More babies, young kids going hungry in US

[RBHam]

It's good to know where the Government's priorities are at.

BALTIMORE, United States (AFP) - Increasing numbers of young American children are showing signs of serious malnourishment, fueled by a greater prevalence of hunger in the United States, while, paradoxically, two-thirds of the US population is either overweight or obese.

In 2003, 11.2 percent of families in the United States experienced hunger, compared with 10.1 percent in 1999, according to most recent official figures, released on National Hunger Awareness Day held this year on Tuesday, June 7.

Some pediatricians worry that cuts in welfare aid proposed in President George W. Bush's 2006 budget will only exacerbate the situation. By contrast Bush plans to keep tax cuts for more affluent sectors of the population, they note.

more...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050612/ts_alt_afp/ushealthnutritionchildren_050612030004;_ylt=Ao0FBYx4neB8eQLn3KGyzeys0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2M2YzbmJmBHNlYwN1cw--

[Erika]

1. Idaho is the 6th hungriest state in the nation and

the most GOP. We also gave huge cuts to the rich and the poor are paying for it. Anyone want to talk about the Christianity of the Republicans?

[JRob]

28. I just had this conversation yesterday (I live in ID)

I said "considering the culture of love, presumably the foundation of Christianity... how do Christians justify supporting this administration?" "how can a so called Christian (Bush) orchestrate so much death and exacerbate the suffering of so many in need?" She was skeptical and tentatively asked that I support my claims to which I replied "how much reading time do you have a day..."

[NMMNG]

2. Dubya's priorities

Are his rich friends and corporations.

The middle class and poor can flake off and die as far as he's concerned...they don't make big donations to him or his party. :mad:

[adnelson60087]

3. Do the Cons care at all?

For most Republicans, it just doesn't matter if kids are going hungry. They don't want them educated, or healthy, or provided for, yet they are a "moral" party. Howard Dean was right to call the bulk of them evil, but I would add selfish to that list as well.

[Deja Q]

6. Worse, enough of our populace blindly believes it.

They don't care to do the looking, they're happily spoon fed through the fuckin' tv set.

And it's been that way for far too long; we're all beyond recriminations anyway (peak oil).

[bunnyhugger]

39. right on

when i called my mom (a clueless bush voter) to inform her about sen. conyers' crusade, she chuckled and exclaimed to everyone in the room "oh, impeachment hearings, really?!" in this ridiculous mocking tone. *ugh* this is the first she or anyone around her was hearing ANYTHING about it!!

she doesn't watch news.....period. no CNN, no ABC, NBC, CBS...ZERO NEWS. people like her shouldn't be ALLOWED TO VOTE!!

[area51]

23. Welcome.

Welcome to DU, adnelson60087.


adnelson60087 said:

"For most Republicans, it just doesn't matter if kids are going hungry."

Yes, & the nazi party says it has a "culture of life"....

-------------
"Prosperity is just around the corner." — Herbert Hoover
"The economy has turned a corner." — GW Bush

Herbert Hoover = GW Bush

Neither man cared about the Depression their economic policies created.

[Mel]

24. Welcome to DU adnelson60087

and you hit the head on the nail there 'selfish' it's the screw you I've got mine attitude.

[Deja Q]

4. We can yell and scream bloody murder and things won't change.

Then (theoretically) comes peak oil, when all of these tiddle reports become worthless. No oil = no fertilizer. no artificial cooling, no transport.

The only "compassion" anyone in power can do is to wait until the peak shows signs of no return and nuke the world to a burnt crisp. Fair for everybody; we're all dead then.

[silverweb]

5. reTHUG fuckers.

:grr:

I hate these reTHUGlican mf*ers more than I could ever describe.

One small way to help is to locate and donate to your local food bank. I hear they're all hurting lately.

Here in San Diego, some stores (Albertsons! -- 100% blue!)) have Food Bank donation cards at the checkout. You can add $1, $5, or $10 to your shopping total (or any combination of the above) that will be donated directly to the local food bank. It's easy. Make it a routine.

