Subj : Democracy Explained to Kids To : BOB KLAHN From : Lee Lofaso Date : Wed Sep 04 2013 20:14:03 Hello Bob, BK>> There are aproximately 3 times as many BK>> poor whites as poor blacks in this country. The poor are BK>> overwhelmingly working poor. Even your 9th ward, the infamously BK>> abandoned by the Feds, home of the poor black population, was BK>> overwhelmingly made up of families supported by workers. LL>> Folks who lived in the Lower 9th Ward were mostly renters. BK>Which is not untypical for the poor. It has been 8 years since Katrina hit New Orleans. And many people who were displaced have never been able to return to their homes or former neighborhoods. LL>> They had evacuated prior to Katrina hitting New Orleans, but LL>> were unable to return due to the levees breaking leaving the BK>They were also barred from returning by security people. Not only were residents of New Orleans barred from returning home, but so were others (such as family and relatives) who were outside the city. Sure, cleanup was a mess. But access should have been granted sooner, and for more people. BK>From what I have read, Blackwater was guarding the former 9th ward. BK>You can find that easily enough. Private contractors were used, but so was the National Guard. LL>> entire area flooded. Yes, most of them worked, although at LL>> low-paying jobs, hardly enough to live on much less raise a LL>> family. BK>Exactly. That is the way it is in every major American city. Right-wingers like to blame it on blacks, pointing to cities such as New Orleans and Detroit, but the poor (regardless of race) live everywhere. LL>> The issue isn't really about race, but rather what is right LL>> and what is wrong. People do what they have to do in order LL>> to survive. Most folks, rich or poor, are good people LL>> rather than bad, trying to do the right thing rather than LL>> the wrong thing. BK>Aristotal taught that the poor will do what they need to survive, BK>the rich will do anything to get richer, only the middle class BK>provides stability. Aristotle was a very smart man, but he never imagined how it could be humanly possible to solve the problem. However, today we are gods and have solved the problem - With the number of poor we have in this country, it is necessary to have government programs (handouts). Food stamps, free cellphones, subsidized housing, SSI/medicaid, etc. If there were no subsidies, the people would riot and revolt. LL>> You can find bad people in every neighborhood. LL>> Right-wingers like to point out that Rev. Martin Luther LL>> King was a troublemaker, a black man who spoke for a LL>> violent people, all of whom happened to also be black. BK>VS the violent white people he didn't speak for. White people do not kill white people. But black people kill black people (and sometimes white people). Or so we have been led to believe. LL>> No white minister would ever encourage white folks to LL>> disobey cops and other law enforcement officials. There is a BK>Uh... some are preparing for war against the government. Preparing for war against the government is one thing. Doing so might even get you elected to Congress. Going to war against the government quite another. Might even get you killed. Unless you win. In which case you become a patriot. LL>> reason why no Republican spoke at the Lincoln Memorial on LL>> the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a LL>> Dream" speech. There is also a reason why no Republicans LL>> were invited by the organizers to speak. BK>Are you sure none were invited? I checked, quite a few were. BK>They chose not to. Chris Matthews said none were invited. Michael Steel corrected him. BK>> The reality has been it isn't white or black, but haves and have BK>> nots. The haves have taken more from the poor black community BK>> than the poor black community ever got back. LL>> For Republicans, it really is about white or black. It LL>> wasn't always like that, but it is today. For example, LL>> George Romney received 30% of the black vote as a candidate LL>> for governor of Michigan. Mitt Romney received 6% of the LL>> black vote as a candidate for president. That is how much LL>> the Republican Party has changed over the years. BK>Above all, it's politics. Give the people someone to hate and BK>you get votes. Playing on fear has always been the dictator's BK>primary weapon against his own people. Give the people what they want to hear and you get votes. Not necessarily what they hate, although very often it amounts to being the very same thing. The politics of fear is used not only by dictators but also by presidents (re: GWB). Is it a good tool? For dictators it is (as long as they are able to remain in power). BK>> Remember Mitt Romney's infamous 47%? LL>> George Romney marched with MLK and the blacks for freedom. LL>> Mitt Romney refused to speak at the Lincoln Memorial for the LL>> 50th anniversary of MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech. What a LL>> tremendous opportunity that was missed by Mitt Romney and LL>> the Republican Party. Even Michael Steel admitted the GOP LL>> goofed. BK>OTOH, the republican party found Michael Steel too reasonable BK>long ago. And now the Republican Party is finding Piyush "Bobby" Jindal too reasonable ... BK>> Well, since blacks make up only about 13% of the population BK>> of this country, That leaves 34% to be white. LL>> Cajuns make up a much smaller percentage of the population LL>> than blacks, hispanics, or asians. Why this country wants LL>> to identify itself by race is beyond me, as it is language LL>> that defines a culture ... BK>The country does not want to identify itself by race, the power BK>holders need a division to keep thier side in line. Especially the RAND Corporation. "Thinking Through the Cold War", by David Jardin, free for download, smashwords.com BK>>> Since even the 15% unemployment rate among blacks, or more BK>>> like 25% real unemployment rather than the fake numbers the BK>>> government uses, still means 25% of 13%. Or about 3 1/3% of BK>>> the population. That leaves about 45% out of 47% Mitt Romney BK>>> considers "takers" to be white. LL>> Cajuns are not exactly the wealthiest folks in the world. LL>> And yet most of them voted for the man with the red face. LL>> Probably because they thought he was a crawfish. BK>He played on fear. He's a politician. Now retired. And happy. --Lee --- MesNews/1.06.00.00-gb * Origin: news://felten.yi.org (2:203/2) .