Reuters: War on poverty slips from election agenda

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061025/us_nm/poverty_dc

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By Matthew Bigg Wed Oct 25, 8:35 AM ET

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - On a boat stranded in a street in New Orleans, two words are scrawled: "No politicians."

It's not clear if the boat is a remnant of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated this city more than a year ago, but the message of the graffiti is unmistakable: politicians failed to deliver for those who lost their homes in the hurricane.

"They sent boys over there (to
Iraq) to fight in a war that never ends. Why didn't they keep the money over here when Americans are suffering," said Gwen Brown, 51, whose home in New Orleans was flooded by Katrina.

...snip on Harold Ford:

An illustration of that is Harold Ford, running for the U.S. Senate for Tennessee, who campaigns on reforming health care but also advocates issues attractive to conservative voters such as opposition to gay marriage and cutting taxes.

...snip on rethuglican think tank, Heritage Foundation:

Robert Rector of the conservative Heritage Foundation think-tank argued there is little actual poverty in the United States and most poor people had a house, car, television, air conditioning, food and medical care.

Democrats only employed the word to stir emotions and "low income status" would be a better description in most cases, Rector said in an interview.

...best snip of all (on Bush):

Near the stranded boat, the owner of a newly-rebuilt house near the stranded boat has created a mock Hurricane Katrina cemetery, with colorful headstones bearing epitaphs for local politicians and
President Bush. One reads: "Bush rebuilt the city -- Baghdad."

and can we send him and all the Heritage Foundation clones back with him?

I invite him to visit Lake Co., CA. There are people in red-tagged dwellings, without heat or electricity, trying to raise their children. Just ask the folks at Social Services or the charity agencies. And this is not the only place.

Opportunity abounds! E commerce & the internet enabled marketplace allows these people to become millionaires literally overnight if they would only choose to show a little initiative. Send them all a copy of "The World is Flat" by Friedman so they can see how they have been slamming the door in the face of opportunity knocking.

I would send Friedman a copy of "The Noonday Demon, an Atlas of Depression" and Barbara Ehrenreich's "Nickeled and Dimed".

A little hard to be connected to the "global economy" if you are poor, depressed and can't afford food.

(hoping you just forgot the "sarcasm" smiley)