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1. Lake Claytor | December 9, 2011 at 1:24 pm

   Small Pox?

   Really?

   “A series of e-mail exchanges between officials at the Department of Health and Human Services shows growing alarm at the amount of projected profit from a government contract for a drug company whose controlling shareholder is a longtime Democratic Party activist.”

   “In May 2011, Health and Human Services awarded Siga a no-bid contract worth nearly $433 million to develop and produce 1.7 million doses of an anti-viral smallpox drug…”

   http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/08/politics/siga-technologies-hhs-contract/index.html

   Obama is a CRONY SOCIALIST.
2. Cold n P | December 9, 2011 at 4:12 pm

   A vote for the GOP is a vote wasted. Unless you’re a corporation.

   Corporations are people right GOP?

   GOP likes CORPORATIONS as long as they are PEOPLE who give them money.

   GOP likes people who are named G.E., AEP, PEPCO, Campbell, etc. Weird names for people.

   Wake up sheeple, the GOP has destroyed this country all in the name of greed. Greed is good. Greed is the god of the GOP. Think about that the next time you’re at the polls voting and please vote the scumbag republicans out of office before they destroy what little is left of US.

   Remember who they took an oath to BEFORE they took their oath of office. Grover Norquist. He proudly has a wall of shame he displays the signatures of his minions who answer to him. Did your Representative sign?

   VIRGINIA Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling
   Atty. Gen. Ken Cuccinelli
   8 Senators of 40
   Stephen H. Martin (S-11)
   Steve Newman (S-23)
   Mark Obenshain (S-26)
   W. Roscoe Reynolds (S-20)
   Frank M. Ruff (S-15)
   Ralph K. Smith (S-22)
   Bill Stanley (S-19)
   Jill Holtzman Vogel (S-27)
   21 House members of 100
   David Albo (H-42)
   Robert Bell (H-58)
   Kathy Byron (H-22)
   Bill Cleaveland (H-17)
   Ben Cline (H-24)
   Mark Cole (H-88)
   Barbara Comstock (H-34)
   Kirk Cox (H-66)
   Thomas Gear (H-91)
   C. Todd Gilbert (H-15)
   Greg Habeeb (H-8)
   Tim Hugo (H-40)
   Bill Janis (H-56)
   Steve Landes (H-25)
   Scott Lingamfelter (H-31)
   Robert G. Marshall (H-13)
   Harvey B. Morgan (H-98)
   Chris Peace (H-97)
   R. Lee Ware, Jr. (H-65)
   Tony Wilt (H-26)
   Tommy Wright (H-61)

   The man who wants to be your next governor did. That disqualifies him for me, what about you?

   http://fredericacade.wordpress.com/2010/12/31/list-of-your-states-signers-signed-to-grover-norquist-controversial-americans-for-tax-reform-pledge/

   Should our representatives vote for their constituents best interests? Or Grover Norquists’ interests. I assure you they are not the same.
3. gdad | December 9, 2011 at 4:33 pm

   Oh yeah, the MSM is going hard after Coach K.

   http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/magazine/12/04/sportsman.announcement/index.html?eref=sihp&sct=hp_bf3_a2
4. Dan Casey | December 9, 2011 at 4:35 pm

   the blog is acting weird.

   My reply to Flash did get deleted. But I didn’t delete it. Restored now.
5. Ron | December 9, 2011 at 5:35 pm

   The article linked below speaks of a decade of missed chances in the U.S. Given the current political leadership we have in Washington, I hope we don’t miss another decade of chances.

   http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-17/a-decade-of-missed-chances-is-dragging-down-prospects-in-u-s-ezra-klein.html
6. Suzie | December 9, 2011 at 6:39 pm

   But Cold allegedly owns a corporation doesn’t he?
7. Sandi Saunders | December 9, 2011 at 10:22 pm

   Lake Claytor, I am sorry you are so very naive.

   Does Perry getting money from Merck before he mandated the HPV Vaccine they make bother you?

   Ever cry over the Cheney “cronies” who made billions off of taxpayers even as they electrocuted Marines?

   And where was your outrage over the new info that Hank Paulson tipped off a select group of Goldman hedge fund managers about the failure of Fannie and Freddie 7 weeks ahead of this information becoming public knowledge?

