Appleseed Humanity

As the melodramatic, stage-managed bun fight that is the debate over the debt limit continues in Congress the full horror of the cuts proposed by some members as a solution is causing concern among people who serve those at risk.

Among the cuts proposed by conservative members is a significant reduction in the funding for ‘WIC’ – a nutritional program for women, infants and children. And the cuts would be inflicted while tax breaks for billionaires and oil companies remain blocked as ‘unfair.’

For years both parties had followed an unspoken tradition to always fund WIC, but early this year the GOP-led House passed a funding bill that would slash $733-million from the program.

If it ever becomes law 300-450,000 women and children would instantly go hungry.

To propose slashing funds for programs like WIC while insisting that tax breaks for billionaires and oil companies are preserved for the good of the nation is not only blatant pandering to those who fund both their lifestyle and election campaigns it’s also unsupported by facts:

Economists say every $1 invested in feeding a pregnant woman through WIC saves up to $2.13 in health care costs over the life of her child. At the same time, just one week of the revenue lost from the tax breaks would fund WIC in full for a year – With a profit.

44.5-million Americans now live beneath the poverty line. One in three are so poor they can’t eat every day. And to propose cutting funds to programs that help those with so little while preserving vote-gaining perks for those with more than enough is callous, deceptive, self-serving malfeasance.

The election cycle is almost upon us. Next time you hear a politician tell you they love this country and truly care about the people, find out where they stand on the funding for WIC.

You might not care about them quite so much when you know.

Source: Half-in-Ten

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968.

A great man with just and worthy ideals, taken from this world long before his time by the simmering hatred of an implacable few who could not even bear to consider the idea of change or reasoned debate.

Biography at Wikipedia..

In what is believed to be a first for any administration, the United States Senate Committee on Crime and Drugs held a meeting this morning in Washington D.C., entitled ‘Crimes Against America’s Homeless: Is the Violence Growing?”

The declared goal of this unprecedented assembly is to decide on action to cure the growing trend of violence against homeless people. NCH reports that in the last ten years alone homeless people have suffered 1,074 acts of violence, resulting in 291 deaths.

There are also documented cases of homeless men, women and even children being verbally and physically harassed, set on fire, beaten and even decapitated.

After years of media indifference these sickening numbers have finally drawn some attention and were undoubtedly a factor in causing what could be an influential first meeting to devise remedial action.

The meeting’s main focus will be the ‘Hate Crimes Against the Homeless Statistics Act (S. 1765), introduced by Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Susan Collins (R-ME.) It requires the FBI to collect data on crimes against this nation’s homeless.

This is believed to be the first such collective discussion ever held by Congress that specifically seeks to protect and enforce the civil rights of those who have no claim to a home; A previously un-regarded slice of this nation who currently number in excess of 9-million.

But with just four weeks before the November mid-terms it remains to be seen if politics will play a part and block what is no more than a pledge of fair treatment and justice for those who can’t fight back…

Photo by Kevin Burkett