Posted by Megalomania on Wed, Jul 1, 2009, at 10:45 PM:
"Cynthia Davis, a conservative Christian Republican State Rep. from Missouri, is against government spending to feed hungry children during the summer, claiming if they were allowed to go hungry, children old enough would be more likely to get a job so they can eat. "Hunger can be a positive motivator," declared Davis, in her weekly Capitol Report column that is a case study in conservative callousness towards the poor."
LOL!!!
SMART WOMAN, INTELLIGENT, GOOD CHRISTIAN VALUES, AND PILLAR OF HER COMMUNITY. (NOT TO MENTION...lol! WELL YOU KNOW)
You know she is going to be vilified for actually wanting people youg or old to take reponsibility for theirselfs and stop depending on the gov. for hand outs.
-- Posted by Airborne 95B on Thu, Jul 2, 2009, at 7:41 AM
Megalomania: You feel that government ought to forcibly take the bread off the table of those trying to provide for their own families to feed the children? If so, why do you find it compassionate to use force?
I don't like the idea of children going hungry, but I don't find compassion in using force to accomplish an end. I no longer know what Christian values are, but they appear to coincide with the evils of government. That is not to say that all Christians share those values.
-- Posted by James Nall on Thu, Jul 2, 2009, at 7:43 AM
According to her website, she begins by saying that around the age of 16, they (the youth) should be able to get a job. Ok, fine, I agree, if they can find one. But, HELLO! We're in a recession, adults can't find jobs now, much less kids. Then she states that McDonalds will feed them if they work there, so she pawns reponsiblity off on a private business. But if you read her other commentary, she is utterly clueless about food, or lack thereof, and obesity. She tries to pawn the responsiblity of feeding children off on churches. She tries to encourage healthy eating, which is good, but then follows up elsewhere that people should work at McDonalds so they can eat for free. She also erroneously believes that people who are cash-strapped for food will "chose not to waste hard-earned dollars on potato chips, ice cream or Twinkies." However, as we all know, for the poor, junk food is far cheaper than fresh fruit and vegetables.
I think Meg brought the statement to our attention, to make us aware. If our youth is malnourished, or experiences periods of lack of food, especially early on, the damage is irreversible, and in the end, the cost to our nation will be astronomical in terms of lost potential. One of the great things about this country is the fact the government developed programs in which the citizens could be fed if they needed help. Between Us, prior to the Depression, FDR, and his *gasp* Socialist and *gasp* Communist programs, if you didn't have food, or your neighbors or family didn't take pity on you, YOU STARVED! Period. As a nation, the right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness are our guaranteed rights-food kinda helps make that happen.
Meg, your forgot to add BRILLIANT to your list of Cynthia Davis adjectives. (I am being facetious).
-- Posted by bella10 on Thu, Jul 2, 2009, at 8:42 AM
bella10: If I'm not mistaken, you believe that a healthy alternative would be to use the force of guns (government) to resolve hunger? You would use trespass, much like a robber, on another person's property to alleviate hunger instead of using voluntary means.
I agree that FD Roosevelt was not a socialist. He went one step farther into the system of a person that he admired very much, Bonito Mussolini fascism.
Obama said that he agreed with Roosevelt's policies, or fascism.
Academia feels that fascism is a small price to pay in order to get Grants and to be published in respective field journals.
-- Posted by James Nall on Thu, Jul 2, 2009, at 9:40 AM
While I do not agree with the words she chose I do understand that she wants people to be responsible for themselves ad quit waiting for someone else to take care of them. It may be cold but even a child needs to learn that lesson of life.
Also if a family is really hungry there is a place called social services where they can go and get food stamps to buy food. No they may not eat what they want but they can buy food, there i also commodities available. The taxpayers are already paying for kids to eat how much more can they do.
Third if you want a job you will find one just might not be what you want to do. My daughter is 16 and went to work back in May at McDonalds, she brings home a little over $400 every two weeks now, my son is 10 and mows yards to get extra money so yes even a kid can work and they do not have to do it, their dad and I make enough BUT they may as well learn now that life isnt fair you hav to work to get what you want.
If more politicians took a stand of helping those that help themselves and stop the free ride things may change. Children do not have to go hungry they do because their parents simply don't care.