   Never let any little fact get in the way of your Obama Derangement Syndrome. “Townsend contended that the contract was put out in a competitive process but “Chimerix ultimately was not competitive in this process.”
   “It ultimately was … a sole-source contract … because there was nobody to compete,” Townsend said. “There was nobody (aside from Siga) with an anti-viral that could meet the government’s standards.”
   She added that the government has given a research-and-development grant to Chimerix to encourage competition. “The government has bent over backwards to try and balance the need for an anti-viral against competition,” Townsend said.”

   http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/08/politics/siga-technologies-hhs-contract/index.html

   Here’s you a story that spans several administrations, let the ODS go it makes you look small.

   http://www.salon.com/2001/10/15/anthrax_vaccine/
8. dave | December 9, 2011 at 11:20 pm

   Today’s fun activity has been watching the Donald stew in his own egotistical juice while 5 of the seven GOP Comedy Tour Entertainers
   dissed the debate that he was hyping with him as moderator to help pump up his TV ratings. The only egos actually big enough to attempt to match
   theirs with the Donald are the Newtman and Santorum. Santorum is too dumb to know when he is being used, and Newt will go anywhere if he thinks it will help him sell his books or film productions. At every campaign stop, Newt and Calista manage to schedule a separate book signiong event so they can continue to rake in the bucks. This is one greedy evil man.
9. Art Hill | December 10, 2011 at 12:28 am

   So, we’ve come to the conclusion that all politicians are scumbags. What do we do next?
10. Ron | December 10, 2011 at 1:17 am

    Why am I not surprised?? Grover the groundhog is up to it again.

    Norquist met with Republican members today to let them know that opposing the extension of the payroll tax cut — which would provide many families an extra $1,000 a year — would not amount to supporting a tax increase, National Journal’s Billy House reported today:

    @HouseinSession: Norquist advises a room of House Republicans Thursday that a failure to extend the payroll tax cut should not be viewed as raising taxes.

    That stands in contrast, however, to Norquist’s position on tax cuts for the wealthy. Norquist has repeatedly warned GOP members about voting in favor of repealing the Bush tax cuts for the rich or tax hikes on millionaires, even verbally sparring with a member of a group of millionaires advocating for higher taxes on themselves last month in Washington, D.C. And yet, when it comes to tax cuts for the middle class meant to drive economic recovery, Norquist clearly takes a different stance.

    Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/norquist-tells-gop-that-raising-taxes-on-the-middle-class-doesnt-count-as-a-tax-increase.html#ixzz1g6rx9GJv
11. Ron | December 10, 2011 at 1:26 am

    Sounds like we know who Suzie is now.

    Speaking in Le Mars, Iowa on Monday, Rick Santorum promised to significantly reduce federal funding for food stamps, arguing that the nation’s increasing obesity rates render the program unnecessary:

    Santorum told the group he would cut the food stamp program, describing it as one of the fastest growing programs in Washington, D.C.

    Forty-eight million people are on food stamps in a country with 300-million people, said Santorum.

    “If hunger is a problem in America, then why do we have an obesity problem among the people who we say have a hunger program?” Santorum asked.

    Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/santorum-we-dont-need-food-stamps-because-obesity-rates-are-so-high.html#ixzz1g6uS8Asg
12. Ron | December 10, 2011 at 1:31 am

    And this is one of the folks the Republicans are touting for president.

    Longshot GOP presidential candidate hopeful Rick Santorum says he is opposed to early-childhood education programs because they are our government’s attempt to “indoctrinate your children.” Speaking before about 20 people at the Perry Public Library on Tuesday, Santorum said:

    Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/santorum-opposes-early-childhood-education.html#ixzz1g6vdDu8p
13. Ron | December 10, 2011 at 1:32 am

    Last but not least, this guy is leading the Republican race for president.

    Gingrich was speaking at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government last week when he suggested that putting scrub brushes and floor sanders in the hands of kids and firing school maintenance workers would “lift up the poorest neighborhoods.”

    Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/gingrich-put-poor-kids-to-work-cleaning-schools.html#ixzz1g6w1GD59
14. Suzie | December 10, 2011 at 8:06 am

    Gingrich was speaking at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government last week when he suggested that putting scrub brushes and floor sanders in the hands of kids and firing school maintenance workers would “lift up the poorest neighborhoods.”

