17 Comments

1. John  •  Nov 29, 2005 @12:29 PM
   

   I would agree 100% but I would change “free ride off the government” to “free ride off of we, the working, taxpaying, productive members of society.” I also encourage liberal use of the word “mooch.” Where are they getting the money for these lawyers? Is the ACLU defending their right to mooch?

2. Libertarian Jason  •  Nov 29, 2005 @12:49 PM
   

   All in favor of abolishing the welfare state once and for all, say “aye!”

3. James  •  Nov 29, 2005 @12:50 PM
   

   “Where are they getting the money for these lawyers? Is the ACLU defending their right to mooch?”

   You would be surprised at the number of scumbags… er… lawyers, that would do these for free.

4. John  •  Nov 29, 2005 @1:13 PM
   

   Aye. Private charities and volunteers are much better at distributing money to the (truly) needy than any government bureaucracy every could.

5. Ken Kinder  •  Dec 9, 2005 @9:54 PM
   

   In January of 2000, Scientific American reported that climate change may lead to hurricanes of increased strength due to increases in gulf water temperatures.[1] In 2001, when George W. Bush took office, America became the only developed country in the world that withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol.[2] George W. Bush also cut funding for both FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers’ levee projects in New Orleans.[3]

   Climate change is accelerated tremendously by human activity, especially the activity of corporations and America’s elite.[4] They also (used to) pay a considerable amount of the taxes that are being used to keep displaced New Orleans residents from starving to death.

   Given the fact that the plight of the New Orleans poor is caused by the elite social class in America (namely, rich white men), it hardly seems to me that the paltry life support they are on now could described as mooching.

   The hypocrisy.

   [1] http://www.sciamdigital.com/browse.cfm?sequencenameCHAR=item2&methodnameCHAR=resource_getitembrowse&interfacenameCHAR=browse.cfm&ISSUEID_CHAR=82D7E940-CBFE-4BD2-989F-A47BDEAACE1&ARTICLEID_CHAR=1250333B-C7CE-40D3-A758-52153564C9E

   [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_Protocol

   [3] http://www.salon.com/opinion/blumenthal/2005/08/31/disaster_preparation/index_np.html

   [4] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/2023835.stm and http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bymake/Hummer2006.shtml

6. James  •  Dec 10, 2005 @10:43 AM
   

   First, I would like to welcome you to last week. We missed you, wondered where you were.

   Second, I would like to thank you for the borderline off topic report on the weather.

   The purpose of the topic, was not to discuss “global warming” or corporate greed.

   Ok, back to your comment…

   “In 2001, when George W. Bush took office, America became the only developed country in the world that withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol.”

   I see no value in yet another UN sanctioned “treaty” that MIGHT work. There has been much research into the theories put forth in the Kyoto Protocol, and based on the evidence I have seen, even if the treaty WAS successfully implemented, there is no SIGNIFICANT proof that a significant reduction in temperatures would occur.

   “Given the fact that the plight of the New Orleans poor is caused by the elite social class in America (namely, rich white men), it hardly seems to me that the paltry life support they are on now could described as mooching.”

   Wow, you were on a roll there, but then you pull a card from the DNC playbook. Smooth.

   We all know by now that rich people, are greedy, heartless, hateful people who love nothing more, than to “make other people poor”. How dare they.

   I can see where you’re trying to connect the dots, but POOR people, are not a direct result of someone else, getting rich.

   PLEASE tell me how, a person that was ABLE to flee New Orleans, can, with a straight face declare that they are “worried” that they might be “kicked out on the streets” because FEMA doesn’t want to house them anymore. Why does this person need help. They has two legs, a brain, arms and can speak English.

   What kept them from, the day they arrived in a hotel room, PAID FOR BY FEMA… going out and getting a job… saving their money, biding their time, until they had a safe barrier from “BROKE” and could move out on their own. I’ll tell you what, the American Welfare Class. I have seen people who are articulate, and capable of heavy lifting, stand in line for their welfare check, because it is “easier than looking for a job”.

   THESE are parasites on our society, PERIOD. Check your dictionary, you’ll find that the word parasite is a NOUN (The part of speech that is used to name a person, place, thing, quality, or action and can function as the subject or object of a verb, the object of a preposition, or an appositive.) and that part of its definition includes the following;

   One who habitually takes advantage of the generosity of others without making any useful return.

   Someone, that is given an opportunity, by someone else to live FREE OF CHARGE, until they can get back on their feet. Who does not ACTIVELY attempt to improve their situation… IS A PARASITE on our society.

   Blame the rich all you want, but being rich, DOES NOT make someone else lazy and dependant.

   Thank you for your time.

