Free school lunches make talk show host lose touch with reality and decency

And the idiocy continues.....

Another ridiculous tirade courtesy of 850KOA's Michael Brown (last one I wrote about is here http://losttouchwith.blogspot.com/2011/04/i-went-to-store-couple-nights-ago-on.html). Last night on the radio, Michael reacted to a story from Detroit about the school system there providing free lunch to all students regardless of ability to pay so as to remove the stigma associated with having to accept "charity." Michael then made the jump to comparing this act of compassion and charity to giving free groceries to everyone! I love the absurdity of Michael's brand of conservative thinking.....

The story, from the AP is as follows:

"By The Associated Press

DETROIT - All Detroit Public Schools students from kindergarten through 12th grade will get free breakfast, lunch and snacks starting this fall under a federal pilot program, the district announced Tuesday.

Michigan's largest public school district said the program's goal is to "ensure all children receive healthy meals, regardless of income."

Most Detroit schoolchildren also meet income rules for free lunches.

Michigan, Illinois and Kentucky will participate in the U.S. Department of Agriculture pilot program during the upcoming school year. Districts in Michigan can participate if at least 40 percent of their students are entitled to public assistance.

"One of the primary goals of this program is to eliminate the stigma that students feel when they get a free lunch, as opposed to paying cash," said Mark Schrupp, the district's chief operating officer. "Some students would skip important meals to avoid being identified as low-income. Now, all students will walk through a lunch line and not have to pay. Low-income students will not be easily identifiable and will be less likely to skip meals."

The district said it still encourages parents to fill out family income surveys because funding for tutoring, after-school programs, extra teachers' aids, classroom technology and other services are still linked to income."

Wow, is that not the worst news? Free food to go along with a free education? And this is in school districts where 40% of the population of the school is already receiving aid. I'm actually glad to see that we are finally providing back to some of our own for a change, but of course to the extremism of talk show radio, this is just another way to cement the divide in our country at present. And...just to cover it, we all know that taxes pay for this program just as it does the education of our youth, cause I'm sure "Brownie", as he was called by President Bush, will want to remind me that even free is really paid for by someone.

So, I decided to email the station and Michael to tell them how sick to my stomach I was listening to his show that evening. And I said the following:

"Sick to my stomach.

There is a big difference between providing a paid for lunch (oh and by the way we provide a paid for education in this country, or should, to all who are interested in bettering themselves) and going to the conservative extreme of providing free groceries.  1) children react negatively to stigma in their environment. 2) adults can handle a little stigma.  Be a responsible talk show host and discuss things from an educated point of view instead of an idiotic incendiary escalatory nature."

My point here is to show the absurdity in the thinking that children who are unfortunately stuck in a bad situation and the parents who have some control and responsibility for their situation can even possibly be compared. So imagine my surprise today, Wednesday, when I turn on the radio to hear my email being read (and unfortunately as is par for the course, not being read verbatim but being edited on air by you know who) as the lead to the talk show du jour. At least I gave him a subject for his show.

So,

I awoke the next morning to the following email reply.....

"So you will provide free lunches to all children, regardless of need?  You are the ones that will destroy this country."

I just can't imagine that providing a meal through taxes would ever destroy a country. Michael Brown, I'd put the amount of money for school lunch subsidies for all children per day up against the cost per day to wage war in the Middle East. Care to take on that bet?

I didn't think so. Whiner.....just goes to show you how talk radio and 24 hour a day "news" alarmists have twisted and pushed the vitality and intellect right out of our country.

Sick to my stomach.....