    Only liberals like Ron think it’s a bad idea for poor kids to work. Newt says age nine is a great time to start, and that many successful people began working around that age. I think it’s a great idea. Ron thinks they should be home playing video games, I guess.
15. Suzie | December 10, 2011 at 8:13 am

    Santorum told the group he would cut the food stamp program, describing it as one of the fastest growing programs in Washington, D.C.

    Another great idea. I can’t tell you how many times I would see fat-ass women loading up their carts with snack cakes, chips, soda, and such, then paying with food stamps. Now the libs are allowing them to get fast food for free. Liberals just don’t care that these programs are abused, as long as they grow. It’s criminal.
16. mj | December 10, 2011 at 8:30 am

    Suz’s picture looks like a lady, but she sounds like “some” truck drivers. Sorry truck drivers.
17. Hillary | December 10, 2011 at 2:53 pm

    #15 Evidently the only way to counter such ignorance is to possibly enlighten you with FACTS…
    Here’s an example of the MAXIMUM $ amount for families needing food stamps (SNAP):
    People in Household October 1, 2011 through September 30, 2012:
    1 person in household – $200 monthly food stamp allotment
    2 – $367
    3 – $526
    4 – $668
    5 – $793
    http://www.massresources.org/snap-benefits.html

    I don’t know if you have raised any children (especially teenage boys – I have) but I can assure you my food budget in a month was more than $666 or $166 per week! In the supposed riches country in the world – “21% of all children – live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level – $22,050 a year for a family of four.” That is 1 in 5 children in this country going to bed hungry. Is this American “exceptionalism”…??

    Instead of constantly talking out of you behind, you might want to educate yourself and maybe then offer an intelligent opinion, or at least an informed one.
18. Dan Casey | December 10, 2011 at 4:15 pm

    Hillary, thank for your participation on the blog. Don’t, however, labor under the misconception that facts mean anything to certain posters here. One or two are wholly partisan black holes of lies and distortion. Most of us tune it out,
19. Suzie | December 10, 2011 at 4:51 pm

    Instead of constantly talking out of you behind, you might want to educate yourself and maybe then offer an intelligent opinion, or at least an informed one.

    Hillary,
    In October, we spent 10 days in Zimbabwe where we saw people eating tree bark and foraging for roots and animal carcasses. I witnessed the silent death of starvation first hand. I saw people who were about to die and people who had just died from starvation, and it is something that is impossible to forget. I can talk about it now, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it at first. You clearly have not seen hunger, Hillary. You have not even seen the poverty you claim exists here in America.

    I suggest you take a trip to south-central or southern Africa. Not some package tour where the government sees what they want you to see. Accompany a CRS relief team out into the bush. Trust me, hon. YOU are the one who lacks education. Please think about what I’ve said next time you feel like pompously showcasing your ignorance. Thanks.
20. scott whitaker | December 10, 2011 at 7:34 pm

    Conservatives are upset by SNAP, a $64.7 billion program to feed over 45 million poor, but seem to have no problem with the approximate $12 billion a year in subsidies to oil companies, who, as we all know, are nowhere near “poor”. Or the $20 billion a year in farm subsidies. Or the $71 billion a year tax break given to corporations on overseas profits. Or the estimated $60 billion lost to waste or fraud during the Iraq/Afghanistan wars. Or the nearly $300 billion the Department of Defense projects ran over cost estimates in 2008 alone. Regrettably, the list does go on. Fraud, abuse and waste unfortunately are byproducts of most economic systems and effective enforcement and regulation are necessary to mitigate their impact. Yet to make the blanket implication that most SNAP recipients are unworthy of assistance, or that their plight in life is of their own making and thus they should be ineligible for assistance, is callous and economically unproductive. 49% of SNAP recipients are children who not responsible in any way for their family’s circumstance and who are potential productive citizens. As a nation we owe it to our future generations that they are not marginalized. If we cannot provide our poor the basics, then we as a nation have sealed our fate.
21. Sandi Saunders | December 10, 2011 at 8:38 pm