7. Ken Kinder  •  Dec 10, 2005 @7:19 PM
   

   I’m simply making the observation that the plight of those now on federal assistance following the Hurricane Katrina are in the situation they’re in now because of the actions of others. Global warming caused Katrina, the Bush administration withheld funding to mitigate Katrina, and now the supporters of both global warming and Bush want to escape what little responsibility is put on them: paying taxes to support the victoms of a disaster they’re responsible for.

   It’s about taking responsibility for your actions.

8. James  •  Dec 11, 2005 @11:28 AM
   

   I’m simply making the observation that the plight of those now on federal assistance following the Hurricane Katrina are in the situation they’re in now because of the actions of others. … It’s about taking responsibility for your actions.

   You can’t have both… following that logic, the poor are waranted in their begging for handouts, simply by the virtue that they are poor. While the rich must be responsible for their own lives, simply by virtue of the fact that they can. LOAD OF CRAP. EVERYONE in this country should be responsible for themselves, the Government does not exist to be a crutch for the poor and the lazy.

   Government welfare DOES NOT WORK. The Governemtent has spent more than $5 Trillion trying to ease the plight of the poor since the start of this “war on poverty”. What has this$5 Trillion gotten us? MORE POOR PEOPLE. Welfare does not work, it worsens the problem… welfare needs to go away. Those who cannot, somehow, survive in the US job market need to learn to rely on supportive family, church, community, or private charity to bridge the gap and help them through hard times. Relying on any government to help you out is a recipe for failure.

   The biggest roadblock to self sufficient citizens in this country, is our current educational system…the public school system is a JOKE. Encourage proper education, and you have a populace that is more likely to succeed and fend for themselves when faced with adversity, rather than buckle under the pressure, and go crawling to government for handouts.

   I will address your concerns about the “rich white folk” causing natural disasters later.

9. James  •  Dec 11, 2005 @8:42 PM
   

   “Global warming caused Katrina”

   Ahhh Finalities, gotta love them. While global warming is happening, to outright claim that WE are the sole cause of the hurricane we named “Katrina” is quite a bold statement and actually QUITE hard to prove. You can provide evidence that presents with quite a bit of certainty, but I beg of you to actually prove it.

   Weather, is by its very definition, chaotic. Something small, elsewhere can cause quite a stir across the globe, and is thus unpredictable.

   You can find data that proves (to you) that rich white men cause catastrophic storms, and I can probably find data, that shows cow farts cause global warming… doesn’t mean either of us is 100% correct.

   I find it quite ridiculous that you blame corporations for the extent of our environmental impact. Our government, at the federal, state, and local levels does the most damage to our environment over any of these “evil corporations” you claim “caused” Katrina. Signing a piece of paper, and dedicating TRILLIONS of our Tax dollars to something as incredibly uncertain as the Kyoto treaty is NOT the way to solve the problem.

10. dave  •  Dec 12, 2005 @5:55 AM
    

    James said:
    “This sums up a very large percentage of the Katrina hurricane survivors that I have seen reported in the news.”
    Did you go to the FOX News school of journalism?
    THIRTEEN people filed a class action suite against FEMA.
    That the same ploy as condemning entitlement programs by pointing to the old welfare moma driving up to pick up her food stamps in her cadillac, or using the MacDonald’s coffee spill law suit to define the state of liability lawsuits.
    You don’t know what people are doing to recover from the Hurricanes. I went to FL for Hurricane Wilma relief and saw it first hand. Yes, there are some people who will take advantage, but the vast majority are just trying to put their lives together in a structurally and economically devistated area.
    I believe that our humanitarian response to those people defines us as a civilization, and those who would stop the assistance for the deserving to prevent it from getting to the undeserving are low of character.

11. James  •  Dec 12, 2005 @9:31 AM
    

    ““This sums up a very large percentage of the Katrina hurricane survivors that I have seen reported in the news.”
    Did you go to the FOX News school of journalism?”

    Re-read that sentence… of EVERY individual report of a Katrina victim I have seen or read in the news, (yes I watch FOX, but I also watch MSNBC, CBS, and CNN and this is true for all of them) a very SLIM percentage of those individual reports are anything glowing and positive about those that were displaced.

    I know a large percentage of those who fled, have taken up root where they landed or have gone back home to pick up and rebuild but that isn’t my point. I wasn’t talking about them.

    I never once said we need to stop helping those TRUELY in need, those who have ACTUALLY gotten off their rear ends and done something. THAT is the responsible thing to do. I don’t believe in welfare, but assistance for those who are willing to work, to rebuild their lives is always welcome. I too have helped out those in need after similar disasters, so think about it before you go assuming something about me.

