What is President Bush Thinking?

I know it is a Republican no-no to say one bad word against President George Bush, but here’s the deal, I am an American first and foremost. I became a Republican because I am an AMERICAN who believes in self reliance and small government. The Republican Party is distracting the American people with all their “we are the party of God talk.” Don’t let them fool you, you are supposed to get your moral lessons from your pastor, parents and spouse, not gubmint or a political party. What has me all gummed up? I read this article in Family Security Matters via American Truckers at War. It is about George Bush wanting to increase gubmint assistance, not only domestically, but internationally. I agree with everything Renee E. Taylor has to say in her article. Here is some of that.

‘Free Food’ Puts a Bad Taste in My Mouth

Renee E. Taylor

When President Bush announced last week that he is calling on Congress for an additional $770 million in international “food aid,” I had just returned from a trip to the grocery store and was feeling less than charitable upon hearing that he wanted to give more aid to countries (such as the terrorist, America-hating states of Somalia and the Sudan) that we have been “feeding” for over 50 years. But fear not; Bush included needy Americans in his discussion:

“Here at home, we’re working to ensure that our poorest citizens get the food they need. Since 2001, the administration in working with Congress has increased funding for nutrition assistance programs by 76 percent. We’ve adjusted food stamp benefits annually to cover price increases at the checkout counter. And last month the Agriculture Department made available an additional $150 million to respond to the food needs of those who depend on WIC – the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. With this new funding, we will have increased our support for WIC by 18.6 percent this year.”

But what was missing from Bush’s speech was the toll that high fuel prices and food are taking on working Americans – those of us who are paying for this increase in foreign aid – aid that has done nothing in my lifetime but spawn more dependence on the government. This dependence has also spawned more crime and insolence by those wanting more under the guise of “entitlement.”

Me; I thought Republicans were about not giving out “entitlements.” I am not saying how much money I make, but I will say this, I am eligible for different subsidies. But I refuse to be beholden to the gubmint. I am not eligible for WIC. I guess if I go find some guy at the bar to knock me up and leave me with the kid I could sign up for WIC. Nice for “Republican morality” huh?

Back on February 13, 2007, MIT’s Technology Review warned that the ethanol mandate passed by Congress would have a dramatic effect on the price of food. The theory was that ethanol would ease our dependence on foreign oil. Instead of the obvious, domestic drilling, Washington once again proved its ineptness at solving simple problems by creating new, more serious ones. We now face record high fuel costs for our homes and vehicles as well as skyrocketing grocery bills. Both have a direct effect on working Americans, those with homes and vehicles, who pay their electric bills out of their own pockets, and who pay the taxes to not only fund these unrealistic programs, but to pay the salaries of out-of-touch politicians.

Mrs. Taylor talks about inviting her US Senator to go grocery shopping with her.

I wanted Washington, represented by Sen. Lincoln, to enter the reality of the middle class American – the one who pays $2 for a loaf of bread and $10 for a gallon of cooking oil in cash; the family who buys staples such as flour and cornmeal, fruits and vegetables to cook healthy meals rather than “prepared” foods that contain the high fats and calories that are quickly becoming staples of the American diet. I wanted Sen. Lincoln to stand with me in line as those with “food stamp cards” use them to pay for junk food and sodas. I wanted her to explain to me why the apparently able-bodied person in front of me is purchasing items on government assistance that many working Americans can ill afford. But I won’t hold my breath that Sen. Lincoln will take me up on the offer.

Me; I am not sure how things are in her homestate of Arkansas regarding rules on what food stamp recipients can or can not receive. But here in Michigan (here I go again) there are rules on what the recipients can and can not receive. That’s good right? Only receive milk, eggs, cheese, no-sugar cereal, non-fancy meats and the like. Well, not so good. Why? These recipients can go around this rule by buying one set of groceries with food stamps and/or WIC. Then, then, they have another set of groceries like soda, beer, expensive steaks, popsicles, ice-cream sandwiches, Doritos, you name it, any junk food with cash. Where are they getting this cash? If they have the cash for junk food, THEY HAVE THE CASH FOR HEALTHY FOOD. ARGH!!!!! (Bang head on screen HERE!)

One thing I don’t get is I walk around my grocery store seeing signs near the price that is on the shelf under the food items. There will be tags saying, “WIC approved.” Some of these items I would consider junk food. I don’t know, such things as raviolios or spagetti-os, uh-oh. Or Kool-aid. I bake my deserts, not so much as I did before blogging, but if I have to ignore my blog to keep costs down, I will. Now, if you walk around the bakery aisle, none of the things like flour are “WIC approved.” But bread is “WIC approved.”

It costs about $.25c to $.50c a loaf to bake bread. If I have been able to have time to bake bread even when I had two jobs, a welfare recipient has time to bake bread. It does take a while to make, from start to finish. But you aren’t in the kitchen the entire 4 to 6 hours, depending on the type and recipe. You won’t miss all your faves like Oprah, Dr. Phil and Jerry. You can turn on your TV loud when you are in the kitchen, do the steps, come back to the living room, and catch up with the show, go back and do more prepping, repeat until bread is out of oven.

If your kids want dessert, bake a cake from scratch. There are so many more desserts besides cake that can be made. And these things are much healthier than pre-packaged items. I think once I get some extra money in hand, I will spring for an ice cream maker. Heck, even prunes topped with cottage cheese and honey swirled on top makes a great dessert.

We are watching as American jobs, such as customer service and manufacturing, continue to go overseas. Those who were elected to represent the American people seem to represent only those with a hand held out for free food, free medical care and free education in America, Mexico and countries beyond.

My sentiments exactly!

This American housewife is fed up – not with working hard to pay the grocery bill and the gas to get there – but with the Socialist, global policies that have put us in this position and the elitist, inept politicians who continue to expand them. All this free food is leaving a bad taste in my mouth. [more here]

Me; This single working woman is also fed up. I guess the only red meat I will be able to afford is liver. From now on, I will be posting fun 101 recipes for liver. Don’t believe me? Just watch. Last week I just payed $2.99 a pound for green beans. Green freakin green beans! What the hell is up with that? It is not some exotic tropical vegetable. it is a domestic vegetable. I know it is still Winter transition to Spring, but still.

In conclusion, George Soros, Move-on.org and all the other libs are the best thing to happen to George Bush. Why? If they weren’t spilling such vitriol hate about him and the Republican elite, that’s right I said “Republican Elite,” those who vote Republican would stop and think about what BOTH parties are doing. But they are so caught up in defending the “Party of God” to see what is going on.