    Hillary, therein lies futility! Use the scroll feature and do not read what we all know is useless, hate-filled trash. You will feel better for the ignoring and the rest of us can enjoy a better conversation. You are correct, punishing children because you disapprove of their parents is a tried and true road to family destruction pushed by hateful Conservatives. Good Christians know our mission from God, Prov. 19:17 “When you help the poor you are lending to the Lord–and he pays wonderful interest on your loan!” 1 John 3:17 “But if someone who is supposed to be a Christian has money enough to live well, and sees a brother in need, and won’t help him–how can God’s love be within him?” 1 John 3:18 “Little children, let us stop just saying we love people; let us really love them, and show it by our actions”. 1 John 3:19 “Then we will know for sure, by our actions, that we are on God’s side, and our consciences will be clear, even when we stand before the Lord”. Prov. 14:31 “Anyone who oppresses the poor is insulting God who made them. To help the poor is to honor God”. Leave the ignorant haters to God, he’s on it, and they know it. There days are numbered and their end will not be inspiring.
22. Dan Casey | December 11, 2011 at 1:23 am

    Scott Whitaker, I agree with the general thrust of your arguments regarding food stamps aka SNAP.

    Still, I strongly believe the government should limit those food stamp purchases to thing like milk, meat, vegetables, cereals, bread, fruits, juices, and so on.

    SNAP recipients should not be able to buy Snickers bars and M&Ms with those benefits, no matter how strongly the owners of the ultra RW Mars Corp. lobby for it. Even Suzie agrees with me on this, for goodness sake!
23. scott whitaker | December 11, 2011 at 9:48 am

    I agree Dan. My problem is that farm subsidies have artificially lowered the cost of sweeteners in the U.S. Corn is the most heavily subsidized crop and corn syrup, including high fructose corn syrup, has replaced cane sugar, which has an artificially higher price due to tariffs, as the sweetener of choice by the food industry, thus lowering the price of sweetened foods. Additionally, corn is used to feed 99% of our beef cattle which, because of the economy of scale, is less expensive than grass fed beef, which is lower in saturated fat. Of course nothing beats the natural sweetness and nutrition of a home grown apple. But why do we subsidize a product that contributes to our obesity problem but we don’t subsidize the guys who grow the fruits and vegetables? I digress, sorry…
24. Hillary | December 11, 2011 at 10:32 am

    #19 “I suggest you take a trip to south-central or southern Africa. Not some package tour where the government sees what they want you to see”
    As I said on a different topic, “A Church of acceptance and inclusivity turns 25” comment #224 I have worked with children living in abject poverty and I didn’t have to leave the confines of my country! I suggest you go into an American family’s home, with no means of providing for their family through no fault of there own [usually job loss or job injury, no health insurance etc] who want to FEED their children, but have been turned down for services like SNAP… because they made $1.00 over the means test. They are then out of luck. Because of stressors in these situations, family violence, alcohol use and other negative behaviors become prevalent. Children suffer all over the world, but I like to think as the so-called “wealthiest nation in the world” we would, at the minimum, ensure our own children not go to bed hungry… If you want to go all touchy feely, stay in the US and go through Appalachian country – North to South…maybe you could then donate those savings on air fare to a food bank…just saying.
25. Suzie | December 11, 2011 at 12:51 pm

    I have to apologize to the room for being short with Hillary. I really have to watch myself on this topic. When people pontificate out of ignorance what “we” (not they) should be doing for the obese “poor” Democrat constituencies in this country while ignoring children who are little more than twigs in other countries, well, it just makes my blood boil.

    Best to stay away from this topic for awhile.
26. dave | December 11, 2011 at 12:54 pm

    Ah but Hillary! Those children living in abject poverty in the US are only
    doing so because their parents (if they even know who the father is) are lazy good for nothing bums who sit around all day drinking beer and smoking pot and watching Oprah on their 50 inch flat scrren tV’s with surround sound ( or so the wingnuts would have us believe. It would be much better to let them go ahead and starve to death or freeze to death in the winter than to let them become a burden on the top 1%. After all they are the job creators.
27. Sandi Saunders | December 11, 2011 at 12:58 pm

    I do not like or support the idea of punishing people who are obviously suffering already but I like the idea of rewarding better choices. Discounts or bonus points for more nutritious choices should be doable. The very non-Christian idea of punishing people you are claiming to “help” is very petty. Totally understandable for some hate-filled folks but unproductive if we are not deliberately trying to malign and exclude people from our society. Which also seems to be the goal for some.
28. Warren | December 11, 2011 at 2:06 pm

    Scott Whitaker’s posts above are superb. He is right on target about the really pertinent issues of corporate subsidies and relative program waste that bear more on SNAP than the victim blaming and cries of fraud that some neo-conservatives prefer. Hillary’s posts are also wonderful explanations of the need right here at home.

