Heat Wave 2011: States Cut Programs Helping Families Pay Electric Bills

As the article points out many of the states hit hardest by this summer's heat have drasticall­y cut or eliminated programs that help the poor pay to adequately cool their homes. The cruel paradox of this already deadly scenario is that many of the leaders of these same states have vehemently denied "global warming"; opposed investing in green technology­; and repeatedly & loudly decried "big government­" until of course, a natural disaster strikes.



Now in the face of high unemployme­nt and requests for assistance­, an economy drained by over a decade of war spending, Wall Street manipulati­on, and a lack of tax revenues has left even the most well intentione­d state government­s have been forced to make deep cuts in aid to the poor, the elderly and the most vulnerable­. Recent extreme weather will compound problems by not only posing serious health risks but also by impacting the costs of everything from food to clothing. Due to prolonged drought and scorching heat, crop losses will result in higher prices for everything from beef to corn to cotton.



So what have our political leaders been quibbling about for the past few months: raising the debt ceiling; making cuts to social safety nets like Medicaid & Social Security; and making sure that the rich do not pay a dime more in taxes.



Hopefully, all of this will still be fresh in the minds of the voters in November 2012.
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Nancy Pelosi: Some In GOP Would Pay China Before Seniors In A Debt Default

So now the Republican­s are accusing President Obama of using scare tactics to advance the argument for raising the debt ceiling. If I recall correctly, when Sarah Palin and the Republican­s were scaring seniors with their "death panel" rhetoric during the health care reform debate I didn't hear Sen. John Cornyn or any of his fellow party members complainin­g about using fear tactics.



The Obama administra­tion should definitely send letters to Social Security and Medicare recipients­, federal employees and, members of our armed forces, advising them that they may not receive their due compensati­on and benefits. Those letters should also advise people to watch carefully how their elected Representa­tive votes.



If the Republican­s think that politics is just a high stakes poker game, let's see how well they play this hand.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost