The Human Race

The Virginian Pilot on 11/26/12 noted that women in the military want to be included in combat roles.  They are presently banned from 238,000 "positions across the armed forces" and they make up 14 % of the 1.4 million military personnel.  Last year the military ended its policy of denying enrollment to openly gay men.  Now women want in on the killing.  Is there any hope for a race that fights to get the chance to kill other human beings?  I think not.

Christie and Sandy

"I don't give a damn about the election.  Let the politicians worry about it".  So says NJ governor Chris Christie.  You mean he can't do two things at the same time?  Somewhat like people liked to say about Gerry Ford; he couldn't walk and chew gum at the same time.  How can a state governor say he doesn't care about the democratic process and elections?  That doesn't mean he can't also care about hurricane relief; it seems he should be able to do both at the same time.  Maybe if NJ was going to vote republican he would have different opinion.  Or maybe he realizes that the hurricane damage will thwart the elections process and voting machines in democratic areas of NJ like Newark.  It will be interesting to see what happens in regard to the election due for next Tuesday.   On another note, how can Christie say "let the politicians worry about it?  Doesn't he realize he is a politician? 

Politics and Guns

I find the presidential endorsement of the NRA in the upcoming election to be totally confusing.  Mitt Romney campaigned in 1994-when running for the Mass senate seat-on what would appear to be a gun-control platform.  He backed two laws the NRA opposed; one on the Brady Law that would impose a five day waiting period on gun sales (wow, that's radical) and another on a ban on certain types of assault weapons.  While governor he signed the "first ban on assault weapons" in the nation and "steeply increased fees on gun owners by 400 %.  Even thou he stated in Nov 2008 that he was a hunter "pretty much all his life", he later admitted he never had a hunting license.

Barack Obama has presided over a gun industry that has "thrived" during his administration.  The NRA has more money on hand than at any time in the past few years.  During the first three and half years of the Bush II admin the FBI conducted 28 million background checks.  During the same period of the Obama term the FBI conducted 50 million such checks.  The assault weapons ban expired under Bush II and Obama has done nothing to re-instate it.  

So who does the NRA endorse for president in 2012?  Romney.  Now does that make any sense?  Not to me it doesn't.

(Source:  "US gun industry is thriving during Obama's term" by Eileen Sullivan and Jack Gillum of the AP.  In The Virginian Pilot on 10/20/12)

Small Business

What is a small business?  The term has been tossed around by the GOP candidates at every chance they get.  It sounds like something we would all be in favor of; you know "Mom and Pop" candy stores and suburban landscapers hiring a half dozen workers to cut your lawn, and other such occupations.  But what is the definition of a small business.  In the Vice President debate in October of 2012, Joe Biden said a small business could be someone making $ 1 million a year.  He also said that 90 % of small businesses make no more than $ 250,000 a year; that is an amount below which Barack Obama would not increase taxes on (or so he says).  I had a house guest recently who-before he retired-worked for a small business as one of the partners.  He said a small business-in this case his own-could make up to $ 50 million and employ over 50 people.

More research will be needed on this question.

Assault on the Political system

Some developments politically of late that do not bode well for our democratic system of government.  First, the Supreme Court has allowed an unlimited amount of spending on campaigns by groups that do not have to identify themselves.  Second, the Court has told us that corporations are people and as such deserve First Amendment speech rights like people (right...see what happens if I tell the President to "----himself").  Third, state legislatures have disenfranchised millions of potential voters in order to keep a handful of people who should not vote away from the polls.  Fourth, the Senate has filibustered to death some 300 pieces of legislation that would have passed due to the old concept of "majority rules".  Fifth, the Senate GOP leadership saying back in Jan of 2009 that their first order of business was to defeat President Obama.

The GOP has administered a major attack on our democratic system of government in order to win one election.  When they win, I hope they can say it was worth the cost.

Romney and Taxes

So what is going on here?  During the TV presidential debate the other night Mitt Romney said "I will not reduce the share paid by high-income individuals" and again he said "All right"  I will not reduce the taxes paid by high income Americans".  I watched the debates and heard him say it.  CNN OnLine on 10/4/12 reprinted the above quotes.  However, it was reported in the NJEA Reporter for Sept 2012 the following:  "Romney does want to keep taxes low for the richest Americans, and, though, and continues to call for the extension of the Bush era tax cuts for the wealthy".  That quoted from FOX News 2/9/09.

