and the war on the poor is stepped up a notch

[Captain Virgil Hilts]

Actually, I recently got an email from Senator Frist, telling me about the new $8K GRANTS they just created to give bonuses to those who get Pell GRANTS and use them to study engineering, math, science, and foreign languages. Mean old nasty Republican that he is, he sponsored the bill.

Oh, and local police and fire/rescue are just that, run local. The Feds would screw that up too given the opportunity.

Opportunites to go to school and better yourself are out there, just go look. Go to your public library and get online, the list of programs and scholarships available to the masses is astounding. If you WANT to go to school, the only thing keeping you out is YOU.

There is a huge difference between actually HELPING the poor and only making them comfortable in their poverty. The former is what to do, the latter is how to screw them over forever.

There is no war on the poor. Just more rhetoric and bull****, if you swallow it or parrot it, you aren't helping anyone, especially the poor.

[lazs2]

apathy... no... health care is not better suited to be....how did you say it?  "universally provided"

the examples you gave were incorrect also.... fire and police are locally provided not federal.... evne so...

police do not protect anyone from rape or crime unless they happen to be there at the time.  their job is to fill out the forms after the crime has taken place.   as far as theft or injury or property damage.... they do nothing but take reports... your property is restored by PRIVATE insurace companies.

fire... fire departments and police could easily be privatized and probly will be in the future.  fire departments may or may not put out a fire...  it depends... Insurance companies will make you whole again after the fire either way tho.

the military is a perfect example of waste but it is the only thing that the government should do... the waste is acceptable and provbided for in our constitution... it is expected that armies and war will be wasteful.

so what do the feds provide without competition that they do a good job at?   social Security?  

You want streamlined drug process...will you accept a few thousand thalidimide babies every once in a while tho?   Will you accept health care that you can't sue the doctor (that you didn't choose) if he screws up?   Will you accept british dental work?

lazs

[weaselsan]

Originally posted by Captain Virgil Hilts
Actually, I recently got an email from Senator Frist, telling me about the new $8K GRANTS they just created to give bonuses to those who get Pell GRANTS and use them to study engineering, math, science, and foreign languages. Mean old nasty Republican that he is, he sponsored the bill.

Oh, and local police and fire/rescue are just that, run local. The Feds would screw that up too given the opportunity.

Opportunites to go to school and better yourself are out there, just go look. Go to your public library and get online, the list of programs and scholarships available to the masses is astounding. If you WANT to go to school, the only thing keeping you out is YOU.

There is a huge difference between actually HELPING the poor and only making them comfortable in their poverty. The former is what to do, the latter is how to screw them over forever.

There is no war on the poor. Just more rhetoric and bull****, if you swallow it or parrot it, you aren't helping anyone, especially the poor.

Actually I won several million dollars in the Florida lottery and I don't have to do doo doo.

[Dago]

When is somebody going to trot out the poor homeless in the country and moan how the Republicans are ignoring them?  Arent we due for that?

When the GB the first was president, the press couldnt blather on enough about the homeless and how the administration was all to blame for them, etc etc.  Constantly on the news.  Then, the day Clinton took office, it seems all homeless suddenly ceased to exist, as the press never mentioned them again, I mean after all, what would have been the point, the Republicans weren't holding the Presidency so who could they blame?

Why does the coverage of some of these issue become so dramatic when you can try and place blame on Republicans, but seem not to exist the very day the demodorks take office?

Selective coverage of issues?  Could it be?  

dago

[moot]

More likely ADD audience.

[Dago]

Originally posted by moot
More likely ADD audience.

If the audience voted on or choose the story, maybe.  But that isn't how it works now is it?

No, the press too often has an extreme bias and uses their positions to serve that bias.

Here is a suggestion, if you think not enough is being done to help the poor, donate 50% of your after tax earnings to a charity that helps the poor.  Just dont demand I do that same.

[moot]

The media plays what the audience buys.

[dmf]

Originally posted by capt. apathy
why do I have to pay (signifigantly more btw) for a war in Iraq against people who've never been a problem for me?  why is it that their schools, and hospitals are a priority over mine when spending my money?

Because if we rebuild their country to out specifications, includeing schools Hospitals, economy, and politics, then we can pump the countr dry of all its oil.

[capt. apathy]

Originally posted by dmf
Because if we rebuild their country to out specifications, includeing schools Hospitals, economy, and politics, then we can pump the countr dry of all its oil.

I'd rather just let them pump their own oil and spend their own dime to build their country.