-- Posted by semoangel70 on Thu, Jul 2, 2009, at 10:20 AM
Nall,
Then please explain how to create jobs in this recession. Lower taxes? And companies will come up with 2,000,000 jobs paying benefits and $25,000 salaries? or 4,000,000 jobs paying minimum wage (which they whinge about) paying no benefits?
Obama is NO Roosevelt, but I sure wished he was.
That all being said, there are only two options in my book. NO GOVERNMENT at all (my preferred option) Or completely government funded. (no one's favorite option)
When you start sliding into "grey" areas, this is when problems develope. Cut/dry/black/white. Cuts down on a lot of things.
Just like the message being sent by Cape Girardeau City officials on Commander Premier.
Ex: (Joe Citizen) Don't pay water bill...water disconnect, no service if past due 10 days or less.
The "other" Example: (Commander Premier) Miss more than 50% of your payments, and you "still" get to stay in the building you've not been paying for carte blanche.
Like I said, black/white/cut and dry.
This also falls into what you said about "Christian Values." "I no longer know what Christian values are, but they appear to coincide with the evils of government."
Nall,
Christian values haven't changed (as far as I know) The Bible was written thousands of years ago, it says what it says, and as a "said Christian" like Rep. Davis...the Bible cannot be "adjusted" to one's "personal" life, or lifestyle.
It would be like being a member of Rock band and claiming to be a rock star, but only singing Bluegrass tunes. You wouldn't really be a Rockstar...would you?
I guess what I found most hilarious about Davis's statement is when she is refering to Children, and in the same breath saying "Starvation can be a positive motivator."
I wonder how long I could starve my children for not doing chores before the police arrested me and DFS showed up at my door?
Because that's basically what she's condoning in that statement.
The other thing that amazes me, that this person is an elected official. Sure, I see customer service going down the shooter all the time, I guess it's spreading to our Political Pillar's of the Community now. God help us, we have lost our way. (or at least a good majority of us have)
I wonder how many days a week she eats from the stupid trough?
-- Posted by Megalomania on Thu, Jul 2, 2009, at 10:36 AM
Ummm...James Nall, yes, yes you ARE mistaken. Nowhere did I state my beliefs, I pointed out Cynthia Davis'. Don't foist your ideals through my writing. It can be difficult to read, in general, without bias though. It appears, however, that you are against education, or at least academics. The "guns" aka "Government" are the people, aka us, we have a voice, we have the ability, and we are all to complacent. Thus far, I am amused, but that could quickly change to boredom.
Huh, last I checked, Facisim was defined as: a radical and authoritarian nationalist political ideologyand a corporatist economic ideology. Fascists believe that nations and/or races are in perpetual conflict whereby only the strong can survive by being healthy, vital, and by asserting themselves in conflict against the weak. Fascists advocate the creation of a single-party state. Fascist governments forbid and suppress criticism and opposition to the government and the fascist movement. Fascism opposes class conflict, blames capitalist liberal democracies for its creation and communists for exploiting the concept. Funny thing is; "facism" seems to most closely resemble the leadership we just came out of. I am astounded at the glacial comments made. People should be self-reliant, but sometimes help is needed. As for the whole "people helping themsevles" mentality, I agree. However, I find it interesting that so many expect the politicians to fix things.....why not you "take responsibility," as everyone has suggested the less fortunate do?
-- Posted by bella10 on Thu, Jul 2, 2009, at 11:11 AM
Megalomania: My preference would be no government. It is unlikely to happen since we have become too comfortable using guns toward an end like common criminals.
-- Posted by James Nall on Thu, Jul 2, 2009, at 11:19 AM
bella10: I agree that the previous administration was fascist in nature, but so is this one. Same policies.
-- Posted by James Nall on Thu, Jul 2, 2009, at 11:24 AM
Nall, it's only been 6 months. Too early to tell. We had 8 years under the last one and could make a well-informed decision. Obama has a heck of a mess to clean up.
-- Posted by bella10 on Thu, Jul 2, 2009, at 11:47 AM
Wow, not a very politically-correct statement statement, was it? Somewhat misleading though out-of-context because when we think 'children' we usually aren't thinking 'teenagers.'