Debates, President

I watched the presidential debates last night and can not for the life of me figure out why Obama didn't point out to Romney why he got no republican support for his health care program.  First, the republican leader in the Senate said some time ago that the number one job for him was to see that Obama did not win a second term.  Second, the Senate republicans filibustered to death some 300 plus pieces of legislation that Obama supported.  Remember a filibuster is used to defeat legislation that has the support of the majority of the Senate.  Third, the House voted some 30 times to repeal ObamaCare; like one time was not enough.  Knowing this, how can anyone blame Obama for not "bringing the parties together".  Like its his fault the GOP has made a conscious effort to oppose anything-even things that they have supported in the past-that Obama has proposed.  

Post Election Prediction

I am thinking that a very good prediction about our politics and foreign policy would involve the actions of Israel regarding Iran after the election in November of 2012.  The prediction is; Israeli shit is going to hit Iranian fan big time.  Israel does not seem to be the mood to allow anything that might be nuclear power to develop in Iran and the time for them to act is getting shorter.  Let's hope I am wrong.

Scott Garrett

I post this comment about congressman Scott Garrett of the 5th CD in New Jersey because I personally think his voting record is a disgrace.  The congressman is a republican and has held his seat for 12 or so years having taken over the district on the retirement of Marge Roukema, also a republican and someone I had voted for.  The info comes from an e-mail from New Jersey Citizens Action on 8/3/12.  It reports that Garrett voted to extend the Bush II era tax cut for those making "more than a million a year" giving them an average tax break of $ 150,000.  At the same time he voted to reduce federal child tax credit and the earned income tax credit both of which benefit the less wealthy.  The plan will cost $ 1 trillion over a ten year period and $ 68 billion next year.

Disenfranchisement

The question being asked this election season concerns the efforts by some groups-mostly republican-to require a photo ID in order to vote in a presidential election.  Pennsylvania passed one of the first of these laws.  A specific aspect of this issue is how it will impact on the Amish and Mennonite communities in that state.
My first source for research was "thinkprogress.com" which describes itself as a "liberal blog" and was awarded the "best liberal blog" award by a group called Weblog in the 2006 awards by that org.  They stated that 700,000 Pennsylvanians lack photo IDs.  Regarding the Amish and Mennonite groups...who "object to having their picture taken for religious reasons", would they be denied the right to vote?  This site reported that "they can use a non photo ID to vote but only after completing an interrogation about their faith" (this according to the AP).  A form to complete must be notorized and signed by their church bishop.  Many of this group do not vote but those who do tend to vote republican.
My second source for research was "Lancasteronline.com" who reported that "Plain sect" Amish "would be forced to clear more regulatory hurdles than the average voter".  "They'ed be required to show a non-photo ID at polling places...must provide Department of Transportation with a statement of their beliefs signed by their church bishop".  "It's actually harder to get that ID than a driver's license".  The Plain sect group is a "tight-knit and separate from the larger culture".  The church hierarchy includes a deacon, minister and bishop.

Government/Business

Health Care.  Let me see if I understand the argument on health care.  The federal government can't require the buying of insurance, it is said.  But the federal government required me and million others to join the army in the 1960's, costing 58,000 American citizens to die and hundreds of thousands of others to live the rest of their lives with disabilities-some very severe.  The state governments, namely North Carolina, required the forced sterilization of "troubled" children in the 1970's and then take no opportunity to amend the action.
It would seem the government on either level can do just about what it-or those in power-want it to do.  The argument that the government can't do something sure didn't hamper it in the two cases above.

Business activity.  Some say they want unregulated business activity so that companies can do just about what they want.  They will act responsibly, we are told.  Tell that to the residents of Garfield, NJ who are living with toxic and carcinogenic liquids that were "dumped" or "leaked" into the ground and water ways in their neighborhood by a company that electroplate.  The Record on 6/19/12 and for some days thereafter has been running such a story.  "The companies (are) to pay $ 20 million for work in the Passaic" reads the headline.  However, that will start a clean up of 13 % of the 120,000 cubic yards of "polluted mud" in the river.  And it seems that the EPA is happy with this solution.  The people living in the residential area effected are told not to use their basements, but the elementary school in the area is "safe".  They can't sell their homes and they are afraid to let their children play inside or outside the house.  