12. dave  •  Dec 12, 2005 @10:06 PM
    

    Thirteen people.
    Your reaction is so far out of proportion you sound rediculous. Now you try to knit-pick an excuse to make yourself sound compassionate and conserned.
    Bottom line is your posting was not a thoughtless emotional outburst that provoked a shitstorm of likewise emotional but thoughtless comments.
    Thirteen people.

13. James  •  Dec 13, 2005 @9:32 AM
    

    Well it looks like “The Thirteen” you so lovingly protect, have gotten a reward for their hissy fit.

    A Federal Judge in Louisianna has ruled that FEMA continue to provide FREE HOUSING for ALL RESIDENTS they are currently assisting. For the record, that’s 13 people speaking for residents in 41,000 hotel rooms in 47 states. Granted SOME of these people have taken the initiative to get a job, but if they have THAT much drive, they shouldn’t NEED free housing for much longer. The extended deadline was set for the middle of February because it would be “cruel” to force someone into reality during Christmas.

    Judge Stanwood Duvall wrote in his official statement “it is unimaginable what anxiety and misery these erratic and bizarre vacillations by FEMA have caused the victims, all of whom, for at least one point in time, had the very real fear of being without shelter for Christmas.” again… if they had JOBS, and MONEY saved up from not having to pay for housing… they wouldn’t be afraid of being without shelter

14. Ken Kinder  •  Dec 14, 2005 @11:50 PM
    

    You seem to want to categorize housing New Orleans’ displaced citizens as class warfare. The French revolution was class warfare. Bacon’s Rebellion was class warfare. FEMA’s mandate to do its job is not class warfare, although it does seem absent from the Bush agenda.

    So let’s actually go there. Let’s write off the fact that the New Orleans poor are poor BECAUSE up until a few years ago they couldn’t get a job. Let’s write off the fact that Katrina was exacerbated by global warming. We’ll even write-off the mismanagement of Katrina itself. We owe New Orleans’ displaced poor nothing.

    Isn’t using a TINY faction of our vast wealth worth it? You clearly have already passed judgement upon the parents, but what about the 4 year old? If we kick his parents out of housing, does he have to pay for that cruelty too? Or maybe — just once — we could try being a moral society and instituting a proper safety net.

    The war on poverty? Let’s pull up an MLK quote.

    It seemed as if there was a real promise of hope for the poor — both black and white — through the poverty program. There were experiments, hopes, new beginnings. Then came the buildup in Vietnam, and I watched this program broken and eviscerated, as if it were some idle political plaything of a society gone mad on war

    Wow, think any of that applies today?

15. James  •  Dec 15, 2005 @10:46 AM
    

    “FEMA’s mandate to do its job”

    They DID their job. It has been almost FOUR months since the hurricane hit. Tell me why, after four months, we should be footing the bill for people who STILL don’t have jobs.

    Example… I moved to my current place of residence in December of 2003. I had NO home, and no job. I was given a place to stay FREE OF CHARGE so I could get on my feet, and established here. Two weeks into my move, I had a job, and was saving money to help move my family into our own home. 6 weeks later, we had a place to live and we were on our own.

    If I had followed the “Katrina” template, I STILL wouldn’t have a job, and I would still be mooching off the family that lent a helping hand.

    Take responsibility for YOURSELF. If it isn’t evident now, it will never be… Life’s a bitch, take care of yourself because once you’re out from under you mom and dad’s wing… you’re on your own to succeed or fail.

    “Isn’t using a TINY faction of our vast wealth worth it? You clearly have already passed judgement upon the parents, but what about the 4 year old? If we kick his parents out of housing, does he have to pay for that cruelty too?”

    We have used TRILLIONS of “our vast wealth” on people in the form of welfare and the only thing it has done is to exacerbate the issue. As for the 4 year old, it’s not his fault if his parents are worthless, and personally I feel that if you lack the personal drive to work, in order to feed your child and provide shelter for them, it constitutes child abuse and should be handled accordingly.

16. Ken Kinder  •  Dec 16, 2005 @12:25 AM
    

    So let’s clear this up. We’d kick the families out on the street, THEN prosocute them for child abuse, because … wait for it — we kicked them out on the street?

    I’m going to call that what it is: wrong and immoral.

17. James  •  Dec 16, 2005 @9:21 AM
    

    First, you can’t choose your parents so that’s no fault of the child that he was born into the care of worthless people.

    Second, I never said “kick them out onto the street then arrest them for child abuse”, please refrain from putting words in my mouth. I said that lacking the drive to feed your child or shelter them, constitutes child abuse. Please explain to me how it doesn’t.

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