Working and hungry: a challenge to conservative dogma

In this morning’s (Sunday) NYT, the following article runs–

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/us/29foodstamps.html?_r=1&hp

Full of pathos appeals, coupled with some interesting statistics, the article tracks increasing use of food stamps across the country.  In and of itself, that’s not terribly surprising.  In a difficult economy, people need help buying food.

What I found surprising and worth mulling over are a couple of facts–

1.  Growth in food stamp use is about the same in the 600 counties where it’s historically been highest, and the 600 counties where it’s historically been lowest.  That is, use of foodstamps is increasing rapidly in places where it hasn’t before.  The article isn’t terribly precise about this next point, but suggests a couple of times that the second batch of counties tend to more conservative than the first, which means that reliance on government support is (again) penetrating into places where conservative dogma says it shouldn’t.

2.  It’s not just poor people who are using food stamps.  The article makes very clear that working people and families at many levels of the economic hierarchy need support–job losses, housing bust, medical expenses, etc, are all contributing to hunger.  At the very least, the data challenges the conservative wisdom that only lazy people rely on government support.  Of course, anybody who’s paid a lick of attention for the last 30 years has known that’s crap, a fabrication of the Reagan campaign in order to fan poor white people’s indignation, while at the same time keeping them from doing much to help themselves.

3.  Notable are a couple of interviews with self-identified conservatives who are accepting government support for (what sounds like) the first time, although depending on how you define “government support,” you could argue that they’ve been accepting it their entire lives.  It’s good to see at least one of the interviewees acknowledge that food stamps aren’t just for poor, lazy people.  One of them says something like, “These are people I could be having lunch with.”  The classism of that aside, at least she recognizes something of value.  Somebody makes the point that poor people are often just as resistant to government aid as others, which was helpful to see.  But the one that really gets me is the guy who, with one hand reaches out to grab the money, and with the other slaps people who take it.  Hypocrite.  And the guy from the Heritage Foundation who (shockingly) pulls out the example of the person who lives in an expensive home and drives a Mercedez, and generalizes from her to the entire world.

If one person abusing a system were enough to call for the destruction of the system, then the Bush administration would be responsible for having smoked the Constitution; Blackwater’s rapes and murders in Iraq would be enough to destroy the US military.  And on and on.  The double-standard here is so Orwellian that it’s hard to address (thank you, John Birch, for legitimizing this kind of political discourse).

At the end of the day, what this article demonstrates is that everything conservatives say about government aid is wrong.  The system isn’t fraught with people abusing it–that’s nothing but a lie.  The system doesn’t enable laziness–it feeds working people who can’t feed themselves because our pro-corporate, anti-worker economic policies have utterly failed them.  Self-righteousness shouldn’t dictate accepting hunger as a condition of living in the wealthiest nation in the world. And conservatives who scream bloody murder about government support at the same time they accept it need to think a little harder about what they’re screaming.  I won’t argue, as some others do, that they should refuse to accept help.  It’s not the government’s job to decide who’s worthy of care based on how they exercise their First Amendment rights.  It is, however, deeply troubling that some of these folks really seem not to understand the problem here–that if they win their arguments at Tea Parties, the very support they rely on for survival will go away.

I wish Thanksgiving weren’t a day, but instead a habit

OK.  Thanksgiving morning, sipping coffee, playing around on the web, waiting for Ann to wake up so we can do whatever we’re doing to do today.  No plans, will probably just eat too much, watch some football and some movies, same as we’d do just about any other weekend day (except for the feasting part).

And yes, I’m thankful for many things: my wife, my family, my friends, my job, my dog, hints that democracy might be making a comeback in the US, growing grassroots outrage at the evils of corporate capitalism, etc.

But every year, as I wake up on Thanksgiving morning, I can’t help but wonder why we (whoever the “we” is that makes these decisions) feel like we need one day each year to take time out, to offer our thanks and good wishes, and to begin planning our Christmas-season shopping assault.  Why, that is, aren’t we more thankful (in public, out loud) every day?  How much different would the world look if we were as friendly and polite and grateful to each other *all* the time as we are on specific days that are earmarked for doing so?  It’s hard to imagine, actually, but I’m having some fun trying.

Imagine what the “pro-troops”/”anti-war” vigils in West Chester would look like if instead of waving signs and shouting invective across the street at each other, we stopped to say, “Thanks for being an example of how democracy is supposed to work.”  Or, “Although we disagree with you, thanks for taking a stand you really believe in.”  Or if everybody waved the sign I suspect both sides could accept (at least most of us), “Thanks to the brave men and women who risk their lives, and thanks to the caring citizens who want them to live out their lives.” Or, “Thanks to the people who protect democracy from outside attack and from inside erosion.”

No, those aren’t great slogans to put on signs, but you get the idea.

