Hurricane Katrina

[ZephyrZodiac]

Well, how do you think a lot of people in the UK feel when they see our PM kissing his ****!

[witch]

Actually a lot of people here were disgusted with Tony Blair around the whole Iraq thing, especially that cooked report about weapons of mass destruction, he tried to put one over the whole country.

Mind you, on a local level, we are about to have an election. We have a system whereby we get one party vote and one local candidate vote. Trouble is, our local MP is a man in his fifties who has a diehard following, so he gets elected back time after time, sometimes by the skin of his teeth. The really sad thing is that he's an alkie, who obviously manages to control it during the day but is often to be found in bars late at night, having altercations with immigrant taxi drivers, trying to pick up young women and all the other behaviours that go along with the lifestyle. Last year when I went to Wellington, our capital, I found myself apologising to three separate taxi drivers for our city electing him!?! 

He still has piratical good looks and a smooth and old fashioned manner, the old women just swoon over him. He literally digs them all up from their graves the night before an election and infuses them with enough life to vote. Some middle-class, well-off people like him. The old men adore him because he is a complete redneck bigot, despite being a dark-skinned Maori himself. He plays on peoples' fears about crime and immigration and old age and money. He cannot answer a straight question without developing a conspiracy theory.

In the last 20 years this man has done nothing for the local community in the way of developing industry or manufacturing, no lobbying for anything sensible like roading to cope with the mass population explosion here, nothing. Every election, I pray enough old people have died that this man won't get back into parliament. I could be waiting a while, this town started as a rich retirement village on the coast. 

/endrant

[ZephyrZodiac]

Well, if he's an alkie, his liver will soon let him down, even if his voters don't!

[Kristalrose]

Witch:  Thank you for posting those sites.  I feel better, because I live in the bible belt, I'm surroundeed by mindless fundamentalist conservative sheep who love Dubbya and wish we'd just go blow up Iraq and Afghanstan to get Bin Laden and other terrorists, and pull the plug on every program that "hands out" money to the poor, the mentally ill, the disabled, on and on.  I have felt that I was the only person sane in this crazy world.  My own babysitter is a fire-breathing conservative, and she gleefully told me last November as I dropped off my son that her vote had cancelled out my vote.  Bush took NC, proud home state of John Edwards who was running for VP.  Can't even support the home-boy.   

Why does this happen?  Because of many factors.  1 is Fear.  We are scared to death of the stuff we see happening around us.  Bush talks about getting tough on terrorism and crime and lawlessnes, and we want to believe him and think that he's going to stand up for good family values and moral character (remember him repeating that over and over during the debates last year?).  People even hear this preached to them in their churches, to get out and support the "Men of God" that will do away with sins like abortions and stem-cell research.  2 is Kerry.  Why, oh why, did the Democrats pick Kerry?  Was he giving sexual favors to someone (ewwwww!)?  The Republicans and the Conservatives are not the only groups with mindless sheep:  Democrats and Liberals have more than their share, too.  Kerry last year, Gore the election before, no one wants them in power, and to some people, Bush just seemed like the lesser of two evils.  The sad fact is that this country has been sorely lacking in true leadership for a very long time.  Some would say that we killed our last great president (Kennedy) and some would say we haven't had a good president since Truman or even Roosevelt.  I don't know who should run in 2008, because I have yet to see anyone I really thought would be honest and strong and make good decisions that helped everyone, not just his cronnies.  Those kind of politicians are non-existant today, and the ones really running the country are the lobbists and the Corporations.   3 is money.  Bush represents big industry and plays his politics to make them happy.  Why has mental health and Medicare Prescription Coverage been privatized on state and national levels?  Because Big Buisness, Insurance Companies and Drug Manufacturers wanted it that way.  Why are oil prices skyrocketing?  Well, Bush comes from Texas, has lots of contributers and friends in the oil business, family fortune was made in oil. . . you figure it out.  4.  Tax Breaks.  We know that Democrats have a history of "Tax and Spend" politics, and Republican have a history of tax breaks.  They cut necessary programs to do that, but we don't think about that if it's not our problem.  We just like that big check we get the 1st part of every year from the IRS. 

This country has been going down the tubes since we started paying people to breed.  You know what?  I completely and totally agree with that statement, because I see it everyday.  We have a whole generation who think that society owes them something, and they will not get a job, and to keep from going to work they get pregnant again.  There is no motivation, no personal responsibility anymore.  This is why I'm looking for a new job.  Or maybe just build myself a hole in the ground in Montana.  I don't think that JMP has such a bad idea. 

