Panem Without the Cicenses: Food Stamps
Before the collapse of the Roman Republic, politicians were no less devious than contemporary pols.
One way or another, they tried to buy plebeian votes, to ply the rabble with goodies in hopes of winning their approval come election time. The tactic came to be known as providing panem et circenses or bread and circuses. Our politicians call it food stamps.
There is no doubt many Americans are hurting in President Barack Hussein Obama’s dismal economy with a continuing high rate of unemployment unrelieved by multi-billion dollar federal stimulations and a climbing poverty rate. Reflecting that failure, the Census Bureau reported in September that the number of people in the United States living below the official poverty line rose in 2010 by 2.6 million bringing the grand total of America’s poor to 46.2 million, the highest number in 52 years.
Way to go, Barack!
There is also no doubt that most of those poor would be considered rich by half the world and that some Americans take advantage of the system. Anyone standing in line to buy staples at the local A&P behind someone purchasing lobsters with a food stamp card can attest to that abuse.
Haphazardly throwing more and more money at a problem has never changed anything but the Obamians have no clue what else to do. They could just get out of the way of the chained giant that is the American capitalistic industrial base, lift restrictions and regulations and let it roar but that option is a non-starter with socialists.
However, there are those pesky things called elections so how do they make the discontented more content?
Why, bribe them, of course! . . .
(Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=9840.)
Showing posts with label food stamps. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food stamps. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
News You Really Don't Need
News You Really Don't Need
With apologies to Ben Franklin, there are other certainties in life aside from death and taxes and Ben may not have said that in the first place. Another surety is news since something is always happening on our planet whether we want to hear about it or not.
There are many happenings the squeamish would prefer not to know about, other events few of us care about, and still more most of us find so mystifying or just so plain dumb that we tend to believe the news accounts just have to be wrong.
In the recently mystifying category are a plethora of stories which, no matter how hard we wish, are true whether we choose to believe them or not.
Take, for example, the Holy Name of Jesus parish in West Palm Beach, Florida, which offered a “prayer request” in last Sunday’s bulletin for the repose of the soul of the mass murderer and architect of 9/11, Osama bin Laden.
More rational critics abounded and parishioner Lois Pizzano spelled out their objections: “I think it’s totally wrong, he doesn’t belong in the Catholic religion. For what he did to Americans, he doesn’t belong anywhere. It’s unconscionable, it’s sacrilegious,” a sentiment with which the pastor, Father Gavin Badway, took issue.
Rev. Badway concedes that many in his congregation are less than happy with the idea of praying for the Butcher of 9/11 but “he says the church has never turned down a prayer request before. He says making the right decision isn’t always easy.” He added that, “Their [parishiners'] hearts are troubled because they’re thinking emotionally about what he has done and he has done a lot of evil. Nevertheless, Jesus tells us, love and forgive.”(http://bit.ly/myxk0Q)
As a fellow Catholic, I have to wonder if Rev. Badway is in complete possession of his senses and whether we are also expected to pray for Judas, Attila, Hitler, and other poor, misunderstood, bloody souls. I also have to wonder whether Badway is just ambitious to move on up the clergy ranks by demonstrating how caring he is or whether he’s gay since homosexuals are said to be very empathetic.
Out there in the secular world, Maryland’s Governor Martin O’Malley is also evidently a sensitive guy. He joined his state to ten others in signing on to the so-called Dream Act, which act has been repudiated, so far, by the U.S. Congress and which is only a dream for illegal invaders of our country and for Democrat politicians who crave their votes . . .
(Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=4492)
With apologies to Ben Franklin, there are other certainties in life aside from death and taxes and Ben may not have said that in the first place. Another surety is news since something is always happening on our planet whether we want to hear about it or not.
There are many happenings the squeamish would prefer not to know about, other events few of us care about, and still more most of us find so mystifying or just so plain dumb that we tend to believe the news accounts just have to be wrong.
In the recently mystifying category are a plethora of stories which, no matter how hard we wish, are true whether we choose to believe them or not.
Take, for example, the Holy Name of Jesus parish in West Palm Beach, Florida, which offered a “prayer request” in last Sunday’s bulletin for the repose of the soul of the mass murderer and architect of 9/11, Osama bin Laden.
