Greg Palast: Damn that Lincoln. Abe's to blame for Jindal

[kpete]

Greg Palast: Damn that Lincoln. Abe's to blame for Jindal
Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 02/24/2009 - 4:28pm. Guest Contribution

A BUZZFLASH GUEST CONTRIBUTION
by Greg Palast


Damn that Abe Lincoln. When Louisiana and Mississippi seceded from the Union, a sensible president would have sent them a box of chocolates with a note, "Goodbye and good riddance."

Tonight, following Barack Obama's budget presentation to Congress, effectively the president's first State of the Union Address, the Republicans have chosen to give their party's response, the governor of the state that wanted to leave the Union, Louisiana's Bobby Jindal.

Jindal's going to tell us that Barack Obama is a terrible President because Obama wants to require states such as Louisiana to extend unemployment insurance to -- get this -- the unemployed! (Technically, the federal government would pay 100% of the cost of reforming Louisiana's and Mississippi's Scrooge-sized benefit requirements.)

Jindal, and some other Republican governors, notably Haley Barbour of Mississippi, are actually turning down millions in federal funds for their own state's unemployed out of fear that, four years from now, they may have to maintain full unemployment insurance like the rest of America.

Barbour's excuse, parroted by Jindal, is that the Obama payments to the unemployed of their states would mean, when the economy returns to expansion, that their state would have to increase unemployment insurance taxes and payments to the U.S. average, scaring away new employers. "I mean, we want more jobs," says Barbour. Um, this is the Governor of MISSISSIPPI talking. Exactly what new "jobs" is he talking about? Is Microsoft based in Gulfport? Is Genentech opening its new headquarters in Bogalusa?

more at:
http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/contributors/1917

[EFerrari]

1. "like the rest of America" -- exactly. Why does Jindal hate working Americans?

:shrug:

"Jindal, and some other Republican governors, notably Haley Barbour of Mississippi, are actually turning down millions in federal funds for their own state's unemployed out of fear that, four years from now, they may have to maintain full unemployment insurance like the rest of America."

[KamaAina]

2. Where is the love for South Carolina?

Their wingnut gov Sanford started this stimulus rejection fad. That's why SC Dem Rep. James Clyburn put language in the bill allowing state legislatures to accept the money without apporval from the gov.

And Honest Abe would have had to send those chocolates to SC several months before La. and Miss. seceded. Fort Sumter, after all, is nowhere near the Gulf Coast.

[damntexdem]

3. Ho ho ho. But the gateway to the Mississippi! No way, no how could they go their own way.

Not even today.

[Peace Patriot]

4. Ah, me! Greg Palast is just so wonderful sometimes, I wish there was a Peoples' Pulitizer

we could crown him with--with a nice fat check to go with it, so this tireless truth telling genius could visit every corner of the U.S. and the world and just keep sending dispatches.

What a priceless treasure he is!