Salon: Conservatives angry over Michelle Obama's trip to homeless shelter

[SemiCharmedQuark]

By Alex Koppelman:


*snip*
"The first lady visited a Washington, D.C., homeless shelter on Thursday, bringing fruit collected in a White House food drive and serving some of the shelter's clients. That alone isn't objectionable, of course. But some conservatives -- sparked by a blog post from the Los Angeles Times' Andrew Malcom -- are in a tizzy over an Associated Press photo that shows a man taking a picture of Obama using a cellphone.

"It doesn't detract from the first lady's generous gesture or the real needs she seeks to highlight to ask two bothersome journalistic questions about these news photos," Malcom wrote, continuing:
If this unidentified meal recipient is too poor to buy his own food, how does he afford a cellphone?

And if he is homeless, where do they send the cellphone bills?

Conservative blogger Michelle Malkin was one of those who joined the resulting scrum, writing that the photo "ruin what was supposed to be a sob story photo op of the compassionate Mrs. O catering to the downtrodden." She, in turn, linked to another blogger, Kathy Shaidle. Shaidle -- who is, to put it politely, not a particularly nice person -- wrote:

Today's "poor" are the rich Jesus warned you about: fat, slovenly, wasteful of their money and other people's...

He spends all his (our) money on cellphones and, most likely, tattoos and drugs and booze and other crap, and has no money left for a home and food. And why should he bother? We pay for his shelter and food anyhow...

What's really funny in that news story by the way is what they're serving at the soup kitchen: risotto with brocolli. Obviously some rich white liberal did the cooking that day, feeling all proud of herself, and what thanks did she get? Some lowclass loser going, "You expect me to eat this weird crap?!"

(For the record, it was actually mushroom risotto. And her nasty "weird crap" remark? It's rice cooked in chicken stock with some vegetables, something most cultures are quite familiar with, no matter what you choose to call it. Come on.)

*snip*

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2009/03/06/cellphone_photo/index.html

[LSparkle]

1. OK, you conservative fucks: 1) there are prepaid cell phones; 2) ...

if a person doesn't have a phone, HOW ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO
FIND WORK -- OR A PLACE TO LIVE? Would you rather they
stay "on the dole" or try to PULL THEMSELVES UP BY THEIR
BOOTSTRAPS? Part of the "bootstraps" is the ability to
communicate, to stay engaged with the world. I guess
people like that reptile Malkin would rather these people
just go get drunk and lie in an alley and check out of
their own lives ...

I HATE THESE PEOPLE!!!!

[Binka]

3. No Shit!

Today it is CELL PHONES, Yesterday it was CADILLACS. These fucking 'Licans have NO GD shame.

[CTyankee]

40. And before that it was color tvs and before that it was just tvs.

I've been around so long I've ssen it all. It never stops.

[Hellataz]

11. Exactly, are they are gonna go after the homeless who sleep in their cars too?

cause if you're homeless you aren't allowed to have any possession, especially such an expensive asset as a vehical...right?

Idiots.

[Hieronymus]

29. Good points ... wingnuts would take away every vestige of quality of life ..

from the underprivileged.

[Connie_Corleone]

2. Tracfone. Prepaid.

Malkin can go to hell.

[Binka]

5. Please Her Dad Doesn't Want Her In His Basement Again

:evilgrin:

[RamboLiberal]

4. When I saw that photo I knew the RW AHoles would jump all over it

Damn I wish the lot of them would end up in that man's shoes if even for a day.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

45. Agreed... I said that same damn thing.

They never disappoint.

[grace0418]

47. Were you the one who posted the countdown for the RW attack? I laughed out

loud (ruefully) when I read that.

[alsame]

6. Is this all part of

"compassionate conservatism"? Is this the "Christian" viewpoint they claim to espouse?

Here's a clue for them: poor people didn't steal our money out of the economy, rich people did. Where was the screaming about the bankers and CEO's using our tax dollars on themselves?

[AllentownJake]

9. Trust me an attack on Medicare, Unemployment insurance, and Medicaid

as causing this problem is around the corner.

