Wednesday, November 28, 2012

WELCOME TO WAL-MART





There have lately been a number of blogs concerning Wal-Mart.

As a codicil I should mention that I am married to a much younger, beautiful and intelligent wife – who is a raving far-left liberal.   Myself, I range between far-left liberal and centrist libertarian, and my perspective of any situation is usually tempered by pragmatic reality. 

In my wife’s view Wal-Mart is the great Satan; but, we often risk our immortal souls and shop there.   

We live on a small retirement income that is just above the poverty line, so we budget our expenditures and shop at Wal-Mart to save money.   I drink wine (sometimes in quantity) and we buy Carlos Rossi by the gallon for our wine of the table.   At Wal-Mart a gallon of wine will cost me twelve dollars, while at the local grocery store it is fifteen.   Can goods are, on the average, fifteen cents a can cheaper.   We buy paper products, bird food, house wares, ink-cartridges for my printer, hardware, etc. all at considerable savings

The biggest complaints I usually hear from my wife is that Wal-Mart buys its products from China and under pays its workers.  This is undoubtedly true, but, if you bother to check your clothing labels from any store from L.L. Beans to Nordstrom you will find that much of it (if not most) is made in third world countries.  Wal-Mart is doing what every other store is doing, but perhaps purchasing the cheapest of the cheap, and passing the savings on the consumer while still making huge profit.  

 A friend of mine works at Wal-Mart making ten dollars and fifty cents an hour for a four p.m. to eleven p.m. shift.    He is fifty years old and did not complete high school.   Until two years ago he worked seasonally as a manual laborer for a construction company that paid him ten dollars an hour.   He is legally blind in one eye and now suffering with medical problems.   Realistically, if we did not have a Wal-Mart here - where could he find employment?  

This type of employment has always been here: in the textile mills of the north-east and the farm lands of the South people have worked long hours for low pay.   Today, just like Burger King, Pizza Hut, Duncan Doughnuts, gas stations and many local stores in this area, Wal-Mart doesn't pay a living wage or offer benefits.  They do, however, offer employment to many people who would otherwise be unemployed. 

So we need to be careful what we wish for – change is always a double edged sword.  If Wal-Mart bought and sold American products and offer full time employment and a living wage, most of the people who work there would no longer have a job, and Wal-Mart products would be too expensive for most of us to afford. 

Could Wal-Mart change its business plan and be more humanitarian?  Yes.

Will it cut its profits and pay smaller dividends to its investors in order to offer more benefits to its employees? No

This doesn't mean that Wal-Mart workers shouldn't ask for better pay and benefits – and I support their strike.

But, sometimes you have to dance with the devil.  

the Ol’Buzzard   





   

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

SOMETHING I DON'T ENJOY TALKING ABOUT



The other MRMacrum (Lost in the Bozone) posted a clip of The Mamas and the Papas on his blog and it made me think nostalgically about radio days.  

For some reason it also made me think of the Vietnam War, because radio was the major entertainment and release for the troops – a touch of home.

Veterans Day just past and I didn't celebrate it.   I spent 22 years in the military and I now have bad feelings about it.    Coming back from Vietnam I was confused about the war.   I had been hyped by the military with the ‘kill them all and let God sort it out’ mentality; but actually being in country conflicted my view.  

Armed forces radio was the program we all listened to – there may have been TV’s on some sites, but I never saw them.   Good morning Vietnam was a wake up call I often woke to.  






And “ Chickenman; He’s everywhere, he’s everywhere” is a battle cry everyone was familiar with – and my favorite.  




My main emotion on returning home was elation.   I had that cheated death feeling that that military personnel experience: that everything I was seeing and able to do was wonderful and should be appreciated and lived to the fullest.   But there was also a down side: it is almost a cliché that is now bantered around by vets, and perhaps it was not an uncommon experience; but, my return flight to the states was on Quantas Airline out of Saigon that landed in me in San Francisco – I was in fatigues and as I went through the terminal a young girl ask me how many babies I had killed.   For weeks after my return you would have to wake me up from sleep by shaking my foot, because I might come up swinging.  

My only good memory of Vietnam is Armed Forces Vietnam Radio Network - and I had almost forgotten about it.  

There were 58,000 men military men killed in Vietnam and hundreds of thousands wounded – and no one can tell me what was accomplished. 

I feel the same way about current wars: the politicians that declare them do not fight in them, so the justification only has to be vague.   The men that fight and suffer, often coming back to broken homes and relationships, want to believe their service was valuable; but don't ask them what was accomplished - they probably can't tell you.  And no one here at home really cares.