Hunger definitely can be a strong motivator ... It motivated the kids' dad and I to pick up pop bottles along the highways during one winter of unemployment so we could buy bread and milk. It also 'motivated' me to find a 45-cent an hour job for rest of the winter so we could keep the utilities paid. Dumb as we were, we didn't even realize that there was such a thing as 'commodities' back then (semoangel, there are still commodities?) that we might have qualified for ... or maybe could've bought at a good price from people who were receiving them ... which was fairly common back then.
I may be wrong, but I really think we'd be hard pressed to find any children in America who are honestly hungry ... unless their parent(s) are selling their food stamp benfits to buy other things ... which is fairly common.
Actually, if we Americans are going to feed the 'hungry,' I think we should go back to the 'commodities' idea ... or we should limit what type of food items can be purchased with the stamps (Yikes! No cookies, chips, candy, gum?)... but that's only if we're seriously concerned about providing a month's worth of food to a needy family.
The saddest part of our welfare system is ... as has been mentioned by several ... that it gives little or no incentive for people to work harder or longer in order to become more self-sufficient, with welfare benefits, as few as 10-15 years ago, in every state, totaling more in actual dollars than being employed in a minimum-wage job. There really needs to be some major changes in the system ... but from what I've seen over the decades, any changes our governments make are geared to enlarge them.
However, all my lengthy thoughts aside ... Since most teenagers usually do have jobs, Ms. Davis is out of touch on this issue, apparently.
-- Posted by gurusmom on Thu, Jul 2, 2009, at 8:14 PM
Gurusmom
Yes most areas still have commodities. A lady I babysit for goes to Sikeston once a month to pick hers up. She says she usally gets a big thing of peanut butter, cheese, beans, rice, mac and cheese, cereal, oatmeal and then other odds and end items. Not the most appealing foods but better than nothing if you are hungry.
Summer months are harder on kids from lowr income households. During the school year they can get breakfast and lunch at school but even during the summer the parents could buy somethig as simple as ramen noodles for them 20 cents a bag and for some reason kids like them.
I will always feel if someone is hungry they will take what is available and be happy, if they really want to work they will do whatever to bring home a pay check but the sad fact is to many still think they are owed everything.
-- Posted by semoangel70 on Fri, Jul 3, 2009, at 7:53 PM
An experience I had in the early 90's as I wait in line at Save-A -Lot with my rice & Cream O' Wheat (all I can afford from my 3 dollar an hour job) the customer in front of me is informed he cannot purchase dog food with food stamps, he says ok & returns with very good cuts of steak which to feed his dog ( it dawned on me then something was broken with the system)......
-- Posted by rockman54 on Sat, Jul 4, 2009, at 6:51 AM
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"Cynthia Davis, a conservative Christian Republican State Rep. from Missouri, is against government spending to feed hungry children during the summer, claiming if they were allowed to go hungry, children old enough would be more likely to get a job so they can eat. "Hunger can be a positive motivator," declared Davis, in her weekly Capitol Report column that is a case study in conservative callousness towards the poor."
LOL!!!
SMART WOMAN, INTELLIGENT, GOOD CHRISTIAN VALUES, AND PILLAR OF HER COMMUNITY. (NOT TO MENTION...lol! WELL YOU KNOW)
Replies
You know she is going to be vilified for actually wanting people youg or old to take reponsibility for theirselfs and stop depending on the gov. for hand outs.
Megalomania: You feel that government ought to forcibly take the bread off the table of those trying to provide for their own families to feed the children? If so, why do you find it compassionate to use force?
I don't like the idea of children going hungry, but I don't find compassion in using force to accomplish an end. I no longer know what Christian values are, but they appear to coincide with the evils of government. That is not to say that all Christians share those values.
According to her website, she begins by saying that around the age of 16, they (the youth) should be able to get a job. Ok, fine, I agree, if they can find one. But, HELLO! We're in a recession, adults can't find jobs now, much less kids. Then she states that McDonalds will feed them if they work there, so she pawns reponsiblity off on a private business. But if you read her other commentary, she is utterly clueless about food, or lack thereof, and obesity. She tries to pawn the responsiblity of feeding children off on churches. She tries to encourage healthy eating, which is good, but then follows up elsewhere that people should work at McDonalds so they can eat for free. She also erroneously believes that people who are cash-strapped for food will "chose not to waste hard-earned dollars on potato chips, ice cream or Twinkies." However, as we all know, for the poor, junk food is far cheaper than fresh fruit and vegetables.