[alsame]

20. And welfare! Don't forget the welfare queens! n/t

[itsrobert]

7. You will be surprised what you can find in a garbage dumpster.

Millions of cellphone are landfills all over the world.

[AllentownJake]

8. Over 50% of homeless are mentally ill

That point would escape the conservatives. Alot of them drink so they don't hear voices.

[catnhatnh]

26. Yes

But I posit that the conservatives have got that number beat...

[JeffR]

28. It should escape everyone, since it's completely wrong.

"Approximately 20-25% of the single adult homeless population suffer from some form of severe and persistent mental illness..." (Koegel, Paul, et al. "The Causes of Homelessness," -NCH Fact Sheet #1, Published by the National Coalition for the Homeless)

meanwhile

"An estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older — about one in four adults — suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year..." - The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

[quakerboy]

50. Apples and oranges?

"severe and persistent" vs "diagnosable" is not at all an even comparison.

[Botany]

10. Fuck 'em .... some cell phones are cheap and you can buy minutes ...

... for a low price ..... and maybe just maybe the person w/ the cell phone
wasn't homeless but was there to help.

And if a cell phone gives that poor man some joy ... fine by me.

"whatever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me"

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

18. Exactly, and if someone's trying to get a job how the fuck are the expected to communicate

with a potential employer. And like you said, we don't even know who this guy actually was.

[NewJeffCT]

12. cellphones are pretty cheap these days

you can get one for free if you sign up for a 2 year contract... and, the monthly rate would often still be less than a landline's monthly rate.

[sniffa]

13. Update: Shaidle has responded to this post

Salon's Alex Koppelman is obviously a delusional liberal pantywaist who can't stand to have his romantic notions about "poverty" challenged (by someone who knows what they're talking about firsthand, and is also a better writer than he is.)

I'd rather be right than "nice" and "polite" -- and so would any intelligent adult who values the truth.

I'm betting Alex Koppelman is a grown man who still rides a bicycle. By choice. On the sidewalk.

I'm thrilled. That line is going to look SO great on my next book jacket.

[Hekate]

14. Jesus warned us about these rich judgmental shits, too. Only I think his language was nicer.

:wtf:

Hekate

[Cha]

15. Well, I don't know who the guy

is who was taking a pic with his cell but we have a box at the co-op for cell phone donations to be used for shelters.

I would say to someone complaining about this they wouldn't know the "truth" if they choked on it.

[bluestateguy]

16. In the 90's cell phones were a symbol of wealth and status

but we are a long ways from that time today.

[lunatica]

17. How poor does someone have to be to make these creeps happy?

They're outraged because of a cellphone?! These people need to get a life! Maybe even laid every once in a while...

[Ilsa]

41. In their opinion, how dare a homeless

person not be covered in filth or have clean clothes or a cellphone to try and find work.

[rvablue]

19. If someone eats at a soup kitchen, does it automatically mean they are homeless.

No.

These are tough times especially in a place like the Washington, D.C. area where the cost of living is quite high.

Maybe the guy lost his job a few months back and needed somewhere to go for a meal.

And as someone else pointed out, it's tough to try to get a leg back up after falling on hard times if one does not have a phone for employers, landlords, etc.

The whole point is this:

How many of us or how many people do we know in the span of our lives, have gone to a soup kitchen to get "a meal for free" if we already had enough food/money/resources already to feed ourselves?

I would venture to say ZERO!!

This is pure racism at it's core. It's a rehash of the ridiculous "welfare queen" meme of the 1980s.

Here we witness, once again, the difference between the Democrats and the Republicans. Kindness versus Meanness. Charity versus "MINE!". Understanding versus judgement. And Acceptance versus finger-pointing.

They are a sad, mean lot.

[Bluenorthwest]

21. Pre paid cell phones

are a needed tool for the homeless. Many people donate old ones, and new ones are cheap as dirt. They allow contact with potential employers, social services, family, and friends. It is hard for me to imagine a better use for a few bucks when trying to live on or get off the streets.
Obviously, there is no bill as it is pre paid. What may not be so obvious is that the phone is helping to fill the communications gap left by having no address. The phone is part of the solution.