[KellyQ]

I'm surroundeed by mindless fundamentalist conservative sheep who love Dubbya and wish we'd just go blow up Iraq and Afghanstan to get Bin Laden and other terrorists, and pull the plug on every program that "hands out" money to the poor, the mentally ill, the disabled, on and on.  I have felt that I was the only person sane in this crazy world. 

I had no idea you lived in my neighborhood! 

[ZephyrZodiac]

Dogs have masters, cats have staff.

Kelly, my cat is totally in agreement with you!

signed,

The butler.

[KellyQ]

As the person who is beaten into submission every morning to get up at 6 a.m. to split a can of cat food between 3 of them, I feel your pain.

[ZephyrZodiac]

 

I have only one boss-cat in my house, but the general effect is the same as having a dozen!

signed,

The Butler.

[laeshanin]

As a non-American, these sites are very reassuring to me...

http://www.sorryeverybody.com/

http://www.apologiesaccepted.com/index.html

New Zealand is a small country and has little world power. It is very scarey to many of us here that someone like Bush is in charge of such a large world power, terrifying, the man cannot even speak logical grammatical sentences, he invades oil-rich countries for no other reason than he can and refuses to sign treaties that will help the world environmentally - given that America is responsible for so much pollution.

The man is a fool, and an absurd one too. I think the fact that he is so obviously a puppet and at the beck and call of his administration means that all those hard-nosed right wingers in America have far more power than anyone ever should have. I also worry about his use of religion as a tool to direct the masses. Scary stuff.

Just don't start me on pollution again, Witch, as I'm an active campaigner with Greenpeace and it makes my blood boil. I will say this though, that when I did go out canvassing and spoke to some Americans (Mormons on a mission to save us poor rebrobate Brits from ourselves) that they are frighteningly close minded about environmental issues. Seemed to think my passion for what is, after all, the gift their god gave to mankind (not mine cos I'm pagan through and through) a joke. Speaking to some other Christians that I know they think it's because such fundamentalists believe that god will swoop down and save us all so it doesn't matter that we are destroying the planet!   (Good sites, by the by.)

Dammit, I know not all Yanks (sorry if it offends) are that way, so why did I have to find the ones wearing blinkers? Grrrr...

Z.Z./Kelly: I have 4 cats all of which rule me with an iron paw. Yesterday I had a vole on my stairs which I nearly trod on, and this morning there was another offering on the kitchen floor. I'm not entirely certain if this isn't their way of making me know that they are savage killers and will rip my face off if I don't give 'em meat instead of the accursed biscuit.

And you're soooo right, they have staff.

[ZephyrZodiac]

Well, mine is a disappointed ratter ( Maine coon) and since I don't have rats in the house and he doesn't go out (too much traffic round here) he has to make do with the occasional spider, and my ankles!

And laeshanin, I so agree with you  about religious fundamentalists of all types and religions - they are totally unable to see anyone's viewpoint but the right one - theirs!  It's a total waste of time and energy trying to open their minds to a new thought, they have no capacity for them!  I think the powers that be should get together and devote resources to building a huge space ship, then herd all religious fundamentalist leaders on board with their most ardent supporters, then blast them off into space to "seed the universe"!  (At the current stage of space technology, I doubt if the universe would suffer much!)

[laeshanin]

Yeah, and as they wouldn't have FTL drive then all those Ark ships could be left behind when we develop proper technology. Good bloody riddance.

[ZephyrZodiac]

And they'd think they were spreading the gospel according to X, Y and Z!  Of course, they'd probably just have a civil war aboard the ship and kill each other off anyway!  ROFL

[Judecat]

My last job was with State Social Services,   and then they decided to have a budget cut,  so they eliminated 130 jobs in social services so they could give more money to the clients -- the ones with 8 kids from 8 different baby daddies,  who never had a job in there life except selling drugs.   And after being 52 years old and out of work for a year I can't even get any more unemployment.    Great country we live in.

[ZephyrZodiac]

And while intelligent, hard-working people who have perhaps one or two intelligent, hard-working kids who will grow up to contribute to society cannot afford to have more of the same, these kids you refer to will no doubt grow up to emulate their parents, and so on, until in the end there will be no decent, hardworking people left around to support them!  And thus the world will end, not with a Bang! but with ten trillion little whimpers!

[Danni]

Even though I'm actually on state benefits, I agree with you! (I'm currently trying my hardest to get better so I can work next year, and am doing voluntary work and going to college in the meantime to build up my skills).

People like my own mother make me sick... she won't do anything, and spends all her time drinking and smoking. My youngest siblings are in care, and the other one is constantly being arrested. There's no reason she can't get a job, but she thinks she's too good to work. I want to work, but know if I tried now I'd end up in hospital again.