    Reform of SNAP to encourage healthy eating by not covering candy, snacks and fast food seems like an obvious non-partisan thing to do, but Big Clout is willing to ruin lives and our health care system to protect subsidies for junk food. It also seems clear that some self-righteous people object to SNAP not because, as they claim, it somehow makes lazy people obese or there’s not a real need, but because they perceive SNAP recipients to be a threatening political class.
29. Dan Casey | December 11, 2011 at 2:13 pm

    They should also ban soft drinks from SNAP card purchases. New York City tried to do that last summer but the feds nixed it, under pressure from Big Clout.
30. Kristen | December 11, 2011 at 3:10 pm

    “It also seems clear that some self-righteous people object to SNAP not because, as they claim, it somehow makes lazy people obese or there’s not a real need, but because they perceive SNAP recipients to be a threatening political class.”

    Because the poor demonstrably have so much power in this country.

    Maybe by some metric wholesome whole foods could be discounts with a SNAP card, while HFCS laden garbage would be bought at a premium? Sad when the junk food lobby in this country is strong enough to drive public policy and health issues
31. Suzie | December 11, 2011 at 4:02 pm

    IF you are going to subsidize food, make the vouchers good only for milk, beans, and rice. If the welfare mamas are going to load up their cart with refined sugars, let them do it on their own dime. Oh, wait. It’s still not their own dime.
32. Sandi Saunders | December 11, 2011 at 4:20 pm

    It all goes back to the level of privation and control you want to exert over people you say you are “helping”. If you want to control the people you help, just say so. Some soda or candy and chips is not going to ruin a person’s diet and neither is using some of your SNAP funds on them. We all like our junk food and in moderation there is nothing more harmful than enjoyment of it to worry about. I think you would get the nation and even the people we are helping onto a program that rewards good choices more than a program that polices and punishes bad choices. The idea of banning food choices is seen as punishment and control IMO. How hard do we have to kick someone already down?
33. Hillary | December 11, 2011 at 5:55 pm

    I don’t disagree with many of the comments regarding which foods are purchased under the food stamp (SNAP) program. The government does not allow food stamps to purchase cigarettes for example and I’m not sure what the difficulty would be with limiting monthly purchases of soda, which has no nutritional benefit. Families supplemented with food stamps often live too far from regular grocery stores, so they often frequent Stop N Shop or7-11 type stores – not known for fresh fruit and vegetables. The problem is many layered and not so easily remedied.
    MYTH: Food stamp recipients use their benefits to buy junk food. Obesity is the biggest nutrition problem among the poor. FACT: USDA studies show that low-income people live in the same society the rest of us do and see the same ads; some make the same questionable food choices the rest of us do. Indeed, obesity masks other serious nutrition problems that result from families having insufficient money for food: some high-fat, high-sugar foods that contribute to obesity and other health problems are among the cheapest sources of calories low-income parents can find to keep their children from experiencing hunger.
    35% of US adults are obese – or 73 million people (2008 statistics). According to the USDA, 45 million Americans are on food stamps.

    So, #15, I guess it isn’t the food stamp crowd who are the only ones who are “fat-assed women”; and #25 – oh that you could feel the outrage of hunger in the US and not ignore it. That would or should make your “blood boil”, but the “children who are little more than twigs” in this country earn your contempt instead. Shame, shame.
34. Steve C | December 11, 2011 at 6:52 pm

    The only problem with this touching and heartfelt story is that it’s a lie. CRS did not sponsor any trips to Zimbabwe in October.

    http://crs.org/zimbabwe/stories/

    The things some people say to get attention is just sad. Oh, well; it’s on the internets, so it has to true, right? On an internet blog, everybody can be attractive, skinny, own one of the largest 25 companies in Roanoke, have a master’s in engineering, eat at fried fish joints that have been closed for a year and a half, AND be a world traveler. Gosh, aint the ‘net just grand?
35. Lynda K | December 11, 2011 at 7:11 pm

    Who “strolls” along Patterson avenue? I’ve driven down there a lot and I don’t thing I’ve ever seen a single soul walking.
36. Dan Casey | December 11, 2011 at 9:10 pm

    I guess I’m the only one, then, Lynda K. Thursday afternoon, I walked from the newspaper to Box Swedish Car Repair to pick up my car.
37. Suzie | December 11, 2011 at 9:17 pm

    The only problem with this touching and heartfelt story is that it’s a lie. CRS did not sponsor any trips to Zimbabwe in October.