[noiretextatique]

22. "our" money..these people are insane

vicious, nasty, ignorant, crazy m.f.s

[Ocracoker16]

23. How did I know that the conservatives would come up with this mean response

Obviously, these conservatives can't stand watching Michelle Obama get all this well deserved positive attention. They can't stand seeing Michelle out helping the needy and looking very comfortable with them. Of course, they have to find examples of people who are obviously getting over. The man with the cell phone must be spending all his money paying for the phone or paying for drugs, alcohol, and other things he needs. That kind of thinking really pisses me off. These people find a way to label the poor and opressed as lazy and claim that they are living off of freebies that they could afford if they didn't spend all their money on some bad habit.

I will also say that I work at a soup kitchen in DC. Risotto is served quite frequently since it is so easy to make and cheap as well. Some people have cell phones and they are usually prepaid. Some homeless service providers give them those if they have a job and need to keep in touch with their employer. Sometimes people have to call their caseworkers or call a shelter to see if there are beds there. You can tell that these conservatives have never reached out to anybody in need, because they seem clueless about homelessness. I bet they don't know that some homeless people have jobs. However, their pay check doesn't go far enough to afford housing and support themselves.

Maybe these selfish people should spend a few days pretending to be homeless and then maybe they would see that the man with the phone lives a very difficult life. I would suggest that they take their silver spoons out of their mouths before trying this experiment.

[biopowertoday]

24. Some counties give out cell phones--they need phones to find a job

I think it is a good idea.

[sufrommich]

25. I truly think the republicans are having

one massive nervous breakdown. Good times.

[Danger Mouse]

27. Conservative commentators: I'd call them pigs if it wouldn't be insulting pigs.

So I'll call them scum. Bottom feeders. Sleazy shit-eating prickbags.
No offense to any scum, bottom feeders, or sleazy shit-eating prickbags that might be reading this.

[rasputin1952]

30. This was pretty well covered in here about pre-paid CP's etc...

but what if this guy just happened to be on his way some where, and someone mentioned that MO was serving food for the hungry, and he popped in to get a pic.

Point is, we know NOTHING about what was happening w/this man...what we DO know is that the First Lady took time to serve those in need...something a conservative cannot even contemplate themselves doing. Can anyone even think of a time when Pickles or Babs would have done something like this?

I wonder if they would take away the wheelchair the one man was using...after all, that is right in there their "chain of thought".

These people disgust me to no end.

[luvspeas]

31. Why are they always extrapolating their sick little fantasies on everybody else?

An old guy at a shelter taking a picture with a cellphone suddenly becomes:

He spends all his (our) money on cellphones and, most likely, tattoos and drugs and booze and other crap, and has no money left for a home and food. And why should he bother? We pay for his shelter and food anyhow...

They do that all the time. He might work at the shelter. GRRRRRR!

[rufus dog]

32. they are good at assessing a situation from a picture

multiple options how about this one

This man had a prepaid cell phone, two months ago a lot of people in his church lost their jobs and houses so he withdrew his life savings and mortgaged his house to take care of as many families as he could. Last month he lost his job and to save the cash he has left he is eating in food kitchens.

They would twist that scenario into he is a bleeding heart liberal, is stupid and deserves his fate.

[malletgirl02]

33. Convervatives

They would probably say the same thing about poor people who have to live is their car. the conservatives would probably say that aren't really poor because they have a car.

[firedupdem]

34. These are the most hateful people in the world. They are horrible. n/t

[Rosa Luxemburg]

37. when they are on the streets after losing their jobs

they may have a few minutes left on their cell phone.

[shireen]

35. these people make me sick

the conservatives. Totally devoid of any empathy. Don't even try to understand how others live. Callous cold-hearted creeps.

[ddeclue]

36. Typical trash talk from conservative ASSHOLES..

1) A lot of women's shelters give out phones to homeless women that have been donated and refurbished so that they can dial 911 in an emergency.

2) There are pre-paid phones that are very affordable these days that people can get.