Pilfer Update

It is announced that PILFER has signed up a number of new members.  From Northeast Maryland we have "16pint".  From Northwest Pennsylvania we have "M-errs".  From Northeast New Jersey we have an honorary membership going to "Mustang" due to the fact that he is the originator of the term "B & G".  This term stands for "barf and grab" and is applied to the act of acquiring a political sign that happens to be found along a roadway.  PILFER is happy to make this announcement and note that the three above named will be members in full standing and at least two of them were "finders" even before the organization was founded.  If you need more info on this organization please post an e-mail on spin.griffin@gmail.com.  Happy pilfering to you all.

Bush Era Tax Cuts

Bill Clinton said, and it was reported on CNN today, that he would support and extension of the Bush Era tax cuts for an additional year.  Republicans have already picked up on this statement to use against Barack Obama in the coming election.  Lets be clear...this means the tax cuts for the very wealthy would also be extended even while wealthy folk like Warren Buffett say the rich do not need the tax cut at a time when his secretary and driver are paying the same percentage-or near the same-of their income in federal income taxes.  One has to wonder if there is any difference in the two major parties on an issue of enormous importance to the American public.  Huey Long once said about the two major parties that they were "High Popalorum" and "Low Popahirum", meaning that one would strip the bark off a tree from the "top down" while the other would strip the bark off from "root up".  If this is a major issue-and to me it is-how does one vote in 2012?

June 2012 Notes

Regarding the Obama admin mandate on birth control availability for workers has some in the Catholic Church suing the gov't and requirement.  The Dept of Health and Human Services "policy that requires employers or their insurance companies to provide contraceptive coverage to employees" is what's at issue.  In 2004 in California that state Sup Ct upheld the mandate.  But not all in the Catholic Church agree with the lawsuit.  "Just 13 of the nearly 200 US dioceses signed onto the suit". (TR 5/31/12 page A 17)

Op ed article by the editor at large of the American Prospect makes the following comment.  " The facebook affair provides one more bit of confirmation-not that any should be needed-that our economic system, when left to its own devices and when regulated by rules that powerful interests have shaped, tilts grotesquely toward the rich and their institutions".  (TR 5/31/12 Harold Meyerson)

Recent Readings

Two items of interest lately.  First, these is the story of one Charles Worley a "pastor" in a North Carolina church.  He gave a sermon recently (May 2012) saying that gays and lesbians should all be gathered up the put behind electrified fences and left there until the die off.  They should be fed-he is not a total barbarian-but because they are gay they will not mate with the opposite sex and thus gays will eventually die off.  He means to put the men and women in separate fenced in areas.  When Anderson Cooper-on his TV show the other night-asked a member of the church about the fact that other gays will be born to the outside community she seemed totally flustered and had no answer.  The site of Worley's church is near Charloteville, where the Democratic Convention will be held this summer.   

The second, it the news that our "ally" in the mid-east, Pakistan, has convicted a Pakistani doctor for helping the US capture Osama bin Laden.  He has been given a 33 year prison sentence.  The doctor is Shakeel Afridi.  As we might remember bin Laden was found in the same town as the Pakistani version of :"West Point" and only a two hour drive from the capital of Islamabad.  (Some ally)

(Source for the second item:  "Doctor guilty of treason for helping US on bin Laden" by Alex Rodriguez of the LA Times.  In The Record on 5/24/ 2012).

Income Taxes

Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont states that some US oil companies are the richest in the country and instead of paying federal income taxes, some are not and some are even getting refunds.  ExxonMobil made $ 40 billion in 2006, $ 41 billion in 2007 and $ 45 billion in 2008.  In 2009 ExxonMobil "paid zero in federal income taxes" and received a refund of $ 156 million.  Chevron made $ 10 billion in 2011 and received a refund of $ 19 million.  Valero Energy got a refund of $ 157 in 2009.  This source says nothing about what they might have paid in taxes just the refund they got.  It is possible they paid too much in taxes and that is what got them the refund.  It is also possible they, like ExxonMobil, paid nothing while getting the refund.  Sanders also claims that the money the oil companies are making is not going into renewable energy or "to prevent oil spills".  