    CRS is already there, dimwit. They don’t ‘sponsor’ trips anyway.
38. Suzie | December 11, 2011 at 9:26 pm

    Would that fact that one SNAP-financed Happy Meal going to a chubby American “poor” kid would buy enough sadza to feed 50 Zimbabwean children would that make you leftwingers appreciate REAL hunger? Probably not. See, human suffering doesn’t matter a bit to you people. These have to be the right kind of ‘poor’ people, i.e. Democrat voters who can keep the entitlement machine humming.
39. Art Hill | December 11, 2011 at 9:42 pm

    “AND be a world traveler”

    You forgot the private jets to New York for lunch.
40. Contrasuzie | December 12, 2011 at 2:23 am

    “ I witnessed the silent death of starvation first hand. I saw people who were about to die and people who had just died from starvation, and it is something that is impossible to forget. I can talk about it now, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it at first.”

    “Would that fact that one SNAP-financed Happy Meal going to a chubby American “poor” kid would buy enough sadza to feed 50 Zimbabwean children would that make you leftwingers appreciate REAL hunger? Probably not. See, human suffering doesn’t matter a bit to you people. These have to be the right kind of ‘poor’ people, i.e. Democrat voters who can keep the entitlement machine humming.”

    Wow. Just…wow.  I’m deeply moved and saddened that you witnessed such horrifying things.  I can understand your not being able to talk about it at first.  But after being back in your cushy  home for a few weeks, working your cushy job, getting your hair and nails done, having your nightly drinky-poo with the girls, it gets easier to talk about it, doesn’t it? Hell, you can even actually forget about it for short periods of time, huh?  At least long enough to come on this blog and spew your self-righteous, sanctimonious hatred for people you don’t even know.  Is this your therapy for dealing with your PTSD from watching children die?  

    ‘These have to be the right kind of ‘poor’ people…’ 
    Same can be said for you.  The pits of hell will open up and swallow you before you’ll willingly help a ‘fat, poor American’.   Guess what, sister?!  We all can’t help everybody.  We all choose who we can and will help.  You wanna help stamp out starvation in a third world country?  Good for you, sweetie.  Some of us choose to help out here in America, in VA, in the Roanoke Valley.  Neither choice is better than the other and no person helping others is better than anyone else helping others.  Get over yourself.  Your little trip doesn’t qualify you for Humanitarian of the Year.
    As for you being so affected by what you saw in Zimbabwe, good.  You’re exactly the kind of person that should see that kind of poverty and suffering.  So what’s your next plan of action?   Selling and liquidating everything you own and moving there to tackle the problem head on?  Or maybe just moving there for awhile to help build a school, or help build a watering system for a village, or help establish a medical clinic or two?  Or are you just gonna live your privileged little life and throw some cash at the cause every month and take another little trip again next year so you feel good about yourself and your girlfriends will think you’re giving and deep?
    Then you can come back on this blog and be hateful and nasty because, for some weird psychological reason, you enjoy and even need to have people hate you.  You feed on it. You’re like a battered woman who won’t leave her abuser.  You’re not here to educate or enlighten anyone.  You are here for no other reason than to be ugly to people so they will be ugly and hateful to you.  You know this.  In your mind and in your heart, you know this is true.  Come back at me with more of your usual bile and prove me right.  Leave and prove me wrong.  Besides, Zimbabwe needs you.
41. Hillary | December 12, 2011 at 2:01 pm

    #38 If CRS = Catholic Relief Services…have you read their mission statement…if not, here it is, because you obviously have not read it in a while if ever:
    Catholic Relief Services Mission Statement
    As part of the universal mission of the Catholic Church, we work with local, national and international Catholic institutions and structures, as well as other organizations, to assist people on the basis of need, not creed, race or nationality.
    http://crs.org/about/mission-statement/
    and some of the their “Guiding Principles”…again, read it because you sure don’t sound like you live it.
    Right and Responsibilities = Corresponding to our rights are duties and responsibilities to respect the rights of others and to work for the common good of all.
    Solidarity = We are all part of one human family — whatever our national, racial, religious, economic or ideological differences — and in an increasingly interconnected world, loving our neighbor has global dimensions.
    Option for the Poor = In every economic, political and social decision, a weighted concern must be given to the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable. When we do this we strengthen the entire community, because the powerlessness of any member wounds the rest of society.

