Teh Stupidity Factor(tm)

Wow. Ever since now President Obama was declared President-Elect Obama, Teh Stupidity Factor(tm) has been a growth industry. Really. If it were a stock I'd have invested in it because, man, it's numbers are going through the roof.

Now, I tend to seethe on friends blogs (Janiece Murphy and her ongoing "'Tard of the Week/Month" posts, Jim Wright and his, well, almost most of his posts that don't concern military history or woodworking, Nathan whenever he's not talking about the movie business, Vince whenever he wants to, and even my friend S. Andrew Swann - although he comes from a different end of the political spectrum, and finally even my friend S.C. Butler asked recently "When did all republicans go nuts?"), and sometimes it overspills here.

And I try not to get involved in government issues that tend not to affect me or have a spill over effect (such as other states passing anti-evolution education bills), but with this one, Teh Stupidity Factor(tm) was so great, I had comment.

Missouri Congresswoman Cynthia Davis, who ironically is the the chairwoman of the Missouri House Special Standing Committee on Children and Families, wrote a recent newsletter to her constituents criticizing the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services' summer food program. This is the program that provides free or low-cost lunches to Missouri children. Among other stupidities, including the ever present "why don't they get a job" argument, wrote "Hunger can be a positive motivator."

One in five Missouri children are underfeed. Do I need to run through all the health problems and educational issues that being underfed cause?

And before I get to my comment, with full disclosure I qualified for these programs when I was in school, from when I was nine-years old. Now, I didn't go hungry often, but that extra help during the school year (at the time there was no summer program as there is now) helped my family greatly, even though it was immensely embarrassing and shameful for my little ego (at the time the program had separate meals and even a separate line for the lunch). With my brother and I getting subsidized lunches that helped us afford decent food for dinner. And I've been working since I've been twelve.

So, Congresswoman Davis, and I say this with all respect honoring your choice to step up and serve in government (if you're a new reader, I'm a councilman in my Village), although I believe state legislators even in Missouri make a decent salary, and knowing how hard it is to find places to cut spending to come in line with revenues (although the program is Federally Sponsored), with all that in mind, and I don't say this lightly, fuck you.