I think Meg brought the statement to our attention, to make us aware. If our youth is malnourished, or experiences periods of lack of food, especially early on, the damage is irreversible, and in the end, the cost to our nation will be astronomical in terms of lost potential. One of the great things about this country is the fact the government developed programs in which the citizens could be fed if they needed help. Between Us, prior to the Depression, FDR, and his *gasp* Socialist and *gasp* Communist programs, if you didn't have food, or your neighbors or family didn't take pity on you, YOU STARVED! Period. As a nation, the right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness are our guaranteed rights-food kinda helps make that happen.
Meg, your forgot to add BRILLIANT to your list of Cynthia Davis adjectives. (I am being facetious).
bella10: If I'm not mistaken, you believe that a healthy alternative would be to use the force of guns (government) to resolve hunger? You would use trespass, much like a robber, on another person's property to alleviate hunger instead of using voluntary means.
I agree that FD Roosevelt was not a socialist. He went one step farther into the system of a person that he admired very much, Bonito Mussolini fascism.
Obama said that he agreed with Roosevelt's policies, or fascism.
Academia feels that fascism is a small price to pay in order to get Grants and to be published in respective field journals.
While I do not agree with the words she chose I do understand that she wants people to be responsible for themselves ad quit waiting for someone else to take care of them. It may be cold but even a child needs to learn that lesson of life.
Also if a family is really hungry there is a place called social services where they can go and get food stamps to buy food. No they may not eat what they want but they can buy food, there i also commodities available. The taxpayers are already paying for kids to eat how much more can they do.
Third if you want a job you will find one just might not be what you want to do. My daughter is 16 and went to work back in May at McDonalds, she brings home a little over $400 every two weeks now, my son is 10 and mows yards to get extra money so yes even a kid can work and they do not have to do it, their dad and I make enough BUT they may as well learn now that life isnt fair you hav to work to get what you want.
If more politicians took a stand of helping those that help themselves and stop the free ride things may change. Children do not have to go hungry they do because their parents simply don't care.
Nall,
Then please explain how to create jobs in this recession. Lower taxes? And companies will come up with 2,000,000 jobs paying benefits and $25,000 salaries? or 4,000,000 jobs paying minimum wage (which they whinge about) paying no benefits?
Obama is NO Roosevelt, but I sure wished he was.
That all being said, there are only two options in my book. NO GOVERNMENT at all (my preferred option) Or completely government funded. (no one's favorite option)
When you start sliding into "grey" areas, this is when problems develope. Cut/dry/black/white. Cuts down on a lot of things.
Just like the message being sent by Cape Girardeau City officials on Commander Premier.
Ex: (Joe Citizen) Don't pay water bill...water disconnect, no service if past due 10 days or less.
The "other" Example: (Commander Premier) Miss more than 50% of your payments, and you "still" get to stay in the building you've not been paying for carte blanche.
Like I said, black/white/cut and dry.
This also falls into what you said about "Christian Values." "I no longer know what Christian values are, but they appear to coincide with the evils of government."
Nall,
Christian values haven't changed (as far as I know) The Bible was written thousands of years ago, it says what it says, and as a "said Christian" like Rep. Davis...the Bible cannot be "adjusted" to one's "personal" life, or lifestyle.
It would be like being a member of Rock band and claiming to be a rock star, but only singing Bluegrass tunes. You wouldn't really be a Rockstar...would you?
I guess what I found most hilarious about Davis's statement is when she is refering to Children, and in the same breath saying "Starvation can be a positive motivator."
I wonder how long I could starve my children for not doing chores before the police arrested me and DFS showed up at my door?
Because that's basically what she's condoning in that statement.
The other thing that amazes me, that this person is an elected official. Sure, I see customer service going down the shooter all the time, I guess it's spreading to our Political Pillar's of the Community now. God help us, we have lost our way. (or at least a good majority of us have)
I wonder how many days a week she eats from the stupid trough?