[Deja Q]

8. They're hurting because of corporations...

buying out smaller companies to engorge themselves while offshoring jobs as well. One or the other if not both.

The working class is composed solely of disposable commodities. Nothing more.

[Erika]

10. Albertson's is an Idaho based total GOP store!

They are 100% GOP. I told my local food bank that all my donations would go to the democratic party because that would help the poor more than anything else.

[silverweb]

13. Aaaccckkkk!!!

I just checked and Albertson's changed in February! Aaarrgghh! I hate not being able to keep up!

http://www.buyblue.org/detail.php?corpId=164

So... I guess now we look for a different grocery store???

[Horse with no Name]

19. Not only are they NOT blue

but they don't support women's reproductive rights.

[tblue37]

11. Two food drives here in Lawrence, Kansas,

within a month of each other provided about 40,000 pounds of food to the local food pantries, but so many families are in need that the food pantries are already almost empty again--less than one month after the last food drive!

[EFerrari]

7. One more time: Fastest growning demographic among the homeless:

Single moms and their children.

/t

[silverweb]

14. As usual.

A change in public perception would be nice.

[drhilarius]

9. "Culture of life" my effin' ass. nt

[oscar111]

12. # OF PEOPLE HUNGRY? need bottom line, not # of families

pls supply the no of individuals hungry.

families might mean one member hungry, or all of them, and how many per family?

pls supply a superior statistic.

not hostile, just want better stat.

12 million indiv's was the figure i have been using from another source.

if your stat on fam's is real, then theere might be a widely differing choice of individuals involved.

please help us with a clarification.

and thanks for the post, too.
=================
ok, just fastread the link.
AFP.. isnt that the French press? interesting how it has to come from oveseas.
Did not see a stat on individuals involved.
Did not see the ultimate survey source, but might have missed it.
Anyone?
Blames junk food heavily. hmmm. So poverty looks like one cause, and another is junk food. hmmm. Who to blame for junk food? The businesses who make it. Similar to tobacco companies... profit from selling bad items. They know it is bad in both cases, yet keep on selling it. Need a state AG group to sue Big Junk {food} just like they sued Big Tobacco and won big.

as to no supermarkets nearby, that is due to crime areas. Job Shortage is to blame for street crime. See my sig for more on that. You will be up to your ears in crime till you end the Job Shortage.

[EFerrari]

16. This is a good site.

http://www.nationalhomeless.org/

[Tsiyu]

15. It will only get worse

and here's a little thing I do: At a Kroger a few towns over ( closest one) they have prepackaged boxes of food you can buy to put in a bin for the food bank. I know Kroger is red, and I don't shop there often, but I always try to buy one of those boxes when I'm there.

Give to your local food bank. If there's a good sale, pick up a few extra non-perishables. Good people must do what the bad Repukes refuse to do: what "their" bible clearly says to do: Feed the Poor.

Here, our cupboards are lean and we don't have a lot, but even we can do something. Some of you reading may be hungry, well, never mind. But i know some of you have some to share. If everyone who can afford to would share just an extra dollar a week to donate to Hunger relief, it would really help some hungry folks.

Thanks for posting this, RBHam

[EFerrari]

17. Everything we do helps. It's not hard to plug into the community

core people helping the homeless in your town.

In our part of the 'hood, we have monthly meetings with anyone who will show up and try to get to know who's living in our area, try to brainstorm together, exchange info about events we can help with or attend or publicize.

It's good to be part of the solution.

[sadiesworld]

22. Please note that Kroger is unionized.

Red or not, the fact that Kroger pays their employees decent wages and provides benefits goes a long way with me.

