So...maybe this was answered in one of the other 5 pages...but was this handout only for minorities?

The only white guy I see in these photos is the guy handing them out.

Originally posted by brainwreck


Ah the general welfare clause. If the people who tend to throw that little gem around as an authorization for socialistic income redistribution only knew what its intended purpose really was.

Lets refer to the words of the founding fathers:

"Congress has not unlimited powers to provide for the general welfare, but only those specifically enumerated." - Thomas Jefferson, 1798

"I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents." - James Madison

Using tax funds to subsidize an irresponsible LOCAL government is unconstitutional.

Excellent point, brain.

I know that clashes with your touchy feely BS emotion based comments, but there is a thing called reality. check it out sometime.

As for the rest of your rant, its completely pointless, illogical, and just plain wrong.

How is it wrong or touchy feely? Andrew was trying to draw some of the finer points of hypocrisy around the question of trillions spent on a lie of a war - you know - the WMD whimsy - now there's some flatulent BS.. hypocrisy is not a touchy feely proposition but a real world activity that has consequences - every state in this union has been feeding off the federal tit ever since the invention of the federal reserve giving the foxes control of our currency and the hen house - its not new - the welfare state was just a hideous devisive after thought of the dems - give the family money but make sure the father doesn't live in the home - oh thats rich - good way to destroy a community and its children as well as its economic base - everybody on the tit - just a hop skip and a jump to crack, heroin, alchohol and crime - and yes that was a democrat idea I'm sorry to say...evil to the core.

but since our war effort and military takes the lions share of our tax money and spends it [ineffciently I might add] on foriegn wars fighting the oh so "illusive" al queda and protecting the poppy fields of Afghanistan [oops I mean fighting the Taliban ] - there is little left to bolster the economy in extreme situations - though of course plenty to bail out institutions again with our taxes, money that STILL has next to zero oversight...so f*** Detroit - and the rest of the country while we're at it cause we're doing such good work with the banks, the military, shipping all our jobs to our friends in Asia - business is booming ......somewhere... And if all that is constitutional I'll buy the tin-man a heart myself

[edit on 9-10-2009 by realshanti]

[edit on 9-10-2009 by realshanti]

[edit on 9-10-2009 by realshanti]

Originally posted by GroundZero
The people of Detroit have been making ridiculous unwarranted wages courtesy of the U.A.W., which is 100% undeniably Democratically aligned.

And just like 90% of all other poverty-ridden areas, they keep electing these Democrat Idealists who ignore reality and bury their constituents in the filth of the Union ties they have.

The American Auto manufacturers have whored themselves to the Unions for years, and now the employees are paying the price.

The Federal Gov't didn't sell these people out. The (Democrat)Union leaders did.
Check your facts.

Unions...those people who brought you the weekend. And raised wages and working conditions for everybody else.

Why not shake down the corporations that are based off-shore to dodge taxes? How about companies that moved their manufacturing off-shore so that they could dodge paying American living wages to American comsumers? So they'd have to buy Chinese crap from Walmart?

And a union contract is negotiated between workers and employers...it's not like they set their own wages. If it wasn't for unions, Detroit wouldn't have had the good years. Why not ask the (former) big 3 and the government why North America can't import their cars to Korea and Japan?

Union bashing is not the answer here. The vanquishing of capitalism by globalism is the cause of your grief. Hell, without unions there'd be no 40 hour week, benefits...the list goes on. And I've never seen a workforce that unionized, that didn't need to. So let's find another boogieman, shall we?

I'm not sure how anyone can defend Detroit. It's an absolute mess and is teetering on 3rd World status. From the looks of it, maybe it's already there.

It's beyond corrupt, it's people are taught the gospel of racism and how to work the system for entitlements. This mentality runs from the very top of leadership down to the very poor. You see the racism and entitlist behavior on Detroits consul board, being preached in churches, and through community organizing groups. It's been entrenched in this community for 3 or 4 generations now to hate whitey and the hatred is seeded so deep I'm not sure Detroit metro will ever recover.

As far as all these poor people in these pictures. I'm sure some are poor and do need help but far to many are just there working the system over. It's all to common to see "poor" Detroiters living in the "ghetto" outside their homes in $500 outfits, jewelery to match and caddys with $5K rims on it parked on the driveway. Or coming to the suburb malls and buying everything in site only to head back to their "ghettos" to bitch about whitey holding them down and not being able to escape those ghettos. It's all about prioritizing what one wants in life and how to plan for the future. Those in the community with the money(which is plenty) should be reinvesting in their communities by opening businesses and the such. Not defaulting on bills(because you know the surrounding areas will foot the bills) then buying 65" plasmas the next day.

There's just no leadership or role models in these communities and there's way too much sense of entitlement. The ghetto lifestyle and the run down communities are no ones fault except for the leadership that is elected and for those living in them. Most of those houses in Detroit are/use to be absolutely beautiful at the core. They've just been left to rot away because of laziness and waiting on the State to take care of their yards and issues.