Wouldn’t that be fun?  And what to make of people who refused to acknowledge them?  That would be fun too.  As I’ve written here before, the world sure would look different if people had to live according to the principles they say they believe.  This would be another good way of finding out who does and doesn’t, or at least of forcing people to articulate what they actually do believe.

Now THAT’s something I’d set aside a special day to be thankful for.

Enjoy your t(of)urkey and pumpkin pie.  And be nice.

APSCUF’s endorsement of HR 676 (Medicare for All)

[Other than a slight error--APSCUF isn't affiliated with NEA--I'm happy to see this announcement out.  Our Legislative Assembly made this endorsement in late September.  For more info, go to <www.unionsforsinglepayerHR676.org>.]

Pennsylvania and Illinois Faculty Unions Endorse HR 676

Two faculty unions affiliated with the National Education Association
(NEA) have endorsed HR 676, single payer healthcare legislation introduced
by Congressman John Conyers (D-MI).

In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the Legislative Assembly of the Association
of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties (APSCUF) voted
overwhelmingly to endorse HR 676.  ASPCUF represents 6,000 faculty members
at the fourteen public university campuses across Pennsylvania.  Seth
Kahn, Grievance Chair at West Chester University, said:  “APSCUF
recognizes the importance of single-payer healthcare for unions
everywhere.  We are pleased to offer our strong endorsement.”

In Chicago, Illinois, the Executive Board of the Roosevelt University
Adjunct Faculty Organization (RAFO) also voted to endorse HR 676 reports
LuAnn Swartzlander, RAFO President.  RAFO is affiliated with the Illinois
Education Association (IEA) and the NEA.    #30#

HR 676 would institute a single payer health care system by expanding a
greatly improved Medicare system to everyone residing in the U. S.

HR 676 would cover every person for all necessary medical care including
prescription drugs, hospital, surgical, outpatient services, primary and
preventive care, emergency services, dental, mental health, home health,
physical therapy, rehabilitation (including for substance abuse), vision
care, hearing services including hearing aids, chiropractic, durable
medical equipment, palliative care, and long term care.

HR 676 ends deductibles and co-payments.  HR 676 would save hundreds of
billions annually by eliminating the high overhead and profits of the
private health insurance industry and HMOs.

In the current Congress, HR 676 has 86 co-sponsors in addition to Conyers.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced SB 703, a single payer bill
in the Senate.

HR 676 has been endorsed by 568 union organizations in 49 states including
134 Central Labor Councils and Area Labor Federations and 39 state
AFL-CIO’s (KY, PA, CT, OH, DE, ND, WA, SC, WY, VT, FL, WI, WV, SD, NC, MO,
MN, ME, AR, MD-DC, TX, IA, AZ, TN, OR, GA, OK, KS, CO, IN, AL, CA, AK, MI,
MT, NE, NY, NV & MA).

For further information, a list of union endorsers, or a sample
endorsement resolution, contact:

Kay Tillow
All Unions Committee For Single Payer Health Care–HR 676
c/o Nurses Professional Organization (NPO)
1169 Eastern Parkway, Suite 2218
Louisville, KY 40217
(502) 636 1551
Email: nursenpo@aol.com
http://unionsforsinglepayerHR676.org
11/24/09

Obama takes a bow

As I put it on my Facebook page when I posted this there a few minutes ago…  Today’s most egregious entry into the who-give-a-shit-o-sphere…

In case you missed it (because you weren’t watching CNN or Fox), President Obama took a deep bow while meeting the Emperor of Japan.  Wow.  Apparently he’s violated some rule of imperial machoness by doing so.  Gee.

To see how inflamed people are getting, start here:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/11/obama-emperor-akihito-japan.html

Then Google “Obama bow Japanese Emperor” and watch the flames spread like wildfire.

C’mon people.  This is as, if not more, ridiculous than anything I’ve heard out of you wingnuts since the election.

What’s in a name?

So I finally figured out this morning why my blog has gotten hundreds of hits in the last couple of days, when a typical day’s hits is more like twenty.  Apparently, a student at FIT, who happened to have the same name as mine, died the other day when he was hit by a bus.

If you’re one of the people looking for news about him but finding this instead, sorry I can’t help.  And if you’re somebody who knew him, although I wouldn’t expect my condolences to mean much, I’ll offer them anyway.

It’s unusual to find other Seths, and it’s especially unusual to find other Seth Kahns.  I know there are a couple of others on Facebook (because I get occasional friend requests and e-mails that are clearly not for me), and I know the person who was awarded the patent for the aerosol spray paint can shared the name.  I also know somebody used to publish under this name as a byline in the Weekly World News when I was in high school.  The only article I remember was one about a kid getting thrown out of a roller-coaster car at an amusement park in Dallas, one of the few verifiably true stories I ever saw in that esteeemed (!) publication.