(I do the Kroger box thing as well)

:hi:

[burrowowl]

18. Oh!

Good old laissez-faire, neo-liberal, 'christian' values!
Read Howard Zinn: A Peoples' History of the United States and Kelvin Phillips: Wealth and Democracy!
GD it when I see posts on DU about socialist not good I see RED!
There is something called the commonweal! Get educated!
68 cents per dollar spent for Offense (whoops sorry Defense) more than the whole world combinded.
And guess what more lawyers than the whole world combined, the good lawyers very much outnumbered by the corporate/fascit types!
The upper-class wants to kill off the under-class and only do 'good' when they are threatened by disease, e.g., TB
as I said read the authors cited above.
In Mexico, where I went to visit my Uncle, even a taxi-driver knows what neo-liberal means, do Murrikans! NO!
I'll stop the rant!
Go Dean! But really this is only a cry to get to a U$ center, which is so rightwing. To paraphase Gore Vidal: the U$ has 2 rightwings. This circular flight only benefits corporate/fascist U$.

[TheModernTerrorist]

20. Darwinism

Survival of the Fittest", and we're just not cutting it anymore. We've grown comfortable in the lap of luxury, and we're gonna bite it for doing so, that is, if we don't destroy the earth before that happens.

[NuttyFluffers]

21. That's because we are a civilized society.

and when the strongest of the starving children get old enough, if they want more food and any measly chance for future life, they'll join up in our imperial campaigns like a good little plebian.
:sarcasm:

y'know, i'm starting to understand the term "round-eyed, white devil." it oddly enough reminds me of all the bastards in this administration... imagine that.

[Triana]

25. But the rich folks are getting much richer!

And that's bu$hit's 'culture of life'. Ain't it grand?

:sarcasm:

[FlaGranny]

26. It's no paradox

that kids are hungry while the nation gets fatter. Both largely caused by the same thing. Lack of money for good, healthy food.

[TwilightZone]

27. Screw the poor and the hungry. More tax cuts for the rich!

People should have known better than to vote for this idiot and his cronies. The fact that he's screwing over the poverty stricken shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, because it fits in with his entire life's experiences.

Anyone who bought his "compassionate conservative" bullshit should be ashamed that they were so gullible and stupid.

[JRob]

29. HIGHLIGHT! "cuts in welfare aid proposed in Bush's 2006 budget...

...will only exacerbate the situation. By contrast Bush plans to keep tax cuts for more affluent sectors of the population."

Wouldn't that go nicely on billboards?

[converted_democrat]

30. I have a solution!!!!

Eat the rich!! ;-)

[DollyM]

31. Does GWB read the same Bible as mine?

Mine says : The best proof that we love God is our love for those who suffer. James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. That's pure religion.
It seems this administration has created more distress for "widows and orphans" than what it has alleviated. GWB is an embarrassment to the Kingdom of God!

[ClintonTyree]

32. The Theofascist "Culture of Life", in action....

You may not abort a human being (fetus) for ANY reason! After that, it's OK to starve them or send them off to illegal oil wars, to die.

There shall be no new advances in stem cell research. Human Beings (embryos) may not be used for stem cell research (although 3 out of 4 are wasted in in-vitro fertilization). However, once that human being is born, it is perfectly acceptable to sacrifice said human in god's name to any whim of the Theofascist's dictate.

Starving? Too bad, pull yourself up by your bootstraps....or PRAY HARDER! There MUST BE some inherent flaw in your character if you're starving, god doesn't like you. god WANTS you to sacrifice your life on the slippery altar of oil. NOW GO!

These Theofascist bastards have got my blood boiling. :grr: None of them have ever missed a meal. Fat assed Falwell, Limpballs, Hinn and the rest that are wearing $2000 suits and driving Mercedes couldn't care less about the poor, the starving. They got theirs, now you start your own con and get yours. They're not going to share theirs with anyone. George Bush says they don't have to. Here' have ANOTHER tax cut! There isn't a true Christian among them.

No one, NO ONE in this country should go to bed hungry at night. I'm turning into more of a Socialist every day. It's time for a reverse redistribution of wealth in this country. The idle rich have had their run for too long, always promising that it will "trickle down". Well, it never has "trickled down", and it's time to break the dam these bastards keep their money behind. It's time to wash this land with the riches held by the few, to nourish the many that have toiled to make them rich and eke out a meager existence for themselves.

