A call to political action

---

Yeah, that seems to have been the case. I once heard that if the ballots were counted fully in the manner that Bush wanted, then Gore would have won. However, if the ballots were counted in the manner that Gore wanted, then Bush would have won. No matter what happened, that was one effed up election.

Military funding is the key to why people in the military vote republican.

VA is a lot different issue than supporting troops, etc.Lets talk welfare, I wanna talk about welfare.Tell me, why should my money go to some lazy ass punk beeyotch who refuses to go work at McDonald's or Burger King?

And the US is the only country with FAT POOR PEOPLE

Yep.I went into 7-11 the other day and got pissed. A person went in and bought 3 Slurpees and tried to buy a 30-pack of Budweiser with their Lone Star Card (the local "food stamps" here in Tex.) The cashier wouldn't let him buy the beer and he wasn't supposed to let him buy slurpees, but did.Thats my friggin' money!!!!

people like that make me just, grrrrr.

That's a large reason for my voting track record.

I'm conservative not just for the military, but because I align with them on almost everything else, too. I'm against abortion (entirely), against gays (in the military or elsewhere), like their stand on gun control, and on where the basis of power should be. Right wing all the way for me.Oh, yeah, and I HATE WELFARE PUNKS TOO!

I agree with No1sexpot on the media point. Although the media has typically been liberal, there's been a noticable move to the right. Fox more or less takes the liberal=terrorist approach. Murdoch is clearly a hardcore neocon lover.I'll also say a couple things about the welfare state. One, most people misunderstand welfare. First of all, the entity we tpyically speak of as "welfare" is a collection of different programs. Many of these are only available to poor families with kids (some lazy, single guy is likely to get almost nothing). I can see where people would be frustrated about the redistribution of their money, but the kids of these families never chose to be poor. Take food stamps, for instance. One reason why these were created was precisely to funnel some of the benefits of welfare to the children of poor families. The idea was that forcing families to by food with government aid will allow the children to eat (whereas if you simply gave these families money, the parents might spend it entirely on themselves). Also, take another look at Medicaid. A lot of money is spent on Medicaid. This isn't just for people who are too "lazy" to get a job. Many jobs available to low income individuals do not come with any insurance benefits, and low income families cannot afford insurance by themselves. Would it be fair to allow the sick children in these families to go unaided because their parents don't have the education to get a higher paying job with full benefits?Look at social security and Medicare. These are huge expenditures falling under the "welfare" umbrella. But are you seriously considering that a 90 year old, bed ridden woman is being "lazy" for not flipping burgers? Everyone talks about the evils of welfare, but when it comes to one of our biggest welfare programs, no one has the nerve to say "get a job, grandma!" The fact is that welfare is more complicated than it seems, and the welfare state tries (as best as it can) to target children and old people who cannot simply go out and get jobs. Finally, Republicans talk a big game about welfare, but when it comes down to spending, they never put the money where there mouth is (or maybe I should say that they put the money in their mouths and eat it too!). A lot of US tax dollars are spent on a welfare system of a totally different kind that is both less justifiable, and more deleterious to our economy. I’m talking about farm subsidies, and Republicans never shirk from this kind of spending. Don’t fool yourself; this is just another form of welfare. Farm subsidies not only funnel your money to poor farmers, but also to huge farming conglomerates (welfare for the rich, with no children or elderly involved). This also screws up the prices of agricultural goods, which creates both domestic and international problems (I can write a post about the specifics if anyone cares). In the end, it’s not about welfare or no welfare when you’re choosing between the parties. It’s about making the choice between poor children, the elderly, and farmers (rich and poor). Take your pick. I choose the poor children and elderly.

Welfare was intended to help. you say they didn't choose to be poor, well...y can't they get a job at McDonald's or Burger King?SS is my biggest gripe in this arguement. In the 4 years I've been putting money in, all of it has gone to an old person who is still up and running. People like my mother, if she were married, because she's a teacher, could not draw on my father's SS. Out of the $20,000 I will pay in, approximately 20% will be left when I'm 65.

It's true, we will likely never see the money we put into SS. The system is dying. As far as the poor thing goes, when I say "they" didn't chose to be poor, I'm refering to the children of lower income families as "they." Obviously the children cannot work at McDonalds. From my perspective, it is this group of people (the children of lower income families) that are, and should be, the primary target of Medicaid and the Food Stamp program (and other schemes). Edit: As a random aside, I changed my avatar. The last one was a statue that I thought looked kind of cool, but as I kept looking at it, it looked more and more ominious. The guy didn't look so much like a statue as he did a corpse. Anyway, that was a random thought

Your right, HOWEVER, why should I have to pick up the bill for children whose parents won't work. If anything the welfare system needs to be reworked.

I agree that the system needs reworking. It creates some unfortunate incentive structures.

As far as *you* or anyone else picking up the bill, the best thing I can say is that this is life in a civilized society. All the rights you and I have, and almost all of the benefits we get come at a cost to someone. This isn't limited to welfare benefits; its scope is infinite. Even your property rights (in the money you claim to be entitled to) are distributed to you through state intervention. Why should you pay for a poor child? Why should everyone here pay for my education? Almost all benefits are targeted unequally... we just try our best to target rights and benefits in the best direction.

I understand where your coming from but, we have a progressive (I can't remember exactly if thats the word) tax system which means a brunt of the tax bore is by the lower middle to upper classes.

damn, i liked your statue steppen, i thought it looked philosohical

True 'nuff, but he also looked kind of angry and mean. It's a cool statue though (Dying Gaul- a roman replica of a Greek bronze)

Nice to know that you know me so well.BTW, my parents are divorced and there were months that we lived off of a fuckin' $0.38 for 2.5 weeks.You quit judging, and get to know me before saying crap like that!!!

Like I said you don't know who I am. I never said I was so poor but I do know what it's like to be down and sturggle and have to sacrifice...and I SURE AS HELL KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO PULL YOURSELF UP BY THE BOOTSTRAPS!!!Compassion in my book is feeling sorry for those WHO TRY!!! The people on welfare in my hometown are friggin' 3rd Gens whose parents and GP didn't hold a fuggin' job before them. If they try great, I'll give 'em a big 'ole hug (that seems to be what you want), but I don't feel sorry for the lazy asses who don't even friggin' try.

High horse. Why don't you quit telling me WHO I FUCKING AM. When I first came on here you bitching and whining about how everyone judged you and didn't even know you. Quit doing it to me.

I am old enough to make up my fucking mind about my political views. How do YOU KNOW that I repeat what has been told.

Yes I know several peeps who take welfare for granted, and I could turn this into a bigger arguement, but I won't because you'll open your mouth and call me a racist, or nazi, or some shit.

People who try are cool, people who don't just suck.There are women out there who get pregnant just to collect welfare. There are men and women who don't work just to collect welfare. There are some the get put on unemployment and just stay there because they're getting paid for doing nothing. These people suck.There are people who try to support themselves and their family. There are some that don't want to be on welfare. These people rock.Knowing which people go in what category is hard even if you were to ask. I hope we've come to understand a little better guys. Relax, just do it.