Let them eat cake

Well our Commuter and Thief has again repeated his intention to veto an expansion of the S CHIP program that helps to provide medical insurance to American kids. He seems exceptionally proud of himself for ensuring that this money, desperately needed to prolong a disastrous war that brings pain and devastation to kids every day, not be diverted to helping kids stay healthy. I guess that's how a compassionate conservative promotes a "culture that values life."

Yet Dubya is not alone in caring for nothing about kids (at least after they're born). We as a society allow families to struggle without decent housing, food, or medical care. More and more American parents are working at jobs that don't provide benefits, yet give them an income just high enough to disqualify them for subsidized health care, food stamps, or public housing. As a teacher I saw what the response of most kids over the age of 15 was to their family's financial difficulties. They start working more than 5 hours a day after school, and pick up more hours on the weekend. They don't have much energy or time left for their studies, let alone any chance to enjoy developing other talents or interests.

Meanwhile, wealthy Americans can afford to unwind in their vacation homes while their kids go to expensive camps. These privileged folk live far away from the working people who bag their groceries or sell them an espresso maker at Target. The affluent just don't understand what it means to choose between a child having braces on their teeth or a new muffler for the car. Not knowing or caring how the other half lives is one thing. What is really disturbing is to hear affluent journalists portray those few wealthy folks, like John Edwards, who are actively working to improve the lot of working Americans as "hypocrites." They smugly condemn someone for calling attention to the problems faced by many millions of people in this country. If it is only morally pure to help those like yourself, then Jack Abramoff and John Gotti must be saints!

Perhaps something good may emerge from the ashes of the Cheney/Bush nightmare. The vast majority of Americans don't benefit from the growing redistribution of wealth, from the middle classes to the super-rich, promoted by Republicans. For the first time in decades the abysmal performance of Republicans in managing our foreign and domestic affairs has united people often divided by racial, religious, or other cultural differences. People who've voted against their own best interests to make a statement in support of "traditional values," are beginning to recognize they can't afford any more of the disastrous leadership offered by politicians lacking the traditional values of honesty, decency, and respect for the rule of law.