(Source:  "Take on the Corporate Bullies" by Senator Bernie Sanders.  The Progressive Dec 2010 Jan 2011)

Health Care

I played golf today with a man from Boston-he in the medical supply business-and I asked him about the Romney health care plan that has been in effect in Massachusetts for a few years now.  He said he didn't know of many people complaining about it and said he thought people must be required to pay something or they will continue to rely on the old method of having the rest of us pay for their care.  He did not see that there was much difference in Obama's health care plan and the one Romney got his state to accept.  The question then, how can republicans be critical of the Obama plan while saying nothing of the Romney plan.  This gentleman said he was not a liberal.

Pilfer Update

I have taken the liberty of making a slight change in the wording of our organization.  I have dropped the "for the" and changed "finding" to "finders".  Thus the new name reads "Preserved Items League: Finders of Eclectic Relics".  I have also decided that a version of the classic re-cycling symbol would be a good and true representation of our motivation.  If any of the founding members of this organization are opposed to my decisions I would gladly changed them.  This message posted by "Curmudgeon".

PILFER

On the steps of the Charleston, SC private library on May 13, 2012 an organization was founded.  It is called "PILFER" which stands for "Preserved Items League for the Finding of Eclectic Relics".  It is a quasi-secret group because its doings, rituals and membership are not public knowledge.  The founding members are "Curmudgeon", "Illini" and "Master".  The spouse of the latter is an "unwilling co-conspirator", while the spouse of the former has participated in some of the rituals thus is a "co-conspirator" but, as of yet, not a member.  I am posting this request of the "Curmudgeon" and claim my first Amendment right to "shield" the source.  

If interested in joining or learning more about "PILFER" please respond and identify yourself by a code name.  But be aware, the CIA, NSA, and DIA-to mention a few-are more than likely reading this.  Please provide your e-mail address to receive further instructions.  

CIA

I've been thinking and reading again about the activities of the CIA and their actions regarding US anti-communist foreign policy.  It seems to me there have been three truths regarding this policy.  First, some of the people we have funded over the years have been truly anti-communists.  Second, some of the people we have funded have been anti-communist because we paid them to be or because there was money to be made.  Third, some of the actions taken by the CIA in this area have not been worth the price we have had to pay in our national reputation.

I am now reading "The Secret History of the CIA" by Joseph J. Trento written in 2001.  Some of what he reports is very disturbing; one might hope they are not completely true.  I will attempt to post some of Trento's points in this blog under the heading of  "The CIA".  

US and Race

Following are some of my thoughts on race relations in the US.  Prior to the Civil War the race of a child depended on the race of the mother only, regardless of the father even if he was white.  Now the determination of race is if either parent is African American or if even a grandparent is African American then the child is considered black.  Barack Obama is considered "black" even thou his mother was white and those who raised him-his grandparents-were also white.  Maybe we should remember a Langston Hughes poem that said;

"if your white your alright.

if your brown hang around.

if you  are black stay back".

America has never really learned to deal with its inter-racial past or present.

Corporate Personhood, my ass

So a corporation is a person, says the Supremes.  As Justice Stevens asks, does it have a conscience, a set of beliefs, feelings, thoughts and desires?  I would say "no" it doesn't.  Does a corporation feel cold when it has to sleep under a railroad bridge in the winter.  Does  it cry when a love one dies?  Does it feel pride at the accomplishment of a child.  Does it experience pain when stabbed or shot?  Does it lie dead on the battlefield or limbless in a veteran's hospital?  NO.  In fact it does none of the things a person does.  It is in no way a person; only in the minds of right wing ideologues trying to justify their own set of beliefs.

Recent Readings

In the news for 4/20/12 besides being "everything marijuana day", was a note about the ending of our involvement in Afghanistan "...by the end of 2014 when the majority of international combat troops leave".  That's about 30 months from now and that only includes "combat troops".  I thought Obama promised to end our wars in the middle east.

A second note involves India "successfully test(ing)" a missile capable of firing nuclear weapons into other countries; no one seems to be interested even the Chinese who might have some concern considering the state of India/China relations.  This while the US is going ape-shit over North Korea's failed attempt to launch such a missile.  

Nazis vs Communists

Something is going on here that does not bode well for the future of our country. The republicans are calling everyone they disagree with "communists" include Barack Obama and now congressman Allen West of Florida says that 81 members of the Democratic contingent to the US Congress are "communists".

While this is going down the American Nazi Party has established a lobbying organization in Washington DC. John Bowles-age 55-is that lobbyist.

