poor in American? Obesity!

So is hunger and malnutrition.

105

Thorzdad Sun, Jun 5, 2011 7:07:43am

Hasn't this sort of thing been part of Republican strategy for a few decades now? By this, I mean the following sequence...
1. Campaign against "liberal extremism" and high taxes.
2. Get elected.
3. Embark on wildly unfair cuts in social programs and tax cuts for wealthy.
4. Piss people off. Lose next election.
5. Democrats attempt to fix the damage you did.
1b. Campaign against "liberal extremism" and high taxes.
2b. Get elected.
3b. Embark on wildly unfair cuts in social programs and tax cuts for wealthy.
etc.
etc.

The end result is a steady downward spiral for the social safety net, and those who depend on it. Republicans are playing the long game. The tea-baggers are just a new (and unexpected) tool that will act to accelerate the plan. I think that, while Republican leaders welcome the help, the extremism scares the piss out of them because it could work to seriously harm their long-term plans by poisoning a large swath of voters to anything remotely associated with the GOP brand.

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