Free Lunch

[Teresa]

There was a Chemistry professor in a large college that had some Exchange students in the class. One day while the class was in the lab, the Prof noticed one young man (exchange student) who kept rubbing his back And stretching as if his back hurt.

The professor asked the young man what was the matter. The student told him he had a bullet lodged in his back.  He had been shot while fighting communists in his native country who were trying to over- throw his country's government and install a new communist government.

In the midst of his story he looked at the professor and asked a strange question.
He asked, ' Do you know how to catch wild pigs?'
The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line.

The young man said this was no joke.
'You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come everyday to eat the free corn.

When they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one side of the place where they are used to coming. When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence. They get used to that and start to eat again. You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in the last side.

By now the pigs, who are used to the free corn, start to come through the gate to eat, you slam the gate on them and catch the whole herd.

Suddenly the wild pigs have lost their freedom. They run around and around inside the fence, but they are caught. Soon they go back to eating the free corn.  They are so used to it that they have forgotten how to forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept their captivity.

The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees happening to America .  The government keeps pushing us toward Communism/Socialism and keeps spreading the free corn out in the form of programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income, tobacco subsidies, dairy subsidies, payments not to plant crops (CRP), welfare, medicine, drugs, etc. while we continually lose our freedoms..................- just a little at a time.
That is what is happening to us here in the United States.

God help us when the gate slams shut!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My opinion?
Some who read this are going to think the subsidies / free ride.. is essential to our way of life...that without them, too many people and too many businesses will fall.
I agree that there will be area's that will fall....
I disagree that we need all the subsides.
And I don't have the time right now to expand on it. 
((Kjell is lining me out with a mountain of work today and all with deadlines. ))

Drats..  it's bad when your "work boss" is your husband!

I'd much rather play in the forum play yard than work... buuuuttttttt.... can't now..
gotta run.. the boss is giving me the 'evil eye'...


Teresa  ((( who is watching "the boss" with one eye and shuffling papers looking very busy)))

[greatguns]

Yes! Yes! Yes!

[Teresa]

Letter by a Florida teacher................ A teacher speaks

This is a subject close to my heart. Do you know that we have adult students at the school where I teach who are not US citizens and who get the PELL grant, which is a federal grant (no pay back required) plus other federal grants  to go to school?

One student from the Dominican Republic told me that she didn't want me to find a job for her after she finished my program, because she was getting  housing from our housing department and she was getting a  PELL grant which paid for her total tuition and books, plus money left over.

She was looking into WAIT which gives students a CREDIT CARD for gas to come  to school, and into CARIBE which is a special program (check it out - I did) for immigrants and it pays for child care and all sorts of needs while they go to school or training. The one student I just mentioned told me she was not going to be a US   citizen because she plans to return to the  Dominican Republic someday and that she "loves HER country."

I asked her if she felt guilty taking what the US  is giving her and then not even bothering to become a citizen and she told me that it doesn't bother her, because that is what the money is there for!

I asked the CARIBE administration about their program and if you ARE a US citizen, you don't qualify for their program. And all the while, I am working a  full day, my son-in-law works more than 60 hours a week, and everyone in my family works and pays for our education.

Something is wrong here.   I am sorry but after hearing they want to sing the National Anthem in Spanish - enough is enough.

Nowhere did they sing it in Italian, Polish, Irish (Celtic), German or any other language because of immigration. It was written by Francis Scott Key and should be sung word for word the way it was written.
The news broadcasts even gave the translation -- not even close.
Sorry if this offends anyone but this is MY COUNTRY !

IF IT IS YOUR COUNTRY SPEAK UP -

Think about this: If you don't agree with this and are afraid of offending someone -- YOU'RE PART OF THE PROBLEM!

I am not against immigration -- just come through  like everyone else. Get a sponsor; have a place to lay your head; have a job; pay your taxes, live by the rules AND LEARN THE LANGUAGE as all other immigrants have in the past --  and GOD BLESS OUR  AMERICA!

[Jo McDonald]

While this last sentence  of the previous post, still rings in my memory ~~~~ Has anyone ever heard OBama end any of his speeches with
'GOD BLESS AMERICA"    I haven't...and another thing when he keeps referring to "our country" he has NEVER said our country the United States of America. 
  Makes me VERY anxious !

[sixdogsmom]

While this last sentence  of the previous post, still rings in my memory ~~~~ Has anyone ever heard OBama end any of his speeches with
'GOD BLESS AMERICA"    I haven't...and another thing when he keeps referring to "our country" he has NEVER said our country the United States of America. 
  Makes me VERY anxious !

I have just spent several hours reviewing some of Mr. Obamas' speeches. There is absolutely nothing that can be construed as unamerican; some of his views are downright rightwing conservative. Please call up some of his speeches, if there is doubt. Particularly his keynote speech to the national democratic convention in 2004, and his speech in Selma Alabama in March 2007, I believe. He is a duly elected United States senator; serving in the US senate. He is a member of the veterens affairs committee. I don't think they appoint losers to that position. He attended Harvard law school, and they don't accept any dummies or slackards. True, he comes from uncomon roots; but he has worked to become what he is. I respect that. In truth if there is REAL evidence that this man is unamerican, then as an American you should do everything you can to remove him from the US senate. That I think would involve an investigation by the house unamerican activities committee. Perhaps you should start there?

[Carl Harrod]

The letter from the Florida teacher really gets people excited and is isn't really that hard for most people to believe that something like that could be true. But, I really wonder because some of the statements don't quite fit:

#1  PELL Grants are not all grants - some need to be repaid and there are eligibility requirements You can check it out at this link: http://www.getreadyforcollege.org/gPg.cfm?pageID=139&1534-D83A_1933715A=1ad226de9dd330af

#2  The WAIT program that is mentioned is to help working adults earn a degree in Early Childhood Education. And all classes are taught on a campus in Waleska, Ga. (Not Florida) You can check this out at his link: http://www.reinhardt.edu/PSOE/WAIT/WAIT_program.htm

#3  The CARIBE program is a refugee program and is only available in Hillsborough county in Florida. It is primarily a vocational training program and they have four campuses. You can check this out at: http://caribeprogram.com/

Like I said before, it isn't too much of a stretch for us to believe something like this is actually happening, but there are many other problems that ARE out there that need to be fixed.

[Diane Amberg]

Thank you Carl, you saved me from having to write a long comment. I have a friend who went to medical school on a Pell grant. He was a top notch student. I believe some had to be paid back, but not all. We have to be so careful not to generalize too much. It is very easy to say ''they" but when someone has a name and face it isn't so easy.

[Teresa]

Ouch .. me think me has been put in my place..


(( But at least I am smart enough to realize it.. LOL ))

and it's a good and valid point that I do sometimes forget about. I have a tendency to jump on the band wagon and get all
passionately caught up in "issues". and then sometimes I don't see some of the forest for all the trees.

[Mom70x7]

Ah . . . but you are always well-loved!   

[Jo McDonald]

 AMEN to that !!!!