[bj229r]

Since 9/11, our military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have totaled 352 BILLION dollars, that seems like a lot. However, in the same time span, we have some something like 3 TRILLION on entitlements. Lemme dig up the link

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20051227-120942-8934r.htm

Entitlements' growth seen gobbling budget ASSOCIATED PRESS
    Three growing entitlement programs consumed nearly half of all federal spending in 2004, and budget analysts expect them to make up an even bigger share in the future.
    Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid accounted for more than $1 trillion in the 2004 budget year, according to the Consolidated Federal Funds Report being released today by the Census Bureau.
    Overall, federal spending was $2.2 trillion, an increase of 5 percent from 2003.
    "The total federal spending increase is actually down a bit from recent years," said Gerard Keffer, chief of the Census Bureau's federal programs branch. "It had been running 6 [percent] to 8 percent in the past several years."
    For years, Washington has been fighting over how to manage the growth of entitlement programs. Analysts think the fight will continue for years to come.
    "I think it's absolutely essential and inevitable that we are going to reform those programs," said Rudolph Penner, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute, a social-issues research organization. "How, is another question. There's very little interest, now."
    President Bush has pushed to overhaul Social Security and establish private accounts, but Congress has balked.
    Critics argue that private accounts would do nothing to slow the growth of Social Security spending -- unless benefits are cut, a politically unpopular option.
    Spending on Medicare, the federal health insurance program for the elderly, is set to increase with the introduction of a prescription-drug benefit in January.
    The federal government estimates that it will spend about $724 billion over 10 years to provide the Medicare drug benefit.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,179552,00.html

Congress OKs Defense Spending
Thursday, December 22, 2005
 
 WASHINGTON — The House passed a $453.3 billion defense spending bill Thursday, including $50 billion for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and other funding such as for rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina.

The bill, which now goes to President Bush for his signature, was approved by the Senate Wednesday after Democrats forced the Republican majority to strip from it a measure opening up an Alaska wildlife refuge to oil drilling.

The $50 billion for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars is to carry the Pentagon until Congress acts on another emergency war supplemental next year, which lawmakers expect to be from $80 billion to $100 billion.

It is estimated that the Pentagon is spending about $6 billion a month on the Iraq war effort.

The military spending bill contains $29 billion to rebuild levees, schools, roads and other infrastructure destroyed in August when Hurricane Katrina swept through Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

[dmf]

Originally posted by capt. apathy
I'd rather just let them pump their own oil and spend their own dime to build their country.

But then we wouldn't have to pay higher taxes to fund the Kinder Gentler World.

[Leslie]

War on the poor is a concept often used here in Alabama to get taxpayers to vote more taxes.  Thing is, the last ballot stated all the money would go into a "rainy day fund."  It was not earmarked for education specifically, but was to go into a general fund to be used as needed, anywhere needed.  This billion and a half dollar tax amendment was voted down and rightfully so.  Anyone reading the ballot with that wording would vote that measure down.

This tax would have amounted to an ad valorem tax on everything, including services (oil changes or car repair for example) all the way to  fallow land areas used for hunting purposes.  Alabama's economy depends greatly on the hunting industry, which would have been diminished because of a doubling of property taxes on this land had the amendment passed.  This is timberland.  It would all be immediately cut down and developed into suburbia imo, since the proposed taxes would have  treated  it as commercial property.

Does anyone think adding taxes onto every service, gallon of gas, etc. is going to help the poor????

At least the ballot was truthful with its general fund language.  People want accountability and want to know where their taxes are being spent.  The powers that be are always attempting to trick the public by one way or another.  Problem for them here in Alabama is most thinking folks see through their ploys.


What bothers me is very educated people support what I call extreme taxation, without thinking about the way amendments are worded, the wording being up front and honest.  This tax money (billion and a half dollars) will be spent as we see fit when and where it's needed most.







Les

[lazs2]

entitlements never end they just grow in scope and complexity and cost over the years.... they never go away because they don't solve the problem they set out to.... they grow it.

someone said that entitlements make the people "comfortable in their poverty"... I think that is a profound statement...  making someone feel completley shameless about their failures and allowing them to live as well as people who struggle is unfair to both groups of people.   It creates a "what's the use" attitude and increases the ranks of those who would do nothing but chirp with their beaks open like little baby birds.

instead of food stamps.... the "poor" are issued debit cards to buy groceries with.  Wouldn't want anyone to know that they are living off other peoples sweat would we?

lazs