[KellyQ]

There's nothing wrong with receiving help when you actually NEED help. When my first husband left me, I was a stay at home mom with a 2 and 4 yr old, no income of my own. I had to apply for food stamps and to this day, (10 yrs later) it is the single most humiliating experience I've had. It's hard for me to believe that people not only willingly go through the system, they live off of it. I started doing temp. work at minimum wage, commuting over an hour each day to get to work, so that I could build up my clerical skills (I had worked retail previous to having children). Some people thought I was nuts. Half of my wages went to paying daycare and of course as soon as you start earning ANY money, the system cuts back your benefits. It's ludicrious because how does that actually encourage anyone to stand on their own two feet? Financially I would have been better off to stay at home with my kids and receive a hand out from the government. After 2 years of temp work I found a permanent position as an office manager for the company I now work for and was so thrilled when I could do without government aid. The system penalizes a person trying to actually get ahead. I do not begrudge anyone who receives assistance and needs it but it really burns me to see people who are more then happy to sit on their butts and do nothing to help themselves. Our government needs to do more to make people self-sufficient, including education and reasonable daycare.

edit:  As for the Mormons that were mentioned in the above posts, I live in Idaho which has more Mormons per capita then any other part of the country, including Utah, which is suppose to be the "Mormon Capitol". I know exactly the right-wing, conservitive attitudes you were dealing with and it's not pretty. I apologize to anyone that might offend. I myself am a Christian but cannot get behind the kind of intolderance that the Right has so embraced.

[veilchen]

Danni, you have been doing great, please don't rush it, it will do far more harm than good. The way you pulled yourself out of the mire is admirable, your daughter will be proud of her mom. As Kelly said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with people receiving help because they need it while they are trying to build or re-build their lives. You are young, you have managed (with your child's father) to build the basis of a good life for you and your little family. You are to be applauded.

After 22 years of marriage ended (it seems that I was married, but my ex-husband wasn't) and being a stay-at-home mom for 14 years, I too was thrown into the very scary reality of an unfinished education and no up-to-date work experience. I mananged to go back to University, get a part-time job, and raise my children. Luckily for me, my ex has always been a good father, and the child-support made it possible for me to stay off government help. I would have had a hard time receiving it anyway, I am not a U.S. citizen (by the time the marriage failed, we were back in the U.S., my ex is an American) Now I am a year and a half away from receiving my international license to practice, and I will go back home to do just that. By that time my youngest will be out of High School, she always liked Europe better anyways (no offense, please, this is not a slight to the United States of America and its population, just a personal choice).

[Kristalrose]

There's nothing wrong with receiving help when you actually NEED help. When my first husband left me, I was a stay at home mom with a 2 and 4 yr old, no income of my own. I had to apply for food stamps and to this day, (10 yrs later) it is the single most humiliating experience I've had. It's hard for me to believe that people not only willingly go through the system, they live off of it. I started doing temp. work at minimum wage, commuting over an hour each day to get to work, so that I could build up my clerical skills (I had worked retail previous to having children). Some people thought I was nuts. Half of my wages went to paying daycare and of course as soon as you start earning ANY money, the system cuts back your benefits. It's ludicrious because how does that actually encourage anyone to stand on their own two feet? Financially I would have been better off to stay at home with my kids and receive a hand out from the government. After 2 years of temp work I found a permanent position as an office manager for the company I now work for and was so thrilled when I could do without government aid. The system penalizes a person trying to actually get ahead. I do not begrudge anyone who receives assistance and needs it but it really burns me to see people who are more then happy to sit on their butts and do nothing to help themselves. Our government needs to do more to make people self-sufficient, including education and reasonable daycare.

edit:  As for the Mormons that were mentioned in the above posts, I live in Idaho which has more Mormons per capita then any other part of the country, including Utah, which is suppose to be the "Mormon Capitol". I know exactly the right-wing, conservitive attitudes you were dealing with and it's not pretty. I apologize to anyone that might offend. I myself am a Christian but cannot get behind the kind of intolderance that the Right has so embraced.

Now, see, you did it the right way.  You found the system to be humilliating, you worked your rear-end off, and even though it wasn't easy and it wasn't fun, you got off of it.  Many of the families I work with would just get pregnant again.  And the "Babies Daddies" are always these drug-dealers, or hoodlems, or child molesters, or just lazy guys who have made it their life's ambition to be "Father of the Country".  They actually create several families, never marrying any of the women.  These women are always much younger, they have self-esteem issues, lack of education, whatever, that makes them easy targets.  The guys then keep them pregnant and show up around the time these women have a check or have some groceries and they live off them and pretend to be the greatest guy in the world!  When the money is gone, the food is gone, or they get bored, they go off to family #2, and it starts all over again.      I wish this behavior was against the law!! 