The Ol’Buzzard  

  

Saturday, November 17, 2012

NEANDERTHAL


I did a post a couple of days ago that mentioned Neanderthals.   In the post I said that Neanderthal did not breed with Homo sapiens.    This seemed to be a point of contention; so here I list two conflicting references and a supposition.

1.    Adrienne L Zihlman ( Human Evolution) stated that in the area where Neanderthals and Homo sapiens existed at the same time there has been on DNA evidence found in Neanderthal remains that share DNA with Homo sapiens. 

2.    Chris Stringer (Lone Survivors: How We Came to be the Only Humans on Earth) states that Neanderthal DNA strands can be found in certain races of humans today. 

NEANDERTHAL BEAUTY
The supposition I can make from this is: Neanderthal women were butt ugly. 




HOMO SAPIEN

The Ol’Buzzard




Friday, November 16, 2012

OLD MAN SHOUTS AT CLOUDS

John McCain's Conspiracy Theory!



We have all had the old grandfather or old uncle that is permanently safety wired in the pissed off position.   My on wife makes it a point, when I start grumbling and grouching about how things are, to remind me that I am one step away from ‘Old Man Shouting at Clouds.’    

The personification of this axiom is John McCain.   McCain is a sour bitter old man who did not get his way four years ago and can’t move pass his disappointment.  

We all know that McCain suffered as a POW in Vietnam…as did many Americans.   His military service is to be praised.   But, though he is identified by his military service, he has not been a friend to the troops.   He has continually voted against increased funds for the VA and also against education and other benefits for veterans.  

We must remember that McCain is the son of an Admiral, who was the son of an Admiral, and that he is, and always has been, as out of touch with the military enlisted man as Mitt Romney is with food stamp recipients.

John McCain is not particularly bright (though, by the standards we set for our Senators and Congresspersons he is probably considered above average.)  He graduated at the bottom of his class in Annapolis; and we saw his ignorance demonstrated when he toured Iraq with Joe Lieberman during his run for President, and Lieberman had to correct him – that in fact Iraq and Afghanistan does not share a common border. 

And now John McCain shouts at clouds in hope of creating a conspiracy theory to motivate the idiot base of the Republican Party to demonstration against the President.  



the Ol'Buzzard speaks out about another Ol'Buzzard


Wednesday, November 14, 2012

REVERSE EVOLUTION




An article today in Yahoo News posed the hypothesis that people are actually getting dumber.

The fact that the human race evolved from lower order animals is not deniable.   The scientific line of evidence – molecular, comparative anatomy, behavioral, fossil record and ecology all converge on the same results.  

About five million years ago evolutionary events set the stage for hominid development.   Climate change resulted in the expansion of the savannas.  The great apes, already equipped for ground travel, now found they must travel longer distances each day to forage.   By four million years ago hominids were extensively bipedal. 

Our early ancestors adapted to life on the savanna as opportunistic omnivores, depending on tools and skill to collect food, and some amount of thinking and reasoning ability to select safe shelters.  

Australopithecus had a larger brain then the apes, but was small in comparison to today’s humans, but with large teeth and heavy jaw muscles for chewing.   Hand bone fossils between two the three million years ago show a shift in the specialization of the hands from locomotion to manipulation.

Although bipedal walking existed four million years ago the brain did not evolve quantitatively until about two million years ago.    

Prior to one million years ago Homo (Homo erectus) had migrated into south east Europe and central Asia.   Between 800,000 and 200,000 years ago Homo was wide spread in Europe, Asia and Africa.   Scientists have elected to define this group as Homo heidelbergensis.  Somewhere around 600,000 years ago Neanderthal split from the sapiens line – and DNA has shown Neanderthal to be a separate species from Sapiens with no molecular evidence of interbreeding.  

Molecular studies have confirmed that our species, Homo sapiens, originated in Africa about 150,000 years ago – viewing this consensus we might all claim to be African Americans. 

At one time, physical strength and environmental savvy dictated the survival of the fittest.  But, as the human brain developed in response to survival necessities, the need for physical strength and environmental savvy no longer held sway on life and death.   Brighter and manipulative individuals advanced civilization on the backs of the uneducated and unskilled.

There have always been Kings and serfs, bosses and workers; and there have always been really stupid people that somehow survive.  

Today, in the United States, survival stimuli hardly exist.  We drive to work, we draw our pay, we shop at Walmart, we eat our pre-prepared frozen dinners, we watch reality TV and then we go to bed and get up and do it again.   The government actually does take care of many of our needs.   Higher thinking skills necessary to complete our daily functions practically don’t exist.  

