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Thursday, June 19, 2014

Compassion: Part I

by Sam Huntington

Having created a welfare system in this country, the left seems to have produced a deep hole into which we pour literally hundreds of billions of dollars each year.  In spite of all these expenditures, we seem to end up with more impoverished people.  One wonders how this is even possible.  One wonders how long we must continue shoveling money into the abyss of welfare programs before we able to conclude that it is time to consider other avenues.  It would be preferred if we could put physically-able people back to work —but with this president, this is asking too much.  It doesn’t appear to fit his narrative.

One popular refrain from the right is that leftists want to increase welfare programs; it is a means of growing government, which benefits statists, and there is something to be gained, and maintained whenever the impoverished become dependents of the state: political power.  The conclusion, therefore, is that the left actually cares very little about the penurious —they are only a means to an end.

Welfare programs are a partisan issue; there is no escaping that.  Part of the problem is that we do not really know any of the data that helps us to understand the truth about welfare in the United States.  Some even believe that those who benefit most from a welfare state have intentionally muddled the issue quite so that it is confusing.  I am writing now about politicians who hinge their careers on loudly supporting perpetual welfare.  We must also not forget the career bureaucrats who will do whatever it takes to retain their high-paying jobs —even sinking to low as to fabricate welfare data.  Keeping the issue confused is a clever ploy, for if no one understands the true cost of welfare programs, if there is no clear picture of attendant fraud and waste, then there will be no consequential changes to what many consider illegal spending at the federal level.  The leftist imperative is to maintain this chasm no matter what it costs. 

Conservatives insist that welfare fraud is rampant; leftists argue that welfare fraud has never exceeded 4%.  What is missing is an honest broker.  Since the word trust is no longer part of our lexicon describing the federal government, we have an issue with the credibility of information provided by welfare management agencies.  Wee simply cannot know whether what we are being told is true.

The 2010 Census told us that there are 115-million families in the United States.  A full third (34%) of these are receiving welfare assistance.  This tells us that 39-million homes are being supported by the American taxpayer, at an average cost per working household of $11,500.  Now, if it is true that welfare fraud doesn’t exceed 4%, then 4.6 million families fraudulently receive welfare benefits —at your expense.  Even if the percentage of fraud is low, the cost to the American taxpayer is high.  The suggestion here is that were it not for fraud, we could be doing a better job on behalf of the legitimately impoverished.


Of course, we have no evidence of a serious effort by any federal or state legislative body to decrease the number of impoverished citizens.  In fact, the opposite is true. If federal and state welfare program enrollment criteria are relaxed to the point where there are no serious restrictions, then there can be no fraud.  It’s all good.  No problem, Amigo.  Just pay out money to everyone —it doesn’t really matter.

(Continued next week)

36 comments:

  1. The welfare state continues to burgeon. It is self-perpetuating. And political weasels continue to promote the welfare state; they reckon that they are safe in their ivory towers.

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  2. Americans would not be so "heartless" as to rigidly eschew any social welfare.
    Unemployment "insurance" is untouchable.
    Social Security as well.
    So then a new "need" is identified and it is rectified by government intervention.
    Rinse and repeat.
    There was always a push and resistance on the leading edges of this government intervention.
    Until now.
    Now we've elected (if indeed we have) a regime that has no concern for the legislative process, constitutional restraints, or budgets.
    Just promoting socialist agendas.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rosemary B here:
      Because according to the "compassionate" liberals, socialist agendas fix everything. See how fixed everything is already?
      Not to be confused with "fixed" elections, you are right about that too

      Delete
  3. With the burgeoning welfare state, those who truly do need help will lose the help they are presently getting. I count Mr. AOW in that number of those truly needing help because of total disability after having paid into the Social Security system for almost 50 years. Just sayin'.

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  4. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    1. Comments unrelated to the topic of this blog post and comments involving blog gossip will be removed.

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  5. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    1. Please note number one on the list about the parameters here at this blog. Thank you.

      Delete
  6. One important thought I'd like to say to the Democrats, Liberals, progressives who either read this blog, or lurk around here... Before the you "people" rush to the defense of your King, or your Hero, or your Messiah, or whatever you are calling that Rat these days...You want us to "Let go of Benghazi and "Move On" : We might let go of Benghazi--an incident that cost American lives--but you won't even want let go of Chris Christie and "Bridgegate." a NOTHING incident that had NOTHING at all to do with Chris Christie, no matter how much you try to implicate him.
    You want Christie's head? Go for it....

