You know the canard that people on welfare are lazy takers?

The sheriff here is constantly arresting welfare cheats: people who were working a low wage job while receiving welfare.

Years ago, nightly network news shows ended each broadcast with a

count of the days Iran had held American hostages. What if nightly network news shows started ending each broadcast with a running count of Americans killed by guns since Newtown, maybe with photos of that day's victims?

Where do most undocumented immigrants live?

Also - how many of the undocumented immigrants from Mexico live in states that were seized from Mexico?

A possible unintended side effect of women in combat?

Looking over the comments at various places, it occurs to me that some people ( certainly not all!) are attracted to the military as an ultimate expression of masculine heterosexuality. Actual service in the military may or may not be part of this. Just talking is a serious voice about the need to defend our freedoms is enough to confer the aura of masculinity. (see:chicken hawks). By allowing women in combat and gays in the military, we are breaking that association. Is it possible that there will be less pressure to find a war to fight? I'm not saying that leaders will not want to send women into combat; I'm saying certain leaders will no longer be able to get a vicarious thrill from being associated with the military.

What's the life span of a C-Pap machine?

I have over 2' of snow in my yard right now.

No kidding!

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/weatherhistorian/comment.html?entrynum=117

DU - you're falling down on the job! I had to hear from my Dad that Mrs. Obama

got a cute new hair style:

?13

Anybody here making their own wine?

I'm not sure which forum this goes in, but my question is this:

My husband wants to make red wine. We have room for several vines. Anyone have any suggestions as to the grape variety?

Siting an apricot tree - what's the best way to avoid damage from late frosts?

I have a number of possible sites:

- in an open woodlot - the tree will be shaded by maples and walnuts

- on the north side of a large barn - the area gets sun in the afternoon in summer, there is a hill sloping away from the barn

- open field


I forgot to ask - any recommendations on variety?? - my daughter wants to make dried apricots.

Our hidden history still resonates: American Eugenics

I'm reading a book on the history of eugenics: War against the weak : Eugenics and America's campaign to create a master race
by Edwin Black.

I was startled to find out that eugenics was invented in America and exported all over the world.

What really caught my attention was how so many of the attitudes of the eugenicists pervade right wing politics today.

The eugenicists felt that there was an underclass of degenerate whites who refused to work and were parasites on the productive. Sound familiar?

Romney: There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe that government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it. That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what. And I mean, the president starts off with 48, 49, 48—he starts off with a huge number. These are people who pay no income tax. Forty-seven percent of Americans pay no income tax. So our message of low taxes doesn't connect. And he'll be out there talking about tax cuts for the rich. I mean that's what they sell every four years. And so my job is not to worry about those people—I'll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives. What I have to do is convince the 5 to 10 percent in the center that are independents that are thoughtful, that look at voting one way or the other depending upon in some cases emotion, whether they like the guy or not, what it looks like. I mean, when you ask those people…we do all these polls—I find it amazing—we poll all these people, see where you stand on the polls, but 45 percent of the people will go with a Republican, and 48 or 4…

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/09/full-transcript-mitt-romney-secret-video#47percent

Eugenicists felt that the US was being swamped immigrants who were lower specimens of humanity and a drain on hard working Americans. They wanted no more immigration by "dark" people and wanted to encourage immigration from proper Nordic stock :

Romney: " Unless, of course, you have no skill or experience, in which case you're welcome to cross the border and stay here for the rest of your life. "
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/09/full-transcript-mitt-romney-secret-video#47percent

"In remarks that may prompt accusations of racial insensitivity, one suggested that Mr Romney was better placed to understand the depth of ties between the two countries than Mr Obama, whose father was from Africa.

“We are part of an Anglo-Saxon heritage, and he feels that the special relationship is special,” the adviser said of Mr Romney, adding: “The White House didn’t fully appreciate the shared history we have”.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/mitt-romney/9424524/Mitt-Romney-would-restore-Anglo-Saxon-relations-between-Britain-and-America.html

Of course, the current predictions that whites will soon be just another minority is the eugenicists' nightmare come true. Eugenicists drove American immigration policies in the early 20th century. How different are the fears over Latino immigration today?

Now, I am not saying Romney or any other Republican wants to round up lesser types into camps and sterilize them to protect the gene pool. However, I see the attitudes that were the basis of eugenics driving right wing politics today. Among those attitudes are the views that certain people are trash and parasites on the productive people, that care for those in distress merely perpetuates the problem, that true patriots will protect the future by allowing "those people" to die out. Just as the eugenicists dressed up their racism in pseudo-science, today's right wingers dress up their objectives with phony economics and sociology. The solemn discussions about the cost of "entitlements" and health care are echoes of the eugenics movement.

*****
An aside that didn't fit into my main discussion:
Alexander Graham Bell feared the development of a race of deaf people. He pushed for the suppression of sign language as a means of preventing this. Knowing this explains a lot of the controversy in the deaf community over main streaming and cochlear implants.