The old adage: If you don’t use it you lose it – could apply to the mental faculties of a large portion of our population.   We see the far right running around with tri-corner hats and tea bags hanging from the brims; the fundamentalist religious declaring the world is six thousand years old; supposedly educated government officials claiming women can’t get pregnant as the results of rape; a large portion of the population denying climate change and declaring science as unfounded propaganda.  The list can go on and on and on…but the bottom line is that we have more crazies in our population than at any point in our past.  

Like Neanderthal breaking from the Sapiens line – when do we have the Darwinian split – the nut cases separating from the competent?  

They might all travel to Texas, secede from the United States – inbreed and eventually create a new species: Homo Crazy.    There is no doubt that their inability to reason and process logic would, like the Neanderthal, result in Darwinian demise.   In which case, the world might be better off.  



the Ol’Buzzard

Yellow dog Granny what is your second choice for a state?   There is room for you here in Maine

Sunday, November 11, 2012

ENOUGH SAID.

My last fucking post about the election:




the Ol'Buzzard

THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR

THE ABSOLUTE BEST NON-PARTISAN NEWS SOURCE 
WITH THE MOST IN-DEPTH REPORTING.


Anyone who has followed my blogs knows my feelings about organized religion.   Religions in general, and Christianity specifically, has been the bane of human existence for a thousand years.   
That said; the absolute best source for news, both world and national, is The Christian Science Monitor.  

No religious bullshit: just good news reporting. 

Follow the above link and check it out for yourself.  

the Ol'Buzzard 

BIBLE THUMPING REPUBLICANS - TAKE NOTE


GAY MARRIAGE HAS PASSED IN MAINE

NOW MARIJUANA NEXT.

It is a new fucking world Republicans.
If you don't like it get out of it.  



the Ol'Buzzard



Saturday, November 10, 2012

Maine's Marriage Equality Passes.



MAINE PASSED A GAY MARRIAGE REFERENDUM AT THE LAST ELECTION.


Two years ago the Maine legislature passed a gay marriage amendment to the constitution.  The amendment met vehement opposition from the fundamentalist Christian groups, with pious protectors of Maine's morals turning out in number. During the legislative hearings Christian opponents screamed out Bible verses and shouted 'abomination' at gay participants..  

The amendment passed but was later defeated in a public referendum spearheaded and financed by the Catholic Church and other groups outside of Maine. 

During this election the Marriage Equality referendum was again offered to Maine voters, but this time it passed.   People turning out to vote for President Obama soundly defeated the Christian fundamentalist opposition.  

common sense over religious ignorance

the Ol'Buzzard


Sunday, November 4, 2012

THE 2012 ELECTION


IS IT OVERT YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?
IS IT OVERT YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?  
IS IT OVERT YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?  
IS IT OVERT YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?  
IS IT OVERT YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?  
IS IT OVERT YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?  
IS IT OVERT YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?  
IS IT OVERT YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?  
IS IT OVERT YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?  
IS IT OVERT YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?  
IS IT OVERT YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?  
IS IT OVERT YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?  
IS IT OVERT YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?  
IS IT OVERT YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?  IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?   IS IT OVER YET?  \

THE COVERAGE IS DRIVING ME CRAZY - LET'S GET IT OVER WITH.
the Ol'Buzzard
  

Saturday, November 3, 2012

THE ZOMBIE TURKEY APOCALYPSE IS NOW!




THERE IS MORE HAPPENING THAN GLOBAL WARMING!

It all started with the hurricane.   Sandy roared into New Jersey and swung north putting large segments of New England underwater and without power, then it tracked north into Canada - but only skirting northwestern Maine.  As the storm passed us we experienced thunder, lightning, heavy rain and a strange mist that was too heavy to be considered fog.

The first inkling that something was wrong was a telephone call from my neighbor up the road.   Hunting season had opened and at dawn Marge’s husband had left for his tree stand in the woods behind his house.   He returned about nine-o-clock with his clothes torn and ripped and his face clawed and both his eyes sockets empty.   Somehow he had found his way home.   Ned was raving that he had shot a turkey and that when he left his tree stand to pick up the bird it came back to life and attacked him.   Marge’s two teen age boys grabbed their guns and headed to the tree stand and at dark they still were not back

Meanwhile, the paramedics had collected Ned and he was still raving about a turkey trying to eat him.   The paramedics said that Ned had probably fallen out of his tree stand into heavy brush which poked out his eyes, and that he was suffering from delirium.

Later that afternoon Marge called and said that there were thirty turkeys in her back yard and that she had taken her rifle and shot six.  She said that the birds dropped in their tracks shivered and within a minute stood up shook their feathers and then attacked the house, throwing themselves against the door and the windows.  Two had crashed through the kitchen windows and she had locked herself in the bathroom with her cell phone.   She called 911 and the police dispatcher threatened to arrest her if she made any more crank calls. 