    Interesting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lol! Yet, just today:

      Exclusive: Prosecutor Is Closing In on Gov. Christie
      http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/christie-investigation?src=spr_TWITTER&spr_id=1456_65523787

      Delete
  7. The increase in "social programs" has had a huge impact on the poor. Since the start of the Great Society the percentage of poor in this country has not changed. We have hundreds of billions of dollars seized by the federalists to give to the non motivated and the result is a zero gain.

    One problem we have is if all of the people who have chosen welfare as a career but are able to work actually decided to get a job, there are no jobs for them. The federalists have decided it is much better to throw money at the problem instead of looking for a solution. That is not just the leftists because nothing changed with a "conservative" administration. It has always lets bitch about the problem so we don't have to do anything.

    The current administration is proud that jobs are back to the level when they took control. Wow after six years you have a zero sum gain, something to be proud of.

    The solution is difficult because it requires a change of view. Now a welfare mother receives a multitude of things free from adc, food stamps, housing, medical care. If she takes a minimum wage job she may lose all of those freebees and be worse off. That needs to change and make it where welfare is a helping hand not a lifestyle.

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  8. There's nothing like shaking down others and being benevolent with their money to make a progressive feel all warm and fuzzy inside

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  9. steady decline since the alleged war on poverty!

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  10. Margaret Thatcher had it right. Socialism only works until you run out of other people’s money. A thoughtful person will recognize that socialism is an assault on our inalienable right to private property —including the money I have in my wallet. This thinking is not only dangerous to a free society; it is repugnant to all true Americans.

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  11. If the Left had truly "produced" the welfare state, it wouldn't look anything like it does today. A good part of the wastefulness or counter-productivity built into the welfare state was a product of the interests that have nothing to do with alleviating poverty or building a strong class ladder. Part D Medicare was passed in a hurry by the GOP because the insurance industry feared the impending demand for the program from the retiring Baby Boomers and needed the GOP to pass the bill so as to protect themselves from public oversight and price balances. In other words, if it's going to happen, at least have your friends structure it. And so Part D became a huge taxpayer giveaway to Big Pharma.

    To build the ladder you need to actually build it, with infrastructural, both institutional and physical, investment. That's how it's done. Welfare as it is now is just a treatment for a chronic ail. The cause of the disease is lack of real growth, as opposed to just profiteering off productivity.

    JMJ

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  12. Excuse me - I meant Big Pharma, not insurance (though they wanted it too).

    JMJ

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  13. What's funny is we spend more on welfare programs in red states which contribute less than other states to the tax rolls.

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  14. Some 50 years ago one of the most evil men that ever soiled the White House started The Great Society; a welfare system on steroids. Since its inception over $20,000,000,000,000 has been wasted. The results of this mess are summarized below:

    "By providing for all the needs that the father used to provide for his family, the Great Society has helped make fathers superfluous. We have created a system where a teenage girl who becomes pregnant can have all her basic needs met by government. This is a primary cause of the rise in illegitimacy in America from 6 percent of all births in 1963 to 41 percent today, and to 53 percent among Hispanics and 73 percent among African-Americans. And that record illegitimacy rate is directly tied to the drug use rate, the dropout rate, the crime rate, and the incarceration rate."

    Yes, we are at war with terrorists, sponsored by a largely foreign pseudo religion but we have another enemy which is completely domestic. Although it's a complete misnomer they go by the appellation of "Progressive". There is absolutely nothing "progressive" about them in the context of [progress], unless you consider termites destroying your house as "progress"! Like a virus they are growing fast and there seems to be no cure. Yes, they are another legacy of The Great Society; they breed and, worst of all, THEY VOTE!!!!!!!!!

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    Replies
    1. Silliness. We have one of the weakest social safety nets in the developed world, and they don't share many of those social problems. Blaming the welfare for our culture would be like blaming blaming a child for having a bad parent... oh, wait, that's essentially what you guys do.

      JMJ

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  15. I believe the government admits 50% fraud in medicare. Some righteous sources say 50% fraud in the DD budget. We know SS is getting pounded by fraudsters, as is the IRS. In short, every federal program, and every avenue of expenditure contains from x% to close to 100% money laundering.

    I don't believe there is a single politician at the federal level who gives a * about any of us. We're nothing more than a pain in the *. If they could just kill us off they would, but then who would they steal from.

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  16. New Poll Is A Disaster For Obama......and he is a disaster for this once great Nation.

    President Barack Obama has seen an erosion in support for his foreign policy plummet to an all-time low, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC poll released Wednesday.

    According to the poll, just 37% of respondents said they approved of Obama's handling of foreign-policy issues, an all-time low. Meanwhile, 57% said they disapproved, an all-time high.

