Catholic nun, Sister Joan Chittister, explained that being anti-abortion does not mean you are pro-life: "I do not believe that just because you're opposed to abortion that that makes you pro-life. In fact, I think in many cases, your morality is deeply lacking if all you want is a child born but not a child fed, not a child educated, not a child housed. And why would I think that you don't? Because you don't want any tax money to go there. That's not pro-life. That's pro-birth."
So here's the test. Are you really pro-life? Let's find out, shall we? A recent report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine estimates that in 2015, 9.6 million children in America — or 13 percent — lived in poverty. Two million of those children were in "deep poverty," which means their families had resources that fell below half the poverty line.
The group says we ALL pay the price when these children remain in poverty. The cost to the U.S. is between $800 billion and $1.1 trillion a year, due to lower productivity when poor children become adults and increased costs due to higher crime and poor health.
This group also says we could cut childhood poverty in half over the next ten years ... but there will be a cost - at least $90 billion a year. Whoa! That much money? Well ... the cost of not doing anything is higher!
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine says we could do much to fix the problem by implementing various combinations of ideas including expanding existing programs, increasing tax credits for families, adding jobs programs, and raising the minimum wage. There are other ideas and working to find the right combination is the key. But the panel says it can be done if we are willing to pay for it.
And there's the rub. Are you willing to have some of your tax money go toward reducing childhood poverty? As the report indicated, you will be paying one way or the other.
So, what's your answer? Are you actually pro-life and are willing to see that children are fed, housed and educated?
Or are you simply pro-birth?
Thursday, February 28, 2019
Friday, February 22, 2019
Sleaze wins the day ...
Gotta love the news today! Almost all of the slimy, sleazy stories touch the man who slithered into the Oval Office! No, he doesn't have any direct involvement with those stories (I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt), but he is involved in some way - even if it is only by his reaction. So ... let's take a look, shall we?
1. Jussie Smollett, is an American actor and singer. He's black and he's openly gay. Smollett is now charged with a couple felonies because he allegedly orchestrated an attack on himself, then reported the "hate crime" to police. The Sniffer's reaction: His fingers turned blue tweeting about Smollett, on and on and on about how horrible Smollett is. But remember: Smollett is black and gay.
2. Coast Guard Lt. Christopher Hasson was arrested last week in federal court on minor drug possession and firearms violations. But prosecutors say Hasson is a terrorist and he describes himself as a "white nationalist." Additional charges are pending. He had a large cache of weapons and a list of Democrats and journalists on a hit list, and he wrote about wanting "to murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country." Let's see. What was The Sniffer's response? Nothing. Absolutely nothing - until several days later when pressed by an NBC reporter to comment. The Sniffer said he would get a final briefing later in the day. Prosecutors say Hasson is a domestic terrorist so you know The Sniffer has been getting regular briefings on the incident. And yet ... he couldn't bring himself to comment about a suspected domestic terrorist, one of his own supporters.
3. Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta. Wow, he's one of those "best" people The Sniffer promised us! Before being nominated by The Sniffer to his Cabinet position (and fast-tracked through the confirmation process by the Republican-controlled Senate), Acosta was a U.S. attorney in Miami. Investigators say he broke the law in a sex trafficking case by not informing his underage sex victims of a plea agreement! Oh, Alex, that's just not nice! These were children! And it appears Acosta and others willfully worked to actually hide the plea agreement from the victims! The big gun in this pea agreement is billionaire New York hedge fund manager, Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein was accused in 2008 of organizing a network of underage girls to engage in sex acts at his Palm Beach waterfront mansion. Over 80 victims have been identified, many of them 13-16 years of age at the time. So ... what was the plea that Acosta arranged? Epstein pleaded guilty to two prostitution charges and served 13 months in Palm Beach county jail, where he was allowed to leave on work release for up to 12 hours a day, six days a week. And ... an FBI investigation was shut down, an investigation that might have led to some other big names. Okay ... how is The Sniffer involved other than nominating Acosta to the Cabinet position? I'm so glad you asked! Epstein and The Sniffer are good buddies and have been for a very, very long time! What's that old adage ... You are known by the company you keep.