Ummm...James Nall, yes, yes you ARE mistaken. Nowhere did I state my beliefs, I pointed out Cynthia Davis'. Don't foist your ideals through my writing. It can be difficult to read, in general, without bias though. It appears, however, that you are against education, or at least academics. The "guns" aka "Government" are the people, aka us, we have a voice, we have the ability, and we are all to complacent. Thus far, I am amused, but that could quickly change to boredom.
Huh, last I checked, Facisim was defined as: a radical and authoritarian nationalist political ideologyand a corporatist economic ideology. Fascists believe that nations and/or races are in perpetual conflict whereby only the strong can survive by being healthy, vital, and by asserting themselves in conflict against the weak. Fascists advocate the creation of a single-party state. Fascist governments forbid and suppress criticism and opposition to the government and the fascist movement. Fascism opposes class conflict, blames capitalist liberal democracies for its creation and communists for exploiting the concept. Funny thing is; "facism" seems to most closely resemble the leadership we just came out of. I am astounded at the glacial comments made. People should be self-reliant, but sometimes help is needed. As for the whole "people helping themsevles" mentality, I agree. However, I find it interesting that so many expect the politicians to fix things.....why not you "take responsibility," as everyone has suggested the less fortunate do?
Megalomania: My preference would be no government. It is unlikely to happen since we have become too comfortable using guns toward an end like common criminals.
bella10: I agree that the previous administration was fascist in nature, but so is this one. Same policies.
Nall, it's only been 6 months. Too early to tell. We had 8 years under the last one and could make a well-informed decision. Obama has a heck of a mess to clean up.
Wow, not a very politically-correct statement statement, was it? Somewhat misleading though out-of-context because when we think 'children' we usually aren't thinking 'teenagers.'
Hunger definitely can be a strong motivator ... It motivated the kids' dad and I to pick up pop bottles along the highways during one winter of unemployment so we could buy bread and milk. It also 'motivated' me to find a 45-cent an hour job for rest of the winter so we could keep the utilities paid. Dumb as we were, we didn't even realize that there was such a thing as 'commodities' back then (semoangel, there are still commodities?) that we might have qualified for ... or maybe could've bought at a good price from people who were receiving them ... which was fairly common back then.
I may be wrong, but I really think we'd be hard pressed to find any children in America who are honestly hungry ... unless their parent(s) are selling their food stamp benfits to buy other things ... which is fairly common.
Actually, if we Americans are going to feed the 'hungry,' I think we should go back to the 'commodities' idea ... or we should limit what type of food items can be purchased with the stamps (Yikes! No cookies, chips, candy, gum?)... but that's only if we're seriously concerned about providing a month's worth of food to a needy family.
The saddest part of our welfare system is ... as has been mentioned by several ... that it gives little or no incentive for people to work harder or longer in order to become more self-sufficient, with welfare benefits, as few as 10-15 years ago, in every state, totaling more in actual dollars than being employed in a minimum-wage job. There really needs to be some major changes in the system ... but from what I've seen over the decades, any changes our governments make are geared to enlarge them.
However, all my lengthy thoughts aside ... Since most teenagers usually do have jobs, Ms. Davis is out of touch on this issue, apparently.
Gurusmom
Yes most areas still have commodities. A lady I babysit for goes to Sikeston once a month to pick hers up. She says she usally gets a big thing of peanut butter, cheese, beans, rice, mac and cheese, cereal, oatmeal and then other odds and end items. Not the most appealing foods but better than nothing if you are hungry.
Summer months are harder on kids from lowr income households. During the school year they can get breakfast and lunch at school but even during the summer the parents could buy somethig as simple as ramen noodles for them 20 cents a bag and for some reason kids like them.
I will always feel if someone is hungry they will take what is available and be happy, if they really want to work they will do whatever to bring home a pay check but the sad fact is to many still think they are owed everything.
An experience I had in the early 90's as I wait in line at Save-A -Lot with my rice & Cream O' Wheat (all I can afford from my 3 dollar an hour job) the customer in front of me is informed he cannot purchase dog food with food stamps, he says ok & returns with very good cuts of steak which to feed his dog ( it dawned on me then something was broken with the system)......