    And the foreign-policy approval rating for Obama might actually be artificially high. The poll was conducted before the crisis in Iraq, a situation for which Obama has been roundly criticized, bubbled up and grabbed international attention.
    When Obama was elected, the extent of his failure was suspected by republicans and denied by democrats. Now, that extent is known to both republicans and democrats. While he can't run for office again (unless he issues another executive order and try), there are plenty of democrats tied to his policies that ARE running for office. Those policies are now being repudiated by the public who will take it out on the democrats that supported him..
    AND,it lLooks like Hilary is having her issues too..According to the results of the survey released on Wednesday, 38 percent of registered American voters say they would vote for Clinton if she decides to run, while 37 percent said they would "definitely" oppose her.

    Oh, one more thing... please don't tell me anything about Bush, because just incase you haven't heard....Bush is not running again !
    Have a nice day...Thank You All.

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  17. Libmann above is thrilled to announce Chris Christie might be in trouble! The media last night was thrilled that Scott Walker is in big trouble..investigations ensuing! WOW!
    Meanwhile, we have the IRS scandal, missing emails!?, Brian Terry lost his life because of HOlder's botched F&F, the NSA's spying on us, Obama's got us more in debt than all presidents put together, Holder's breaking federal laws, etc etc...and BOY, where's the anger and outrage from leftwingers? :-)

    Sam, well said in your post. How anybody could even entertain the thought that welfare hasn't caused untold damage to our country is astonishing. But, of course, the left will run with our statements, suggesting we don't care for the poor. Please, leftwingers: FOCUS: those who need help legitimately, should get help. Those who are playing the system should not. Please stop the restrictions on our businesses; we need JOBS in America, not China.

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    1. Z,
      FOCUS: those who need help legitimately, should get help. Those who are playing the system should not.

      Exactly!

      Otherwise, those who really need help won't be getting help.

      The tax base is finite.

      Delete
  18. Hillary Clinton is not a strong independent woman. A strong independent woman doesn't spend her career lying and defending a sexual predator and serial womanizer for political purposes. A strong independent woman dumps the jerk.
    Why would anyone admire a woman who lies though her teeth supports a sexual predator and serial womanizer like her husband!
    She could learn a lot form Sarah Palin who unlike Hillary is a true independent thinker and who refused to adhere to the demands of the pack of leftist feminists. Sara Palin never had to lie and support a sexual predator and serial womanizer for political purposes. Sara Palin is the stronger of the two women. Hillary is a liar and a weak woman who supported her sick husband for political power

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  19. Let us look at president Obama and his lack of accomplishments.
    Where they both harshly criticized President Barack Obama's handling of the crisis in Iraq.
    Let’s just do a quick review on what transpired.:
    Obama traded five members of the Taliban’s highest ranked detainees from Guantanamo for an alleged prisoner of war who deserted his unit in Afghanistan, negotiating with the Islamic criminal group, the Haqqani, known for extracting high ransoms but no mention of money has been made.

    Having initiated negotiations with Iran in a futile attempt to get them to cease seeking their own nuclear arsenal, there is conjecture the U.S. will enlist Iran’s help in addressing the jihadist attack on Iraq, but Iran has been the declared enemy of the United States since it seized our diplomats in 1979 and held them hostage until President Reagan was sworn into office. Iran is the world’s greatest supporter of terror. It was behind the truck bomb that destroyed our embassy in Beirut in 1984 and a few months later killed U.S. Marines in an attack on their barracks there. It provided weapons to our enemies during the Iraq war.

    He has driven the nation’s debt up so high that, for the first time in its history, its credit rating was reduced. That debt continues to grow and is pegged at $17 trillion. The price of food is beginning to soar.
    Unemployment now affects the lives of those unable to find work—literally millions—and those who have ceased to look. Raising the minimum wage will only serve to further reduce job creation and opportunities. Millions are on food stamps while millions are receiving disability benefits. There is likely no way to know who legitimately deserves assistance and who does not. Increasing the rolls is seen as ensuring the Democrat Party gets their vote.
    He reduced the funding of our military, reducing its fighting capacity to pre-World War Two levels in manpower and the arsenal of weapons it requires. He advocated the participation of homosexuals, a policy the military has long opposed for issues of unit cohesion and morale. He advocated more female participation in the military. Pastors and other chaplains serving the military were pressured to alter their message to the troops.
    Obama is on record saying that “climate change” is the greatest enemy the U.S. military will face. Climate change has been occurring for billions of years and is entirely natural. It has nothing to do with waging war except for the circumstances on a specific battlefield and that is called the “weather”, not climate change.