    You certainly seemed concerned for the “needs of the poorest and most vulnerable” here at home. Practicing one’s convictions or beliefs should not be a part time endeavor.
42. Art Hill | December 12, 2011 at 2:38 pm

    When you get to middle-age, CRS means something totally different.
43. Kristen | December 12, 2011 at 2:54 pm

    Is there some address to which I can send my spare tree bark?
44. Hillary | December 12, 2011 at 3:52 pm

    #43 Kristen – you are funny…great sense of humor and timing!
45. Kristen | December 12, 2011 at 8:47 pm

    Hillary, I owe all my timing to Dan!
46. Steve C | December 12, 2011 at 11:07 pm

    Joe Wilson weighs in on suz’s claim that she traveled to Zimbabwe;

    http://blog.reidreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/joe-wilson-ulie.jpg
47. Suzie | December 12, 2011 at 11:46 pm

    Neither choice is better than the other and no person helping others is better than anyone else helping others.

    Yep, it is. Feeding 50 people on the brink of starvation is far superior to buying another Big Mac for a diabetic American kid. Best decision I ever made was take our mission out of Roanoke City to a place of extraordinary need
48. Dan Casey | December 13, 2011 at 12:29 am

    “Feeding 50 people on the brink of starvation is far superior to buying another Big Mac for a diabetic American kid.Best decision I ever made was take our mission out of Roanoke City to a place of extraordinary need.”

    Translation: “I needed an excuse to deny charity to the people of my own community, because I’ve seen some who strike me as too fat to be worthy of my charity.”

    Read THAT and weep, folks.
49. Cold n P | December 13, 2011 at 12:31 am

    “ContraSuzie” Love it!

    That is some serious smack down. I doubt even suzie has the guts to respond to such brilliant comeuppance.

    Please hang around a bit some ContraSuzie. We get tired of stamping out her bile, we need all the help we can get. Ignorance spreads quicker the the flu. Suzie is surely “Patient Zero”
50. 13 Suns | December 13, 2011 at 12:42 am

    And, once again, Suzie proves Contrasuzie to be right.
51. joe | December 13, 2011 at 12:49 am

    damn o mighty///
    I just saw the longest line drive home run in my life.
    Contra broke her billboard into tiny shards.
52. 13 Suns | December 13, 2011 at 1:42 am

    “Kristen says:
    Is there some address to which I can send my spare tree bark?”

    Kristen, I have a friend who picks a needy family every year and provides Christmas dinner, toys and clothes for the children from Santa, gifts to the parents ‘from the children’, decorations, and whatever else she can provide for them to have a happy Christmas. This year, she told me she wanted to give the family a real Xmas tree, rather than an artificial one. “Oh, Lord, NO!”, I exclaimed. “There are starving people in Zimbabwe who could eat off that tree for a week and you want to waste it on undeserving Americans to hang baubles on?! ” ;-D
53. Kristen | December 14, 2011 at 9:30 am

    13suns, sad to say I have an artificial tree. BUT…I’m sure there’s something out in my compost bin that would fit the bill. I shall o scavenge!
54. Sandi Saunders | December 14, 2011 at 10:48 am

    Contrasuzie #40, TOUCHDOWN! You have got it going on! Many thanks for a beating worthy of the name. You, my friend, nailed it!!
55. Warren | December 14, 2011 at 11:23 am

    Thank you Contrasuzie. Thank you for your informed, well written posts, your inspired and highly accurate screen name, and your willingness to join such stalwart mental health workers as Sandi and Cold n P in protecting others from Patient Zero.

    And to Cold n P goes the Taxonomy award for finally giving an accurate identifier to the hideous creature that lives in darkness and attempts to poison all who approach it. Henceforth, I move, in democratic tradition, that Patient Zero be adopted as the official identifier of said creature. All in favor, feel free to use it. All opposed, the extremists who control the Republican party thank you for your support.
56. Ken | December 14, 2011 at 11:39 am

    “take our mission out of Roanoke City ”

    … one would think that someone of great means could/would support the less fortunate here and abroad… but of course, we are dealing with a troll here….. all noise but no substance