Hello Bob,

 BK>> There are aproximately 3 times as many
 BK>> poor whites as poor blacks in this country. The poor are
 BK>> overwhelmingly working poor. Even your 9th ward, the infamously
 BK>> abandoned by the Feds, home of the poor black population, was
 BK>> overwhelmingly made up of families supported by workers.

 LL>> Folks who lived in the Lower 9th Ward were mostly renters.

BK>Which is not untypical for the poor.

It has been 8 years since Katrina hit New Orleans.  And many people
who were displaced have never been able to return to their homes or
former neighborhoods.

 LL>> They had evacuated prior to Katrina hitting New Orleans, but
 LL>> were unable to return due to the levees breaking leaving the

BK>They were also barred from returning by security people.

Not only were residents of New Orleans barred from returning home,
but so were others (such as family and relatives) who were outside
the city.  Sure, cleanup was a mess.  But access should have been
granted sooner, and for more people.

BK>From what I have read, Blackwater was guarding the former 9th ward.
BK>You can find that easily enough.

Private contractors were used, but so was the National Guard.

 LL>> entire area flooded.  Yes, most of them worked, although at
 LL>> low-paying jobs, hardly enough to live on much less raise a
 LL>> family.

BK>Exactly.

That is the way it is in every major American city.  Right-wingers
like to blame it on blacks, pointing to cities such as New Orleans
and Detroit, but the poor (regardless of race) live everywhere.

 LL>> The issue isn't really about race, but rather what is right
 LL>> and what is wrong.  People do what they have to do in order
 LL>> to survive.  Most folks, rich or poor, are good people
 LL>> rather than bad, trying to do the right thing rather than
 LL>> the wrong thing.

BK>Aristotal taught that the poor will do what they need to survive,
BK>the rich will do anything to get richer, only the middle class
BK>provides stability.

Aristotle was a very smart man, but he never imagined how it could
be humanly possible to solve the problem.  However, today we are gods
and have solved the problem -

With the number of poor we have in this country, it is necessary
to have government programs (handouts).  Food stamps, free cellphones,
subsidized housing, SSI/medicaid, etc.  If there were no subsidies,
the people would riot and revolt.

 LL>> You can find bad people in every neighborhood.
 LL>> Right-wingers like to point out that Rev. Martin Luther
 LL>> King was a troublemaker, a black man who spoke for a
 LL>> violent people, all of whom happened to also be black.

BK>VS the violent white people he didn't speak for.

White people do not kill white people.  But black people kill
black people (and sometimes white people).  Or so we have been
led to believe.

 LL>> No white minister would ever encourage white folks to
 LL>> disobey cops and other law enforcement officials.  There is a

BK>Uh... some are preparing for war against the government.

Preparing for war against the government is one thing.  Doing so might
even get you elected to Congress.  Going to war against the government
quite another.  Might even get you killed.  Unless you win.  In which
case you become a patriot.

 LL>> reason why no Republican spoke at the Lincoln Memorial on
 LL>> the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a
 LL>> Dream" speech.  There is also a reason why no Republicans
 LL>> were invited by the organizers to speak.

BK>Are you sure none were invited? I checked, quite a few were.
BK>They chose not to.

Chris Matthews said none were invited.  Michael Steel corrected him.

 BK>> The reality has been it isn't white or black, but haves and have
 BK>> nots. The haves have taken more from the poor black community
 BK>> than the poor black community ever got back.

 LL>> For Republicans, it really is about white or black.  It
 LL>> wasn't always like that, but it is today.  For example,
 LL>> George Romney received 30% of the black vote as a candidate
 LL>> for governor of Michigan.  Mitt Romney received 6% of the
 LL>> black vote as a candidate for president.  That is how much
 LL>> the Republican Party has changed over the years.

BK>Above all, it's politics. Give the people someone to hate and
BK>you get votes. Playing on fear has always been the dictator's
BK>primary weapon against his own people.

Give the people what they want to hear and you get votes.
Not necessarily what they hate, although very often it amounts
to being the very same thing.  The politics of fear is used
not only by dictators but also by presidents (re: GWB).  Is
it a good tool?  For dictators it is (as long as they are
able to remain in power).

 BK>> Remember Mitt Romney's infamous 47%?

 LL>> George Romney marched with MLK and the blacks for freedom.
 LL>> Mitt Romney refused to speak at the Lincoln Memorial for the
 LL>> 50th anniversary of MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech.  What a
 LL>> tremendous opportunity that was missed by Mitt Romney and
 LL>> the Republican Party.  Even Michael Steel admitted the GOP
 LL>> goofed.

BK>OTOH, the republican party found Michael Steel too reasonable
BK>long ago.

And now the Republican Party is finding Piyush "Bobby" Jindal
too reasonable ...

 BK>> Well, since blacks make up only about 13% of the population
 BK>> of this country, That leaves 34% to be white.

 LL>> Cajuns make up a much smaller percentage of the population
 LL>> than blacks, hispanics, or asians.  Why this country wants
 LL>> to identify itself by race is beyond me, as it is language
 LL>> that defines a culture ...

BK>The country does not want to identify itself by race, the power
BK>holders need a division to keep thier side in line.

Especially the RAND Corporation.  "Thinking Through the Cold
War", by David Jardin, free for download, smashwords.com

 BK>>> Since even the 15% unemployment rate among blacks, or more
 BK>>> like 25% real unemployment rather than the fake numbers the
 BK>>> government uses, still means 25% of 13%. Or about 3 1/3% of
 BK>>> the population. That leaves about 45% out of 47% Mitt Romney
 BK>>> considers "takers" to be white.

 LL>> Cajuns are not exactly the wealthiest folks in the world.
 LL>> And yet most of them voted for the man with the red face.
 LL>> Probably because they thought he was a crawfish.

BK>He played on fear.

He's a politician.  Now retired.  And happy.

--Lee

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