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  20. Having done nothing to stem illegal immigration, the nation is now besieged by thousands of “refugees”, often very young, being bussed here from nations like Nicaragua and Guatemala. They in turn are being “dumped” in Arizona and other locations because the Texas immigration detention facilities are full. This situation is being attributed to Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that was initiated in 2012 to allow illegal immigrants who can to the U.S. as minors to escape deportation for two years. In early June an additional two years was tacked onto the program.

    By pushing Obamacare—the Affordable Patient Care Act—through Congress, Obama has effectively destroyed the finest medical health system in the world, raising the cost of health insurance, interfering with the doctor-patient relationship, and causing several million Americans who already had health insurance to lose it. He lied to achieve this and the Democrats knew it. No Republican in Congress voted for it. By 2017 an estimated seven million workers will lose employer provided coverage.

    Just as Obama’s indifference to fix the management problems of the Veterans Administration has resulted in needless deaths, Obamacare’s death toll will make that seem small when even policy holders are forced to wait for care because hospitals have closed or there are fewer private practice physicians.

    Obama’s declared “war on coal” has already caused more than a hundred coal-fired plants producing electricity to close, reducing the production of electricity at a time the population is growing and the economy requires it for growth. The emissions from such plants had already been reduced by 90% at a significant cost. The EPA’s new regulations have no basis whatever in scientific fact. The cost of electricity is already rising for many Americans and U.S. coal is being shipped to China and India for their plants.

    The nation’s moral standards have been harmed by the implementation of same-sex marriages which the President endorsed after reversing an earlier campaign position. His view that legalizing marijuana is okay will have serious implications that are already manifesting themselves at this point.

    This is just a thumbnail review of what has been happening to the nation and to all Americans. We have survived incompetent presidents in the past, but Obama is unique, not just for his ignorance and incompetence, but for his reliance on lies to achieve his goal of reducing America as the one world power that has been relied upon to resist the forces of evil that threaten mankind.
    People can say what they will about Mr. Cheney , but he surely knows what he is talking about. I mean seriously, what kind of president would play golf while a matter like terrorism is so high a priority? Obama continues to walk all over the Constitution. And the same goes for Fund-raising or speech making to a lesbian organization. That́s not only outrageous, but an insult to all those Fighting men and Women in the United States of America. !We are witnessing the destruction of America unless this insanity is stopped, and it is a damn sure bet that these Leftist Marxist buffoons are not going to stop themselves!

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  21. President Obama still cleaning up Dick Cheney's Colossal Blunder(s)
    One would be hard pressed to find a single Man responsible for more pain and damage to the American People and the Nation than Dick Cheney; Tojo and Robert E. Lee come to mind.

    Cheney and his daughter whose only credentials are she's ridden Dick to further her political career and of being 1/5th of Dick's Deferments wrote an Op-ed in the Wall Street Journal which is a case study in projection and holds the key to the entire Conservative Mindset.
    Rarely has a U.S. president been so wrong about so much at the expense of so many.
    Over and over the Republicans f#@$k up the nation and expect the Democratic President to clean up their messes all the while they and their conservative media allies blame the Democratic Party for the Right-Wing Agenda in the first place.
    And by the way, the Dow Jones Industrial just hit a record high under President Obama.

    AND NOW WE ARE GOING BACK TO IRAQ! Although Conservatives won't be going because they are Cowards
    What Bush and the Republicans have done to the Economy, Veterans, and in Iraq are some of the Worst Crimes in US History. We've lost sight of that as the Conservative Media has made it their mission to gin up false scandals.

    Thanks to the Lies and War Crimes of George W(orst POTUS Ever) Bush, Dick Deferment Cheney, Donald Rumsfled, Paul Wolfowitz, John Bolton, David Addington, John Yoo, Ari Fleschier, Dana Perino, Douglas Feith, Alberto Gonzales and so many others, The Middle East is now a cesspool of violence, destabilized Nations, with ethnic and religious violence exploding all across the region.

    Now, the same warmongering war criminals who have done so much harm to the United States and the Middle East are clamoring for the military to be sent back into Iraq.
    I ask you Did Ronald Reagan seek Congressional approval for the 1986 Airstrikes?

    As usual you Moronic and Ridiculous Rightwingers project the features of your Republican war criminals Reagan and W(orst POTUS Ever) upon President Obama.
    And George W(orst President Ever) Bush btw, signed Accords with Gaddafi in 2008, recognizing a Terrorist Nation, legitimizing a Brutal Criminal Dictator and forgiving the Lockerbie Bombing as well as numerous other terrorist attacks by the Libyans.

