As we were taking a walk yesterday, my husband Ron asked if I had seen my nieces' mother post on FB yesterday. I told him no and he had the look like "i shouldn't have said anything". (He KNOWS how I get). Before I get to our conversation, some background on this woman: she had her first child with my brother-in-law when she was 20 years old and then they had another one when she was 24. (They have been split up for years). The girls are now 11 and 6, respectively.
The girls are currently on Medicaid, have lived in Section 8 in the past and the mother is CURRENTLY being paid to go to school. This is the third school that I know of that she has attended. (I am almost positive that the government is also paying for her schooling since she doesn't work!).
She started with this:
"Why are people making a big shit bout what Romney said....IT'S TRUE....I can name 10 people of hand who live off government....I'm Talkn section8 Foodstamps cash medical n section 8 also pays their gas n light also....what happened to WORKING FOR WHAT YOU WANT??? N how they even mad its Statistics...."
She got some crap from her other friends asking her basically "really?" since she has been taking government services for years. (I guess she thinks those things grow on trees!)
I responded with :
He is TOTALLY WRONG!! He is talking about people who take child tax credits, seniors on Medicare, earned income tax credit, etc. If you take these standard deductions and end up owing zero federal income tax, he is calling you a moocher. He is not talking about welfare cheats--obviously they are wrong. If you know people gaming the system, call the fraud hotline and turn them in. I can't WAIT to talk to you on Saturday and explain this all to you!!
I couldn't stop there:
(R)money also has tax havens in the Caymen Islands, Bermuda and Switzerland which he offshored to AVOID PAYINIG TAXES. He wants US to pay more in taxes when he doesn't even pay what he should because he keeps his $$ offshore. He won't even show his tax returns (which EVERY candidate has always done--his own FATHER is the one who started the tradition back in the 60's.) I cannot believe that you support this man. Seriously....
She came back with:
And I do support him...I don't dig Obama telling me my what I can n can't feed my kids....abortion issues...I'm catholic....n seriously can't believe you support him....plus if I wanted to live in a communist country I'd move to one.... And ok romney is the only one with $ offshore????nope sure our president has $ off shore too....plus I voted for him once n don't like what he stands for....
To which I replied:
As far as abortion goes, if you don't like them, don't have one. I'm Catholic too and all the top folks in the church want to talk about is gays and abortions. Why don't you look up the Nuns on the Bus Tour (the REAL Catholics in my opinion) who are actually showing how these policies affect the poor. Republicans talk about individual liberty but want to tell other citizens what to do with their bodies. Obama doesn't HAVE overseas bank accounts. You have to list them on your tax forms: he doesn't---(R)money does. Obama is not telling YOU what to feed your kids. The obesity epidemic in this country needs to be addressed and they RECOMMENDED schools not sell soda (which is ALL SUGAR) and prepackaged food that is ALL SODIUM. Pittsburgh Public Schools adopted that when President BUSH was in the WH). You say you voted for him and "don't like what he stands for". Tell me what you think he stands for. I am guessing that you watch ALOT of Fox News. I suggest you turn the channel.
She answered:
Listen its my opinion n I'm not voting for someone I don't like....and my mind is set. I do like fox news they don't sugar coat shit"
Of course I responded:
I respect your opinion but have to admit that I am absolutely FLOORED by it. How did I know that you watched Fox News? SIX studies have shown that people who watch Fox are more uninformed that people who watch NO news. They tried to start the channel in Canada but was barred because they don't permit NEWS organizations to LIE ON THE AIR!! (Google it). The Top 1% (who earn over $400,000/year) get 23.9% of the taxbreaks and the Top 10% raked in 40.3% of the tax breaks. The BOTTOM 60% of us got 20.1% of the tax breaks--earned income tax credits, child credits, etc.
Here. I googled it myself: "Fox News has been denied a broadcasting license in Canada because Canada has the Canada Radio Act which requires that a licenser may not broadcast any false or misleading news.
In the US, they used to have the Fairness Doctrine, but it was eliminated in 1987 under Ronald Reagan".
She came back with:
Listen I was floored when he passed a bill on full term abortion... N now guess what if one of my daughters or nieces get pregnant at 13 they DON'T NEED PARENTS CONSENT TO GET AN ABORTION...that's when the government steps on toes...you don't make life n death choices at 13 and that's the shit I won't stand for...he lost my vote
I replied:
WHAT FULL TERM ABORTION BILL? That is a total lie! Also as far as parental consent for abortions? That is a STATE ISSUE--NOT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S ISSUE. Again, from Google: "The answer depends on the state in which you live. Some states require notification of the teenagers parents, some require consent from one or both parents and some states have no policy. In the states with no policy, there is no consent or notification needed. A 13-year-old can get an abortion without notification to her parents. Fox also has a habit of cutting off video. If they show an Obama video, do me a favor. Check the video out at another place and I am POSITIVE it will show something completely different. They did this today (again) with a video from Obama from 1998. They cut it off so it shows what THEY want you to believe. For example, if you saw a video of me that said "I don't like Ron", I am sure you would be surprised. But, if you played the entire thing where I said "I don't like Ron having to get up at 4:00 a.m." you wouldn't be surprised. They do this ALL THE TIME.
Haven't heard back from her in over three hours. Have to go a one-year-old's birthday party on Saturday. Somehow I have the feeling this isn't going to be pretty. I just hope I can hold my tongue and ask the dimwit how she and her kids could have survived without all the government help she was given.