They are coming to get you Barbara!
 

I took my shotgun and went down the back trail to Ned’s place. There were, in fact, about 23 turkeys in her back yard – around half were pecking seeds under the bird feeder like turkeys do, but probably eight or ten were flapping and squawking and seemed to be enraged.   Just then Ned’s Rottweiler came around the corner of the house and rushed at the turkeys.   Some of the turkeys continued to clean up around the bird feeders, but the wild acting ones converged on the dog with such ferocity that the dog fled into the woods. 

Turkeys marshaling an attack on the dog!


With whoops and screams the wild turkeys pursued on the ground and in the air.  The rest of the turkeys stopped feeding on seeds and followed the attacking birds.

Chasing the dog into the woods


That was six days ago.   This morning while I was away from the house my wife disappeared.  I found truck tire tracks in the driveway of a six wheel vehicle with a tread of the kind used by the military 6X6’s.  I checked up and down the neighborhood and no one was home.  The entire road we live on was empty of people.  At some houses the doors had been left open.   At the mouth of our road where it ties into Route 4 there was a blockade and a government quarantine sign warning people that the road was closed and under marshal law due to a bird flu epidemic affecting the area. 

On the way back to the house, down a side trail to the creek I saw the back end of a military Hummer vehicle.   I parked behind the vehicle, took my deer rifle and started down the trail.  I hadn't gone thirty yards when I came across the body of a young male in what was left of a fatigue uniform – he looked like he had been the victim of a school of piranha.   Further down the trail I came on the body of a young lieutenant.  He was alive, but barely.  The lower half of his body was shredded and his intestines were exposed.   I gave him comfort and talked to him and he eventually told me the people on our road had been collected and transported to a quarantine facility north of Eustis, on the Canadian border.   He was afraid the turkeys were going to return and he asked me to end it for him – and I did.  

I returned home for my cold weather gear and some food and more ammunition.   I found the electricity off, the telephone no longer worked and there was no cell phone service.  As I left the house and traveled north it seems the whole area of western Maine had no electricity and no cell phone service. 

I am now sitting on a ridge overlooking a wire enclosure that looks more like a concentration camp than a quarantine center.  The compound is overseen by what appears to be military troops but in black uniforms.  There is actually no one guarding the fence compound which is only about five feet high and looks to be made out of chicken wire fencing, but the fenced in area appears to be under the observation of a couple of men huddled around a camp fire near the fence gate.  There is a helicopter in the clearing north of the fence and beside it a large tent there are four large troop carriers and a couple of Hummers.  

The men, women and children in the compound are all necked and wandering around in what appears to be a drugged state.  They shuffle more than walk and often bump into each other. Occasionally one will urinate or defecate while shuffling around.

I estimate about four hundred people in the enclosure and so far have not seen my wife.  About an hour ago four of the soldiers came into the enclosure pulling fifty gallon drums filled with what appears to be gruel, which they dumped into a trough.   They banged on a large pan with a ladle and that seemed to get the attention of the people who turned and shuffled toward the troughs.  Some stuck their heads in the food and ate while others clumsily scooped food up with their hands and smeared it in the vicinity of their mouths.   There is a hose stretched about six feet high behind the troughs and it appears that water is dropping from holes along its length, as I see people amble to that area and hold their heads back with mouths open – appearing to drink. 

The weather is cold.  I don’t think many of these people will last the night without clothes.

My plan is to locate my wife and tonight strip bare ass and try to infiltrate the compound.  I will get my wife and bring her out through the woods to my truck which is well hidden not for away in a draw.   I am not sure where we will go, possibly cross into Canada on the back logging roads.

LATER:

The wife and I made it out and across the boarder, and are staying at a motel.  My wife has improved and hopefully will recover fully.   Meantime I must warn you – There appears to be a turkey zombie apocalypse in progress and it appears it is being covered up by the government.  If you see turkeys, chickens or any type of birds stay away from them – and whatever you do don’t kill them.
 
And this is very important: On November 6 we are still having a presidential election and you have got to ask yourself who would you rather be handling this Turkey Zombie Apocalypse: Flip-flopping Romney, who’s answer is to cut taxes, protect the rich and shuffle government responsibilities to the private section; Or, Barack Obama who ended the war in Iraq, rescued the Somalia hostages, killed bin Laden and brought order to the devastation caused by the massive hurricane Sandy?    The future is in your hands. 

THE ZOMBIE TURKEYS ARE COMING!