    Because W was a moronic war criminal appeaser.
    And needless to say, that you American Conservatives are biggest group of chicken shit cowards ever assembled in the history of humanity.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Rosemary B here:

    Grung_e_Gene, your comment is rather pathetic.
    And you are indeed "disaffected" a typical liberal trait. It feels good because it is all about you and your feelings.
    You Progressives are the angry ones. You are even more dangerous than the Progressive Lefty they call the Witch!

    ReplyDelete



  23. Dick Cheney lied his way into an illegal war, profited off that war, and shredded the Constitution. He's a war criminal and has the blood of hundreds of thousands of innocent people on his hands.
    Dick Cheney and George Bush are still making this country into s nation of lying A-Holes.
    Dick Cheney should be rotting in a prison cell at The Hague, not writing editorials for the Wall Street Journal.

    While yesterday, President Obama announced that the Ringleader of the Benghazi attacks Ahmed Abu Khatallah has been captured. Once again the President has shown himself to be a great man amongst the vile villains and despicable dilettantes who circle around the cesspool of Washington DC.
    Of course, Faux News wasted no time in proclaiming this a distraction or conspiracy. Right-Wingers and Republicans sputtered, pouted, bitched and moaned about the declaration from President Obama.

    Being shameless disgusting enemies of America, the Republicans found the actions by the Department of Justice, FBI and Special Forces too convenient, the timing too perfect.

    Of course, what they are complaining about is the destruction of their Fake Scandals. Ahmed Abu Khatallah, has stated the attack was in response to the stupidly inflammatory Innocence of Muslims youtube video, as was believed by the CIA at the time and stated by the vilified Susan Rice.

    ReplyDelete

  24. These people, like the one above are the people that have taken over the traditional Democratic Party. They should be called The Democratic Socialists of America! Who do you think they voted for in 2008 and 2012?
    If Barack Obama were to run again for re-election these idiotic leftist’s would vote for him again in a heartbeat. Are there any Democrats out there that feel their party is too far to the left and wouldn’t vote for a Socialist like Obama? If there are then i would like to hear about it. Look at what this group stands for...is that not exactly what the Democratic Party stands for? If you can show me where , anywhere that this president has done ANYTHING that benefited this country, please sound-off cause I want to know. Liberal's are quick to condemn Republican's as far right robots marching in lockstep. Better take a look around Democrats... Look at what this IMBECILE Gene wrote, is that sane? NO! It’s tottaly INSANE!

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  25. You talk about the Enemy of America, who is the man who has done more damage to the United States? It’s Dick-Less Cheney who is back trying to pin the blame for his epic failures in Iraq and the United States on president Obama.
    11 years after Mission Accomplished and Iraq is about to fall to Muslim Extremist Insurgents. Reports are that Mosul and Tikrit have fallen to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) who "defeated" the American trained Iraqi Army despite facing 40:1 Odds Against. The ISIS states they plan to march on Baghdad and conquer the Country. the Maliki Government has requested drones and air support from the US. A request the Obama Administration has refused, thus far.

    George W. Bush is the Now Officially the Worst President in American History. Even surpassing that arch-villain Ronald W. Reagan.

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  26. Commenters:

    Let's try to stay on topic with this particular blog post.

    Tomorrow, there will be an open thread.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Each taxpayer pays more for corporate welfare that social programs.

    About $59 billion is spent on traditional social welfare programs. $92 billion is spent on corporate subsidies. So, the government spent 50% more on corporate welfare than it did on food stamps and housing assistance in 2006.

    http://thinkbynumbers.org/government-spending/corporate-welfare/corporate-welfare-statistics-vs-social-welfare-statistics/

    Corporate Welfare is Almost Double Social Welfare
    http://benswann.com/corporate-welfare-is-almost-double-social-welfare/

    ReplyDelete
  28. The Lincoln "quote" is a fake. It's funny how many times fabricated quotes from the Founding Fathers or American's greatest men have to be used to support positions which the Rich love...

    I prefer this true quote from President Lincoln which shows the evil pathology of the Capitalist Plutocracy,

    "[C]orporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed."

    ReplyDelete
  29. I also enjoy you copying parts of my blog posts and posting them here but adding the "moronic a-holes" and other crude insults as though I wrote them!

    Funny! I'll comment here for REAL if you would like but really come

    ReplyDelete
  30. As you wrote, we will never know the truth about welfare dollars...especially with FDR #2 playing king.

    The bottom line, Sam, is welfare DOES pay. Surely no one is hungry. Proof is of those on welfare in SoCal, a large majority have obese children. Handouts are what they see as life. Thank you, JFK.

    ReplyDelete

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