More rational critics abounded and parishioner Lois Pizzano spelled out their objections: “I think it’s totally wrong, he doesn’t belong in the Catholic religion. For what he did to Americans, he doesn’t belong anywhere. It’s unconscionable, it’s sacrilegious,” a sentiment with which the pastor, Father Gavin Badway, took issue.
Rev. Badway concedes that many in his congregation are less than happy with the idea of praying for the Butcher of 9/11 but “he says the church has never turned down a prayer request before. He says making the right decision isn’t always easy.” He added that, “Their [parishiners'] hearts are troubled because they’re thinking emotionally about what he has done and he has done a lot of evil. Nevertheless, Jesus tells us, love and forgive.”(http://bit.ly/myxk0Q)
As a fellow Catholic, I have to wonder if Rev. Badway is in complete possession of his senses and whether we are also expected to pray for Judas, Attila, Hitler, and other poor, misunderstood, bloody souls. I also have to wonder whether Badway is just ambitious to move on up the clergy ranks by demonstrating how caring he is or whether he’s gay since homosexuals are said to be very empathetic.
Out there in the secular world, Maryland’s Governor Martin O’Malley is also evidently a sensitive guy. He joined his state to ten others in signing on to the so-called Dream Act, which act has been repudiated, so far, by the U.S. Congress and which is only a dream for illegal invaders of our country and for Democrat politicians who crave their votes . . .
(Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=4492)
Friday, October 8, 2010
White Boys, Food Stamps, and Eliot Spitzer
White Boys, Food Stamps, and Eliot Spitzer
Some news stories are infuriating, some are validating, some are positively and pathetically amusing. One of each classification follows:
White Boys: They may not be able to jump but at least one black judge in Pennsylvania thinks they get favored treatment.
It should be ironic given President Obama’s post-racial America that Allegheny County Judge Joseph Williams still thinks that way but it’s not ironic at all since Obama’s post-racial America is a sorry joke.
Williams rejected a plea deal of 3 months probation for 24 year old Jeffery McGowan in a case involving a fight with a traffic cop saying that it was “a ridiculous plea that only goes to white boy,” adding that a black defendant in that situation would not have been treated as leniently: http://tiny.cc/o4g9j
The first problem I have with Williams’ statement is that he referred to a 24 year old man as a “white boy.” Unless I’m seriously mistaken, had a white judge called a black defendant, whether he were a 24 or 16 “black boy,” would have been censured, if not fired. Why wasn’t Williams?
The second problem I have with him is that Judge Williams had the audacity to not merely imply but to voice a definitive opinion that his or any court treats blacks and whites differently. If he has any substantive proof of the existence of such blatant racism, he should make that proof known–or keep his mouth shut on the issue.
Such is the state of Obama’s race-neutrality in 2010 America,
Food Stamps: The ancient Romans had a different name for welfare and for buying votes. They called it “panem et circensis,” bread and circuses, bread and games. Among other things, America calls it food stamps. . .
(Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=2138)
Some news stories are infuriating, some are validating, some are positively and pathetically amusing. One of each classification follows:
White Boys: They may not be able to jump but at least one black judge in Pennsylvania thinks they get favored treatment.
It should be ironic given President Obama’s post-racial America that Allegheny County Judge Joseph Williams still thinks that way but it’s not ironic at all since Obama’s post-racial America is a sorry joke.
Williams rejected a plea deal of 3 months probation for 24 year old Jeffery McGowan in a case involving a fight with a traffic cop saying that it was “a ridiculous plea that only goes to white boy,” adding that a black defendant in that situation would not have been treated as leniently: http://tiny.cc/o4g9j
The first problem I have with Williams’ statement is that he referred to a 24 year old man as a “white boy.” Unless I’m seriously mistaken, had a white judge called a black defendant, whether he were a 24 or 16 “black boy,” would have been censured, if not fired. Why wasn’t Williams?
The second problem I have with him is that Judge Williams had the audacity to not merely imply but to voice a definitive opinion that his or any court treats blacks and whites differently. If he has any substantive proof of the existence of such blatant racism, he should make that proof known–or keep his mouth shut on the issue.
Such is the state of Obama’s race-neutrality in 2010 America,
Food Stamps: The ancient Romans had a different name for welfare and for buying votes. They called it “panem et circensis,” bread and circuses, bread and games. Among other things, America calls it food stamps. . .
(Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=2138)
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