tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post3247299686915074249..comments2024-03-29T09:02:21.634-04:00Comments on Lehigh Valley Ramblings: Northampton County's Homeless: Just the Facts (Part Two)Bernie O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-70754568371337739842008-01-29T03:01:00.000-05:002008-01-29T03:01:00.000-05:00This is just not right!This is just not right!Drake Minder Phone: 484-557-6880https://www.blogger.com/profile/07098997707772326238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-557325269199397342008-01-27T10:54:00.000-05:002008-01-27T10:54:00.000-05:00Our country has a history of being able to do both...<EM>Our country has a history of being able to do both. I've not seen 300, but it's in my Netflix queue.</EM><BR/><BR/>Your points are well made. Dude, you've got to see the 300. That movie was made for conservatives. The naysayers in Sparta, you could picture them as Pelosi. I liked the movie myself. But I'm more the Athenian navy type.Bernie O'Harehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-6217183109062033412008-01-27T10:41:00.000-05:002008-01-27T10:41:00.000-05:00My comment was admittedly snarky. I'm thrown when...My comment was admittedly snarky. I'm thrown when a modern liberal defends any military engagement. Although I'm aware of your consistency on Afghanistan and appreciated the post on Dent's visit. <BR/><BR/>The debate touched on the comparison of war spending to homeless spending. I believe we can defend ourselves and feed needy souls. <BR/><BR/>I think sniping about one of the wars that both parties' likely '08 standard bearers authorized and continue to fund, as a tactic to complain about inadequate social spending, is either naive or disingenuous. <BR/><BR/>From our founding, we've always engaged in controversial foreign entanglements and we've always had poor among us.<BR/><BR/>FDR brutally prosecuted a war against Germany (he had captured Nazis tried and executed following secret tribunals), a country that did not attack us, while launching a wide array of social programs designed to help the needy. <BR/><BR/>Our country has a history of being able to do both. I've not seen 300, but it's in my Netflix queue.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-20805702399673321762008-01-27T09:24:00.000-05:002008-01-27T09:24:00.000-05:00Dude, Why are you trying to change the focus from ...Dude, Why are you trying to change the focus from the homeless to unnecessary and untrue slams against liberals? Feeling guilty?Bernie O'Harehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-20597586475717318052008-01-27T07:56:00.000-05:002008-01-27T07:56:00.000-05:00Why was attacking Afghanistan necessary? I though...Why was attacking Afghanistan necessary? I thought Bush and Cheney arranged the 9/11 attacks to expand Halliburton's global hegemony?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-81678289046375986362008-01-26T11:06:00.000-05:002008-01-26T11:06:00.000-05:00Anon 7:19,I'm a liberal. I think we need a militar...Anon 7:19,<BR/><BR/>I'm a liberal. I think we need a military. I think most liberals, including me, agree our decision to invade Afghanistan was necessary. <BR/><BR/>But this is not a liberal-conservative argument. I know very few conservatives who disagree that the decision to invade iraq was a colossal error. I know few conservatives who would disagree that Bush's foreign policy was far too arrogant. And I know few conservatives who would disagree that we wasted vast sums of money in Iraq. <BR/><BR/>So stop with the goofy slogans from the "300." I already saw that movie, and this isn't Sparta.Bernie O'Harehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-42731257705868741282008-01-26T07:19:00.000-05:002008-01-26T07:19:00.000-05:00Liberals love having a military to clean up disast...Liberals love having a military to clean up disasters, but never want to acknowledge the ugly reasons a military is necessary in the first place. Want to drive an honest liberal crazy? Ask him or her what's worth deploying the military for. Most can't get past the humanitarian stuff. Freedom isn't free - not even for poor, free people.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-79716937038468374532008-01-25T22:55:00.000-05:002008-01-25T22:55:00.000-05:00>>NYT I came across this quote recently in a piece...<<< as we can tell about people's values from the space between what they tell others to put up with and what they get for themselves.>>>NYT<BR/><BR/> I came across this quote recently in a piece in the NYT's concerning HealthCare and it sang to me in how people frame their opinions on the haves and the have-nots and those spaces in between.Many people are a Heart Beat from being homeless, especially in these times when more people are making choices between paying for medicine and paying for shelter. It is a reality that people are sicker when they seek healthcare, priorities are painfully adjusted. Human dignity and self dignity are priceless values which seem to be whittled away in a Culture where Status and the desire for it have replaced real concept of Values.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Jake<BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>PS. I don't understand the demonizing of Charlie Dent. He is a Politician. I saw him take a risk 10 or so years ago when he showed up at the Lehigh County Government Center for a Vigil against Hate after the Murder of Matthew Shepard. That takes Balls for an elected official in this region to be so Public in Showing his Humanity.Jakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17139593862056588501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-91954768907198693892008-01-25T15:10:00.000-05:002008-01-25T15:10:00.000-05:00There will be almost 1.5 million homeless children...There will be almost 1.5 million homeless children in America this year and the federal government has allocated just $64 million to help them: that's less than $43 a child.<BR/><BR/>There are aprox. 1.5 million homeless in Iraq today, of which about a third are children. We will spend $193 BILLION in Iraq this year, or about $ 39,000 per homeless Iraqi child (assuming what we are doing there actually is of some help to those children).<BR/><BR/>That's almost a THOUSAND times what we will spend on each homeless child in the U.S.<BR/><BR/>THAT'S "obscene", Anonymous.<BR/><BR/>And so is the war.donmileshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02262231700912730143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-32357269812318141792008-01-25T14:45:00.000-05:002008-01-25T14:45:00.000-05:00But also obscene is complaining about a country th...