I am SO sick of this shit! :banghead: :grr:

[Ysolde]

36. I totally agree with you!

I'm so frustrated. I live in OK (first in poverty and hunger in the nation) and I'm surrounded by folks who say "everybody wants a handout" and other sh%t like that. I get so mad at some of these folks that I want to say "you're going to get what you asked for and I don't care", but I know that most of the folks hurt by this administration didn't vote at all and I soften up a bit. I still don't understand how socialism which works so well in Scandinavian countries has gotten such a bad rap here.

[jessilin79]

33. "wealthy nation"

It's repulsive that the wealthiest nation in the world is the most morally bankrupt, especially when it comes to its own people. Have you noticed that countries that focus on themselves and take good care of their citizens (i.e. Canada, Sweden, etc) are not attacked by terrorists? It's been said before, but I'm going to say it again. "Christianity" is a nice smokescreen that these so called "moral values" politicians use to hide all their dirty deeds. It's really code word for "screw the poor, since they are of no policital value to us". It's obscene that manage to be the fattest nation, and still have people that go hungry. Do you know the 80/20 split? It's used to describe global north vs global south (global north has 20% of population but 80% of the weatlth) We are starting to look like the Global South, in terms of our rich/poor gap. A few rich people, and lots of poor, starving people. I realize this is kind of a meandering post, but I get so frustrated with this country, and the people who buy into this "culture of life" BS the administration keeps passing out, acting like they have some sort of moral authority, just because they throw around the word "christian" like they know what it truly means.

[Lars39]

34. Welcome to DU, jessilin79 !!!

Ramble all you want, that was an excellent post. :)

[jmcon007]

35. culture of life?

The Republican line has never worked, nor will it ever.
They won't deny that they believe that churches will take care of the poor and the hungry in arguing to cut assistance for the poor.. If that's true, why do we get stats like we get above, pray tell? I'll tell you why....
Within the walls of way too many of these churches are people just like Bush. I've been there. I spent several years in one that sat on several hundred thousand dollars in the bank....but, except for their own missions and those very few in their own congregation, they were the stingiest people I have ever been around.
They HATE giving to the disadvantaged. They believe that everybody has "boot straps" to pull up and self-righteously use that to excuse themselves from doing anything.
How will taking away school lunch programs make these moralists any more generous?
It won't.
There are millions of us Americans who not only don't mind, but back proposals to take some of our money by way of taxes and help feed a family or child three states away who we will never meet or hear about.
Which way is correct? Well, let's just say that if we err. let's err on the side of compassion and caring for our fellow man. What were the conditions Jesus said were needed to feed a man? That he be hungry. When should we cloth a man? When he is naked.
Culture of life, indeed.

[PegDAC]

38. "Faith-Based" Compassion

That's exactly WHY the Bushists want to leave aid to the poor to "faith-based" organizations. Poverty is a punishment for SIN.
:grr:

[Vinca]

37. I hate when they bring obesity in with the hunger discussion.

Poor people have to eat something. Macaroni is alot cheaper than a fish filet. High fat hamburger is cheaper than extra lean. Fruits and vegetables are not cheap. This is another case of Republican "in betweens." You're not a fetus or an embryo and you aren't on your death bed wanting to die, therefore you must fend for yourself. The living and breathing do not count. No food, no health insurance, no education, no jobs . . . fend for yourselves and try to stay slim and trim to make the good ole U.S. of A. look better.

[lonestarnot]

40. NOW THIS IS SOMETHING TO FRONT PAGE ABOUT!

[oxbow]

41. We should start a campaign to get this more airplay,

, similiar to the DSM campaign. I know we are already doing a lot, but targetting a few key people, like Countdown with KO and NPR could pay real dividends.

Progressives need to stand up for the poor! It's who we are. It's what we do.

[lonestarnot]

42. We should be ashamed of ourselves to let this happen to our children...

while we pay billions for a war based on lies!

[Erika]

43. This should be the top story

for all the obvious reasons.