This all reminds me of my study of German history prior to the rise of Adolph Hitler. He went off on the German communists while bringing his fascists to power. If the communists had defeated Hitler in Germany, how would history have been different? I would bet there would not have been the Second World War.

Could history be about to repeat itself here in the USA? We may have to decide if we want to be fascists or communists.

Government Power

Supreme Court justice Scalia says that if the government can require people to buy health insurance then why can't they require people to buy broccoli. I would answer that the government could draft me-and millions more-to train me to kill people I didn't know, didn't have an argument with and who are now our trading partners, then the government can require almost anything.

Update: Today I bought a golf shirt made in Vietnam. In my youth 55,000 Americans died there and countless were maimed for life and now we buy their shit. There is something wrong with our foreign policy and it doesn't seem to be improving. Today it is Iraq and Afghanistan, tomorrow we will be buying their shit.

Recent Readings

The ACLU tells me that a ballot initiative they fought in Mississippi would have banned abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest victims. It would have banned women from "using birth control pills or benefiting from in vitro fertilization. It would have prevented doctors from treating women "experiencing miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies (?)". The ACLU says they won that case but a similar initiative could occur elsewhere.

(Source: American Civil Liberties Union 2012 Workplan)

The Brady Center tells me the following. One, "it is legal to sell a gun without any background checks" and nearly half are sold this way. The law applies only to "licensed gun dealers" and 40% of guns are sold by others. Two, it is legal-under fed law-to buy or possess assault weapons and assault clips that fire dozens of bullets before reloading. Three, it is legal-under fed law-to buy .50 caliber sniper rifles that have a range of 4 miles "and can pierce airplanes". Four, people on terrorist watch lists and "no fly" lists can still buy guns "even from licensed gun dealers".

(Source: Legal Action winter 2011/2012)

Public Citizen tells me that the WTO can and does issue rulings that strike down consumer protection laws in this country. Food labeling laws in the US are considered to be "illegal barrier to trade" and thus illegal under WTO rules. The WTO has also struck down US laws that protect dolphins from tuna fishermen's nets. Not surprising, "US industry cheered the WTO ruling against a meat labeling law it had long opposed".

(Source: Public Citizen News Jan/Feb 2012)

GOP, then and now.

In 1960 when John Kennedy was elected, John Wayne-the Duke-who did not support Kennedy, said, "I didn't vote for him, but he's my president, and I hope he does a good job".

Today Rush Limbaugh comments on the presidency of Barack Obama. "I hope he fails".

Makes me wish for the "good old days".

(Source: "Shoring up civility" by Candy Hatcher, Virginian Pilot editor. In the Virginian Pilot on 3/30/12).

The Ocean

Great passage from a recent read; "...but now, standing in front of the great Atlantic, she felt the pulsing of the waves, felt the power and breadth of the water as it bled into the horizon, endless and liquid like the earth's lifeblood. It made her feel alive, unlike anything she'd felt under the broad, flat skies of home. As she stared out at the dark blue vastness, her kinship to every person who'd ever lived by the water, yet at the same time making her feel very, very insignificant".

(Source: Folly Beach by Karen White. 2010)

Truthfulness

A family GOPer has sent me information over the last year that on further research turns out to be incorrect. First, there were the "Tort Law" reform claims about "frivolous" suit suits-one involving a person who sued his RV company because his motor home would not drive itself when he left the wheel-that in reality were known as "urban legends" and not true in the least. Second, there was the quotations from Barack Obama's book about his political believes that were not even quoted out of context; they were clearly incorrect statements about what the book said. Third, there was the message I received that made reference to a violation of the 28th Amendment to the US Constitution. Again something that President Obama was guilty of. Problem is, of course, there is no 28th Amendment.

How can this individual ever expect to be believed about anything he says, even if he might be correct or honest about something? Well, he can't. He can not be taken seriously as a source of information; he has no credibility.

Society

It seems that every society in the world-including ours today-has to decide what kind of economic system we want to live under. There are really only two choices. One is a society where some have it all. The other is one where all have some. Our society like all before it have chosen the former. I would prefer the later.

Government Intrusion

How do those who oppose the government mandating health insurance see no problem with a government (Texas) requiring a "trans-vaginal" ultrasound before a woman gets a legal medical operation? Which program is more intrusive into one's personal life?