<EM>But also obscene is complaining about a country that spends less than 4% of GDP to defend our right to complain</EM><BR/><BR/>In 2006, US defense expenditures amounted to <A HREF="http://www.hoover.org/research/factsonpolicy/facts/9722052.html" REL="nofollow">4.1% of the GDP.</A> But it's also true that US military spending is <A HREF="http://www.globalissues.org/Geopolitics/ArmsTrade/Spending.asp" REL="nofollow">48% of the world total</A>. <BR/><BR/>In calculating the defense budget of the US as a percentage of GDP, we have <B>not</B> included the supplemental appropriations that pay for the wars in iraq and Afghanistan. This figure is now approaching $500 billion. So as a percentage of GDP, the figure is actually higher. We're probably now spending at least the same amount of money, as a percentage of GDP, as we were spending during the cold war years. <BR/><BR/>Moreover, I think that's a fellacious argument. Defense analyst Chris Hellman, who works with the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, has stated, <A HREF="http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Defense_Spending_approaching_Cold_War_high.html" REL="nofollow">The GDP argument is the last refuge of scoundrels."</A> <BR/><BR/>"Tying our level of spending to defense to the number of cheeseburgers consumed by Americans is not a good way to measure our strategic requirement."<BR/><BR/>I don't think there's anything obscene in complaining about the cost of this war. Much of the money has been flushed down the toilet, awarded in no bid contracts. Other money has been squandered and misappropriated by Iraqis themselves.<BR/><BR/>The decision to invade Iraq was clearly a mistake. That has been compounded by the amount of money just thrown away. Had we been more judicious in our awards of no bid contracts, perhaps we would have money for some worthwhile domestic projects. We might have money to pay down our debt. We might have money to repair our decaying infrastructure. <BR/><BR/>Don't get me wrong. I don't advocate a precipitous withdrawal. I do advocate supplying our troops with the best equipment available. I'd never condone the wholesale genocide of innocent Iraqi children, which will surely happen if we just pull out. <BR/><BR/>But the decision to invade and the first few years of that war were a total disaster from just about every perspective. The money angle is no exception. It is criminal to have sent troops into battle without proper equipmnet while throwing money at no bid copntractors. It was oscene and remains so.Bernie O'Harehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-12307378897460047572008-01-25T13:23:00.000-05:002008-01-25T13:23:00.000-05:00War is obscene and every war this country has been...War is obscene and every war this country has been in has had an obscene cost. But also obscene is complaining about a country that spends less than 4% of GDP to defend our right to complain.<BR/><BR/>Generalizing about defense spending because of opposition to the latest conflict is as intellectually lazy as generalizing about "gin-swilling, welfare moms" because of opposition to the latest midnight basketball program.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-87102394505817841522008-01-24T19:30:00.000-05:002008-01-24T19:30:00.000-05:00Don, Very well said! The amount of money we have s...Don, Very well said! The amount of money we have spent in iraq is just obscene and well beyond what even opponents of our involvement initially predicted. In addition to taking care of the homeless, we could provide health care or pay down the deficit. The invasion was certainly a mistake.Bernie O'Harehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-79143998751130270532008-01-24T15:30:00.000-05:002008-01-24T15:30:00.000-05:00Thanks, Bernie, for posting this important info. (...Thanks, Bernie, for posting this important info. (and thanks to Ms. Sywensky for compiling it).<BR/><BR/>Your post notes that Congress has increased federal funding for homeless children this year by $ 2 million. Reuters news just noted that Pres. Bush has requested $ 193 BILLION to fund the war in Iraq this year.<BR/><BR/>So: we are increasing this year the federal aid to homeless children in America by ONE - ONE HUNDRED THOUSANDTH of what we spend in Iraq (and, since the ENTIRE federal homeless children aid program is only $ 64 million, we will in total spend to help homeless children THREE - TEN THOUSANDTHS of what we will spend on the war in Iraq this year).<BR/><BR/>Tells you all you need to know about the priorities in America right now, doesn't it ?donmileshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02262231700912730143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-26836765433072629102008-01-24T13:49:00.000-05:002008-01-24T13:49:00.000-05:00Dude, If you want to slam Dent for an anti-union v...Dude, If you want to slam Dent for an anti-union vote or his stance on some environmental issues, be my guest. But when you make a ststement like that, you only make yourself look petty, especially since Dent happens to be a member of the Congress who voted to spend an extra $2 MM for the homeless shelters this year. Perhaps it should have been more, but your remark is unjustified. You're trying to portray Dent as a monster. He may be right of center, but is a decent man.Bernie O'Harehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-46874063103745321172008-01-24T13:30:00.000-05:002008-01-24T13:30:00.000-05:00Charlie would prefer that the needy be aborted bef...Charlie would prefer that the needy be aborted before becoming our burden. It's a root cause approach.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-18798603180510046862008-01-24T12:00:00.000-05:002008-01-24T12:00:00.000-05:00Your support for Charlie Dent; however, confuse th...<EM>Your support for Charlie Dent; however, confuse the hell out of me!</EM><BR/><BR/>Perhaps you've been convinced that nothing goos can come from a R, and nothing bad can come from a Dem. I just don't look at things that way. <BR/><BR/>But my focus here is factual details concerning our local homeless. And for everyone of us who is actually homeless, many more are on the edge.Bernie O'Harehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-63387582650742820812008-01-24T11:32:00.000-05:002008-01-24T11:32:00.000-05:00Bernie, great picture it really puts a personal to...Bernie, great picture it really puts a personal touch on the issue of the homeless. "Nice Job"<BR/><BR/>Your support for Charlie Dent; however, confuse the hell out of me!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-51469440922602733552008-01-24T11:11:00.000-05:002008-01-24T11:11:00.000-05:00At minimum, homeless souls should be granted privi...At minimum, homeless souls should be granted privileges at EASD's proposed $11M pool.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com