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November 26, 2008

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But don't be surprised should the tone-deafness of the disarrayed GOP lead to a recycle of the welfare queen meme including attacks on food stamps as "disincentives" and renewed calls for privatizing* services.

*lat privare = plunder, rob, take away (by force)

And if you can’t spare any money, try to give of your time. Your local food bank most likely always needs volunteers. It’s a great way to involve yourself in your community and contribute directly.

"*privare = plunder, rob, take away (by force)"

So we not only have pirates, but privateers as well . . .
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This is why arguments that we should rely much more strictly on individual charity than government services fall flat, imo - just when it's needed most, it's often least available. But no less valuable for that - what hilzoy and OCSteve said: if you can spare it, give, whether money, canned goods, time, labor . .

Might I suggest donating to your local food bank - money, food, or time. They are already overwhelmed and it is only going to get worse going forward. In many areas of the country demand has already outstrip available supplies.

The next couple of years are probably going to be hard times. Very, very hard times for some folks.

People will lose their jobs, some will lose their homes. Some will have to leave their communities because they can't find work, or can't afford to live there anymore.

Families will break up. Other anti-social behavior -- alcoholism, drug abuse, spousal and child abuse -- will increase.

There are going to be a lot of frustrated, angry, disappointed people with nothing useful to do with their days.

That's what hard times are.

There's a lot that government can do, and I hope that government *does* do everything it can.

But a lot of getting through stuff like this is a matter of everybody pitching in, to the best of their ability.

It doesn't have to be a lot. Seriously, every little bit helps.

Go through your closets and give away the clothes you never wear.

Go through your pantry and find all the non-perishable stuff you bought a year ago and forgot about. Give it away.

A lot of missions run second-hand stores, both as a way to raise money and as a way to make useful stuff available, cheap, to folks the need it. Clean out the attic or the garage and give away anything useful that you are just never going to use again.

None of this costs a dime. It will all put food on somebody's table, or heating oil in their tank, or give them a place to crash if they need that.

If you have the cash to contribute, contribute that, too. But if you don't there are plenty of ways to help.

Believe me, there are folks who will be *extremely* grateful for anything you can do.

We're all going to have to help out. It's the only way we'll get through it in one piece.

Thanks -

And must grocery stores have donation bins right there so you can just buy and donate the food then and there.

The F-22, which he describes as a "dog" on performance (more fragile and less maneuverable than Vietnam-era fighters)

All due respect to the former Senate staffer, but he doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. Expensive, certainly. Slow? Lacking in maneuverability? The guy has no idea what he's talking about.

Ah, crap. Wrong thread. Sorry.

Hi, Slart:

I'm sure you have the engineering right.

But, maybe it's not the wrong thread.

There are folks who could eat an F-22 right about now, given the economy.

There are folks who could eat an F-22 right about now, given the economy.

We're working on perfecting the "stealth city" technology. That's where you are looking right at where a major US metropolis should be (at least that's what the maps say), but you can't see it - there doesn't appear to be anything there.

The preliminary tests in New Orleans of this experimental technology passed the proof-of-concept stage, so now we're working on a full scale prototype in Detroit. If the latter works out well, expect this technology to deployed on a regional scale next. With luck we can make the entire Upper Midwest simply disappear.

Imagine how astonished the world will be.

There's a lot that government can do, and I hope that government *does* do everything it can.

But a lot of getting through stuff like this is a matter of everybody pitching in, to the best of their ability.

There's a lot that a 'socialist' government could do. If you look at the UK, for example, food banks are a marginal phenomenon, because there is state support for everyone. People may not eat well, but they rarely starve. There are gaps in the safety net, but there is still a safety net.

The American people, however, have collectively decided that it is better that people go hungry (and in some cases die) than that 'undeserving' people get help.

So while charity in itself is a good thing, the problem is that it reinforces the American tendency to want to choose who is deserving of help and to say that the rest can go freeze. Charity by the few becomes a excuse for the state to opt out of a welfare system.

TltiABQ, someone's reinventing the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somebody_Else%27s_Problem>SEP field generator?

That was inspired, ThatLeftTurn. ;)

Yes, TLT, some sorry Thanksgiving Day reality there, presented with your inventive turn.

George Bush destroyed two major American cities -- first New Orleans and now Detroit -- in eight years, quite a feat. In many ways, the war on terror has been the war within.

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