The issues of Detroit are so vast really it can't be summed up in single post but IMO this city is lost. Personally I'm hoping that in Spring I can move a bit north because when TSHF I don't want to be anywhere near that crap hole.












[edit on 9-10-2009 by Tyr Sog]

Meh...they're just bitter that the Stanley Cup wasn't handed to them on a silver platter.

This is terrible, though in all seriousness. If we continue along this path (and we will) we're going to see more and more of this violence and disarray in our urban areas. Everyone is desperate for a handout, moreso than before, and it's the fault of the banks and bankers. I read somewhere yesterday the quote "If you had a pulse, we gave you a loan." And this is the result. Even if these people aren't guilty of attempting to buy something they couldn't afford, the situation is the direct result of those few who are guilty. Sad stuff.

Originally posted by Jess_Undefined
No offense to you, but unless you have lived there or experienced what its like, you dont have a fair opinion about it.

I do believe I said this on the first page:

"I lived up there for 12 years and only recently moved here to Houston"

So yeah I have lived there and have experienced what it's like and do have a fair opinion about it.

Originally posted by Jess_Undefined
But to say people deserve to be poor and they deserve all the bad things that are happening to them, is ignorant. Nobody deserves that.

When they vote for their city officials because they are black and do not remove them when they need to be removed, yes they do deserve it. Alot of them continued to support Kwame Kilpatrick despite his crimes.

The people of Detroit are not very bright at all.

Don't forget the Detroit riots in the 60's. Ever since, the city has never been the same.

Thugs shooting pedestrians and GM workers from the top corners of parking garages near the Renaissance Center. Mass exodus along racial lines out of the city - both residential and commercial.

I just hope the rest of our American cities never turn into what Detroit has become. I really don't blame the people - There are forces much larger at work than the average Joe here. Political and market forces much larger than the average workaday Joe.

Funny enough, if you take a waltz over to Grosse Pointe north of the city, or head on over to Windsor, Canada, you won't believe the stark contrast between Detroit and these cities.

Originally posted by andrewh7
Have you even been to Detroit ever? Recently?

I guess I have to repeat this - again - because people cannot read.

I said this on the first page:

"I lived up there for 12 years and only recently moved here to Houston"

Now if you had read that, your question would have been answered. Yes I have been to Detroit, and yes it was recently. Have I won your seal of approval yet?

Originally posted by andrewh7
The whole downtown area has been renovated.

Really? The whole downtown area? When did that happen?

Originally posted by andrewh7
Two new sports stadiums and surrounding areas have been completely rebuilt.

I'm well aware of the stadiums. Clearly Detroit's priorities are in order when building stadiums is more important than cleaning up the rest of the city.

Originally posted by andrewh7
The government of the area has been corrupt and incompetent, but you seriously crossed the line when you stated that the people suffering down there deserve it.

So the people - who vote for and pay the salary of these elected officials - are not responsible for holding them accountable? Doesn't sound like a democracy to me.

Originally posted by andrewh7
Moreover, we have jerks from Texas writing in to give their two cents when they only know Detroit from watching Beverly Hills Cop.

Considering I lived there and have never watched Beverly Hills Cop I'll just go ahead and assume this wasn't directed at me.

Originally posted by andrewh7
In case you didn't notice, there is a serious economic recession all over the country and the auto companies were hit particularly hard.

Right, blame it on the auto companies, even though Detroit's economy began it's decline 30 years before the rest of the country's.

The rest of the country is in a recession, but most places are not nearly as bad as Detroit.

Since you asked me if I have ever been to Detroit, I'll ask you a similar question: Have you ever been anywhere outside of Detroit? To a real city, perhaps?

Originally posted by andrewh7
If you don't know anything about Detroit besides racist stereotypes leading you to believe that the people living there are all criminals and deserve anything that happens to them, you should stay out of the debate.

Yes, I'm racist. Real original counter argument. I guess that is the default response when people cannot intelligently refute what has been said.

Originally posted by andrewh7
Wow. While it is true that you can't save everyone, you cynically suggest that we not bother trying to save ANYONE.

Why put a heavy burden on the rest of us who actually work to pay for these people to sit on their ass and collect handouts? Is this the supposed "land of opportunity" or not? It's not impossible to get an education or a job. These people simply do not want to put in the effort.

Originally posted by andrewh7
How are you better than them?

I never claimed I was.

Originally posted by andrewh7
I would rather see Detroit go bankrupt than see a pile of dead bodies in the street - especially children.

You're going to see a pile of dead bodies in the street BECAUSE Detroit is bankrupt. When the government can no longer pay for police and firefighters, and all the jobs have left the area, who will control the riots for food?

Originally posted by andrewh7
You neocons

Yeah, I'm a neocon. And a racist, apparently. I love how people put an ideological label that they dislike on people they don't agree with.

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