[laeshanin]

Aint society grand, eh? But it is one we have created, all of us, as we play into the materialistic side of life. Those people on the lower echelons are wannabes. They see all the stuff they are not able to have (advertising, TV and whatever) or afford, and get to thinking they deserve those things by any means they can. Our money grabbing, oil guzzling, land destructive ways have bred a new scary variety of Homo Sapiens that don't care for anyone but themselves and can self-justify at the drop of a hat. A grow-your-own-sociopath generation... Special, huh?

Being on benefits is no fun, nor is single parenthood. I've done both (am still doing the latter), and have hauled myself up by my own bootstraps. Damn, looonnng hard work. I retrained, putting myself through Uni as a mature student, and eventually got my own house. My older daughter is off to Uni on the 24th, and my younger starts 6th Form College next week. You can do it, it just takes sheer bloodymindedness, and a willingness to graft your guts out. So good for you, Danni. More power to you.

[ZephyrZodiac]

I think it may have seemed like I was criticizing the mothrs of the 8 kids, but it was really mostly the men who want to father kids but don't want to be a father in the real sense that I was mostly critical of.  And the women are generally so down-trodden and besotted that they will tell all kinds of lies so the Social security people never find out who they are so they can force them to contribute to their children's upkeep.

[veilchen]

I agree ZZ. We have a saying that seems to hit it right on target:

Any man can be a father, but it takes a REAL man to be a dad.

[ZephyrZodiac]

   And to know when not to be either!

[witch]

Interesting. So many of you have changed circumstances through sheer hard graft. Me also, single mum, beneficiary, alcoholic. Could see I was about to lose my 12 yr old son so gave up booze - through 2nd go @ rehab, started studying, got IT degree, got full-time job. Took 10 years. But a million times worth it! 

Benefit system in US sounds similar - more you earnt, more penalties in loss of benefits. Financially better to stay home and vegetate than work or study. Especially as the jobs available to single mums tend to be low paid, non fulltime, low security jobs anyway. Bizarre.

Used to believe world owed me, now I like giving back.

Am now addicted to computers. 

[Jarsie]

I do criticize the mothers of the 8 kids by 8 different daddies. I have met women like that, who have low self esteem, and think that they cannot live without a man. Okay, I can have some sympathy with them; but I have been divorced for over ten years and after the first year or two, I slowly began to realize that I did not need a man to make me happy...that being happy was a choice I could make on my own.

I do think these women should be encouraged to try to help themselves more; and maybe free counseling should be mandatory for those who are obviously addicted to receiving AFDC and food stamps, and who look upon their children as their financial meal ticket. LBJ (Democrat) started the current welfare system, which seemed like a good deal at the time, but which has turned out to be an albatross around the neck of the American citizen. I totally support the idea of workfare, and think the government should make up the difference between the minimum wage job and any benefits the mother receives. At the very least, she should not be deprived of AFDC and food stamps until her children are grown or old enough to work themselves, or her income rises enough to meet the cost of living.

I think we can all agree that just handing people money without expecting them to do something to earn it, or without holding them accountable for how they spend the money has not really benefitted anybody. Oh, yes, I also think the state and the federal government should provide free or reduced daycare for children of low income families, even those where both mother and father work for a living and only get paid minimum wage. I think that's a good investment.

Unfortunately, there will always be those who feel entitled to whatever they can get, simply because they are poor or of a certain race, and can easily blame others for their own problems. That's just human nature I guess.

And by the way, lest you think me self-righteous and judgemental...I, too, have received foodstamps and AFDC. But when my husband first left me, I was asked by the social worker if I wanted to apply for AFDC. I told her I only wanted to apply for food stamps; my oldest daughter received SSI payments because she was disabled. She was shocked: she asked how I intended to support my two children and I said: Work. And I did...minimum wage jobs at first, then I lucked out and got a good job working with the State of Texas. Then I was able to go back to school and get my degree and get teacher certification.

I am currently contracted with the Houston ISD teaching reading to 8th graders who are victims of Hurricane Katrina. It was a long hard road, and it took me 15 years to get here. I won't say that if I can do it, anybody can....but I do think more people should be encouraged to try.

[J. M. Pescado]

Our government needs to do more to make people self-sufficient, including education and reasonable daycare.

I find that the threat of starvation is a powerful motivating force. I call it "Work or starve". Sometimes the best policy is no policy. You'd be surprised how much more motivated people are when the alternative is starvation.