3) A lot of people are temporarily homeless and will be able to pay for a cell phone (as cheap as $39/month under some services) when rent is totally out of the question ($500/month to $2000/month depending on where you live).

You need a phone to find a job and stay connected to other people. I for one think they ought to give every homeless person a free phone with free local dialing just as a public service to help these people out finding a job, finding a family member that could help them, finding gov't aid and charities that can help them get back on their feet. That's the LEAST we could do for them.

Of course the ideology of these conservative assholes is that these people deserve to starve because they are failures and we shouldn't be helping them out. These assholes are law of the jungle savages, not civilized decent people.

4) We don't really even know if the guy taking the picture WAS homeless or if this story is even TRUE. The person could well be an employee or volunteer there or it could simply be made up out of whole cloth like the "cadillac driving welfare queen" story told by Ronald Reagan to bash poor people (and as code for bashing black people as well).

Instead of ACTUALLY interviewing the man and finding out the REAL story, they are intentionally NOT doing that and choosing to speculate the sleeziest possible way they can about it.

:eyes:

[Withywindle]

44. Well put, excellent points

I'd add also:

Where do they send the bill? THEY DON'T HAVE TO. They CALL you and text you when the bill's due and you pay it over the phucking phone with a phucking debit card. I'm not homeless and I haven't looked at a paper bill in YEARS. Typical republican clueless bullshit.

Cell phones are a HUGE boon to poor people - you can get a prepaid one, buy minutes when you have a little cash, and you can still have a non-stigmatized number to receive calls (try looking for a job without THAT) even if you don't have a place to anchor your own personal land line. Cheaper too. I know very few people under 45 who bother with landlines anymore, even middle-class ones.

Just think, Republican shit-head. Some day you might get hit by a bus, and the person who witnesses it and calls 911 is someone who you don't think "deserves" to have a phone at all.

[jefferson_dem]

38. Hating the Poor for Not Being Poor Enough

Cretin Conservatives Strike Again...

--> http://www.mydd.com/story/2009/3/6/19537/23218

[MrPerson]

39. You pay your account at the cellphone store with cash.

They text message the bills to your phone.

[Mad_Dem_X]

42. Neocons find the negative in EVERYTHING Dems do

They are hopeless wastes of oxygen.

[RFKHumphreyObama]

43. I hope karma doesn't catch up with them

Wishing otherwise would be bad karma

[grace0418]

46. Almost everyone in the Philippines has a cell phone, and that country is extremely poor.

Of *COURSE* these right-wing idiots have to find a way to be assholes.

[old mark]

48. As soon as I read about her visit to the shelter, I knew there

would be some scum who would attack the idea.
I wonder what they think of the swing set?

What nasty, evil, stupid people. How did this country ever allow them to gain political power?

I really hate all republicans - they make it so easy.
mark

[jmowreader]

49. I found this...

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/04/09/Hillsborough/Wireless_a_lifeline_f.shtml

It's an article from the St. Petersburg Times, a Florida newspaper, about the importance of cell phones to the homeless.

More to the point, NO ONE knows who this guy is. Is he homeless or poor? Probably, but he could be someone well-off who stopped off at Miriam's Kitchen with a donation like he does every week, and took a picture of the First Lady with his cell phone. He could be an employee. He could be the DIRECTOR of the operation! (I just went to Miriam's Kitchen's website...the executive director, director of kitchen operations, director of the agency's transitional shelter, and director of social services are all men, and we don't know what any of these guys look like.) Or fuck, he could be just some ordinary non-poor person with a car, a job and a mortgage who heard the First Lady was working the line at Miriam's Kitchen and went in to see if it was true!

[quakerboy]

51. Circuit City is going out of business

They had a prepaid cell for 19.99. After the going under sale, it was 60% off. or, if you prefer, $8.

And thats assuming it was a real cell, working, and in good order.

[pink-o]

52. Don't forget, these are the same crybaby bastards who told us Terri Shivo had a viable brain.

Obviously, it is they who're walking vegetables!!:nuke: :grr: :nuke: :grr: