Archive for March 3rd, 2010

Give Us Your Fuckin’ Guns!

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Or something, anyhow, it’s all about Ethiopia in the days after Live Aid…

Seems the BBC reported that a lot of the money raised (up to 95%) went to buy arms in the (one of many) Horn of Africa civil wars, but concert organizer Bob Geldorf’s having none of it!

“If that percentage of money had been diverted, far more than a million people would have died,” he told The Times. “It’s possible that in one of the worst, longest-running conflicts on the continent some money was mislaid. But to suggest it was on this scale is just b******s.”

Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia are really doing great, right Bob?

Yet another reason why celebrity telethons aren’t worth a bean.

If celebrities want to help a cause, then they should start by donating a big chunk of their own money, anonymously and with no thought whatever of credit.

What happens instead, in most cases of urgent need, is that the telethon’s all about them, their careers, their singles, their return to/glow in the spotlight.

Gorilla pastiches: “Alas, I bring in nothing, but I’d give it all for a chance to give it all!”

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Another Gas Bag Deflates

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

This time it’s Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel, who’s about to lose his powerful position after way too much corruption.

Rangel, like the late John Murtha, is one of the last dinosaurs standing.

He’s been an effective legislator in some ways, but power’s prevented him from being remembered as anything but a sleazy pol. Failing to pay income taxes, cozy real estate deals in New York and the Dominican Republic, free trips paid for by lobbyists: it’s the usual litany.

Facing a possible disaster in the fall elections, the Democrats have decided to pitch Rangel over the side.

Gorilla thinks: “If only health care reform could be passed with such alacrity!”

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Message: We Want To Stay Poor

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

The Governor of Texas won the Know Nothing primary for another term, defeating a sitting Know Nothing Senator.

“This election was about hard-working Texans sending a simple, compelling message to Washington: quit spending all the money, stop trying to take over our lives and our businesses,” Governor Perry said.

Actually, the election highlights just how little Texas has benefitted from conservative rule.

According to the Center for Public Policy Priorities, looking at data for 2008 (before the recession really hit, thus the current figures are even worse):

Texas’ poverty rate is the 8th worst in the country, with 15.8 percent, or over 3.7 million Texans living in poverty in 2008 (e.g., $17,163 for a family of 3) compared to a national average of 13.2 percent. Although Texas’ poverty rate is still among the worst in the nation, it is an improvement from 2007 (16.3 percent).

A significantly higher percentage of Texas children lived in poverty in 2008. Nearly one of every four Texas kids—22.5 percent, or more than 1.4 million—lives in poverty, leaving Texas amongst the 10 worst states in the country with a rank of 8th worst. The U.S. child poverty rate is 18.2 percent. Although the child poverty rate also improved from 2007 (23.2 percent), the nearly 1.5 million Texas children living in poverty exceeds the combined child populations of Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, and San Antonio.

Gorilla says: “Poverty remains deep in the heart of Texas!”

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