War

Thinking of our tendency for making war, I am reminded of the line in Gone With The Wind when character Ashley Wilkes-played by English actor Leslie Howard who is facing the onslaught of WWII in 1939-says;

"Most of the miseries of the world were caused by war...and when the wars were over, no one ever knew what they were about".

No one took his advise then. It seems no one wants to consider it now.

Social Security

"Social Security is widely considered the most successful government program ever. It helps support 55 million people, including those who can do longer work because of illness or injury, or who have lost a family breadwinner prematurely". So says the AARP Bulletin for March 2012. The existence of this program is proof that the GOP is full of shit when it claims government can do nothing right. Certainly a much more successful program than the wars we have waged recently. From a GOP perspective Social Security must be destroyed in order for their anti-government approach to have any merit. And they have been trying to do so since Reagan.

The Bible

I wish those people who like to quote the Bible and pass themselves off as more righteous than everyone else would remember this item from Matthew 5:9.

"Blessed are the Peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God".

Human Trafficking

After watching the movie "Whistleblower", I did some research on the main story line; that being the existence of human trafficking and sexual slavery existing in Bosnia after the war there. This was the time when the UN peacekeepers were there trying to keep the different sides from killing each other. Unfortunately, this is not a pretty story and one can only hope that is may not be true. The plot revolves around a Nebraska cop-Kathy Bolkovac-who takes a police job with the UN mission in Bosnia to investigate crimes and prosecute offenders. It turns out that the offenders are her fellow workers at a UK company-the film calls Democra Security-the UN staff and US personnel. They are all involved in committing sexual crimes against minor female girls or acting to cover it up. Bolkovac finally manages to collect documentation on the crimes and cover-up and after being fired by the UK company, takes her story to the BBC in London who in turn publishes her claims. The story she reports leads to the dismissal of a number of UN/UK/US personnel but no criminal convictions. A report on Wikipedia states that "after the scandal broke the US continued to do business worth billions of dollars in Iraq and Afghanistan with the same UK company".

(Source: Movie "Whistleblower" 2010 by 20th Century Fox. Wikipedia research on same topic)

Extinct Species

There are many extinct species of animal life known to us today. Animals like the Tasmanian Wolf, Caspian Tiger, Great Auk, the Wooly Manmouth, the Tar-Pit Pronghorn and of course the Dodo. You may now add to that list the "moderate republican" and the "progressive democrat". I just thought you might like to know.

Obama, Israel, Iran

There is brewing a major test of the Obama presidency, one that will remain in the history books for the remainder of this country's history. He has it in his power to curtail or even halt any attack by Israel on the nuclear power facility in Iran. If such an attack were to occur it would result in counter-measures by Iran and other Arab nations. Any such action would be seen by the rest of the world as warranted and a justifiable response by Iran. President Obama must do everything in his power to stop that Israeli attack from occurring. He can do this by telling Israel that are commitment to their survival as a nation is solid as long as they are on the defensive. Our treaties with her do not include support in an offensive war. The situation is much like that of the major powers in 1914. Germany was obligated by treaty to support Austria-Hungary if they were attacked and after Serbia gave in to all her demands there was no need to declare war. Some may disagree with my interpretation of history but the fact remains that the "great war" started and mushroomed out of control when in fact it might have been just another limited European fight.

Getting back to the present. The US will be blamed for any thing that Israel does regarding Iran. They will attack with our planes and weapons and with the financial backing we have provided for decades. Our fleets will be in the Mediterranean and Red Seas. As Winston Churchill said prior to the beginning of the Second World War, "we are in the midst of a disaster of the first magnitude". Now is the time for Barack Obama to show some real leadership; stop this madness before it is too late.

Poverty in America

There is a picture in The Record newspaper on 1/7/12 of a couple-senior citizens it seems-who are living in a tent camp in Lakewood, NJ and have been doing so for some time. The issue is not about their plight but about the town's desire to have the camp closed down. They say the camp is a "hazard, noting that one resident has died..."; well, what would they expect to happen if people are forced to live outdoors during the winter months? I guess some neo-con will tell me they chose to live there. This is just like the scenes in "The Grapes of Wrath" and the Joad family living in camps along the side of the road. You would think-or at least hope-that in this country, this sort of poverty would not be allowed to exist. It is time to re-read Michael Harrington's Other America.