THE ZOMBIE TURKEYS ARE COMING!

THE ZOMBIE TURKEYS ARE COMING AND THEY ARE NOT VERY NICE BIRDS.

VOTE OBAMA 2012.

the Ol’Buzzard


Thursday, November 1, 2012

THE LAW OF INVERSE PROPORTION


WELFARE FRAUD AND TAX CUTS



My wife’s brother-in-law, who lives in Massachusetts, is a staunch far-right Republican.   His grandparents came to this country from Portugal – they had to be sponsored by their relations.   This couple worked menial jobs twelve hours a day, seven days a week and prospered.  They educated their children (his father) who also had an unbelievable work ethic and, as a result, prospered.  His parents were able to send he and his sister to college and each of them have productive jobs and are hard workers.  

His (the brother-in-law) biggest ax to grind has to do with federal poverty programs.   He feels that there is a large percentage of the population that chooses to live off handouts from the government instead of working, and, as a result, he has to support them through his labor (taxes.)   There is some justification for that attitude.



Let me give you a ‘hypothetical’ situation (Hypothetical because if I did know these people I might be responsible for making trouble for them as a result of this post.  So this is strictly HYPOTHETICAL.

A young man and women married about ten years ago and immediately had a child.  The man weighed near three hundred pounds and for a couple of years worked washing cars at a car dealership and later worked at McDonald's.   Because of his weight he developed a knee problem and eventually had to have a knee replacement (on the dole.)   His weight and lack of exercise prevented the knee from healing properly.   As he wasn't able to work manual jobs and had no skills he applied for disability and received it.   The family was already drawing food stamps and fuel assistance, now due to his disability these increased.   About a year ago the couple filed for divorce and he moved out.   Now the wife, as a single mother, was eligible for more assistance. A couple of weeks after the divorce was final the man moves back into the house.  Later, I overheard the woman saying that her doctor had refused to sign papers stating she was unable to work due to a back problem (though to my knowledge she has never worked a day, so I fail to see the relationship.)  She eventually changed doctors and now I understand that she did apply for, and receives, work disability.

The young man (about 35 years old) now works at a sit-down job just enough hours so as not to affect his disability status.  The couple has two cars, cable television, both have a cell phone and he smokes a pack of cigarettes a day.   The landlord has recently been notified that their rent is to be paid by a federal program so he (the landlord) must perform certain maintenance on the house in order to bring it up to federal standards.     

This couple, for all practical purposes, has been able to retire at age thirty five on government programs. 

As I have said, this is a fictional account; but if I did know these people I would not hold it against them that they have worked the system.   They are a product of a failed public educational policy that has resulted in their inability to qualify for adequate employment that would properly support their family.

Before we designate them as crooks, we must look at the other side of the equation. 

The presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, does not work so he pays no income tax from a W-2 income.  The millions he made last year were the results of dividends (investment income) that is at present taxed at eleven percent.   If elected president, Mitt Romney has declared he will do away with taxes on dividend income which would result in most millionaires and billionaires, including Romney, paying no federal income taxes. 



Welfare fraud and tax cuts for the wealthy have an inverse proportion effects on our federal budget and deficit.   In other words, the federal government loses money to welfare abuse and the federal government would lose money by doing away with the taxes on investment income of millionaires and billionaires.

Is it any worse for the people on the bottom of the income scale to be bilking the government than it is for the people on the top?

Republicans constantly cry about welfare fraud and at the same time demand tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans; but, both of these situations should be considered welfare fraud in the way they affect the federal deficit. We should also include the money the government pays to mega-businesses like Exxon and the industrial farming industry in this welfare category.  

I don’t doubt that welfare fraud exist, and that it is costing the government big time; but it exist on both sides of the equation, and we must ask ourselves which is more heinous, and why should we vilify the people on the bottom and not on the top.

There are many people that legitimately need government assistance, and that assistance should be there for them.  Other people need education, training and oversight to move from the welfare system.   

Our government should be furnishing free training, education and child care for families in poverty in order to break the chain of welfare dependency.  And, we should insure that no child ever goes hungry or homeless in the United States of America

All of this could be easily done by defunding corporate welfare, increasing taxes on millionaires and billionaires and drastically downsizing our military.   These changes could supply the funding to allow us to institute an aggressive training, education and placement component to the federal welfare program that could move people from welfare to jobs. 
 

The Big Branch Coal Mine

Who’s an outlaw,
Quick on the draw?
Cast the first stone
If you don’t have a flaw.
Who fills the jails,
Who lives above the law?
White collar,
Blue collar.
Who’s rich
Who's poor?

the Ol’Buzzard