4. And then there's the Robert Kraft debacle. Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, is another big time supporter of The Sniffer. Good buddies! Kraft donated lots of bucks to The Sniffer's campaign. Hey ... the poor guy went to a massage parlor in Florida ... you know, one of those that he knew promised a massage with a happy ending. What Kraft didn't know is that the place had been under investigation for quite some time! Everything was videotaped ... and Kraft was arrested on charges of soliciting sex. The bigger problem is that this house of prostitution ended up being part of a huge sex trafficking ring with women being held prisoner! The Sniffer says it's "sad" and that he's "surprised." Sad. Yes, indeed.
And that is a brief recap of some of today's top news stories. And all of them relate to The Sniffer in some way. And all of them are filled with sleaze.
Are you tired of all this winning? I sure am. Pardon me ... time for a shower.
1. Jussie Smollett, is an American actor and singer. He's black and he's openly gay. Smollett is now charged with a couple felonies because he allegedly orchestrated an attack on himself, then reported the "hate crime" to police. The Sniffer's reaction: His fingers turned blue tweeting about Smollett, on and on and on about how horrible Smollett is. But remember: Smollett is black and gay.
2. Coast Guard Lt. Christopher Hasson was arrested last week in federal court on minor drug possession and firearms violations. But prosecutors say Hasson is a terrorist and he describes himself as a "white nationalist." Additional charges are pending. He had a large cache of weapons and a list of Democrats and journalists on a hit list, and he wrote about wanting "to murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country." Let's see. What was The Sniffer's response? Nothing. Absolutely nothing - until several days later when pressed by an NBC reporter to comment. The Sniffer said he would get a final briefing later in the day. Prosecutors say Hasson is a domestic terrorist so you know The Sniffer has been getting regular briefings on the incident. And yet ... he couldn't bring himself to comment about a suspected domestic terrorist, one of his own supporters.
3. Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta. Wow, he's one of those "best" people The Sniffer promised us! Before being nominated by The Sniffer to his Cabinet position (and fast-tracked through the confirmation process by the Republican-controlled Senate), Acosta was a U.S. attorney in Miami. Investigators say he broke the law in a sex trafficking case by not informing his underage sex victims of a plea agreement! Oh, Alex, that's just not nice! These were children! And it appears Acosta and others willfully worked to actually hide the plea agreement from the victims! The big gun in this pea agreement is billionaire New York hedge fund manager, Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein was accused in 2008 of organizing a network of underage girls to engage in sex acts at his Palm Beach waterfront mansion. Over 80 victims have been identified, many of them 13-16 years of age at the time. So ... what was the plea that Acosta arranged? Epstein pleaded guilty to two prostitution charges and served 13 months in Palm Beach county jail, where he was allowed to leave on work release for up to 12 hours a day, six days a week. And ... an FBI investigation was shut down, an investigation that might have led to some other big names. Okay ... how is The Sniffer involved other than nominating Acosta to the Cabinet position? I'm so glad you asked! Epstein and The Sniffer are good buddies and have been for a very, very long time! What's that old adage ... You are known by the company you keep.
4. And then there's the Robert Kraft debacle. Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, is another big time supporter of The Sniffer. Good buddies! Kraft donated lots of bucks to The Sniffer's campaign. Hey ... the poor guy went to a massage parlor in Florida ... you know, one of those that he knew promised a massage with a happy ending. What Kraft didn't know is that the place had been under investigation for quite some time! Everything was videotaped ... and Kraft was arrested on charges of soliciting sex. The bigger problem is that this house of prostitution ended up being part of a huge sex trafficking ring with women being held prisoner! The Sniffer says it's "sad" and that he's "surprised." Sad. Yes, indeed.
And that is a brief recap of some of today's top news stories. And all of them relate to The Sniffer in some way. And all of them are filled with sleaze.
Are you tired of all this winning? I sure am. Pardon me ... time for a shower.
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