Saturday, August 3, 2019
U.S. SPENDS $907 MILLION ON USELESS “NUTRITION EDUCATION” FOR FOOD STAMP, WIC RECIPIENTS
Besides spending tens of billions of dollars on fraud-infested programs to feed the poor, the U.S. government wastes an additional $907 million to give recipients useless “nutrition education” courses with rates of effectiveness that cannot be assessed. It marks the latest scandal to rock the government’s famously bloated and corrupt food stamp program as well as a multi-billion-dollar sister project that feeds millions of low-income women and their children.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) operates and funds both programs and spends a fortune on them annually. The grand master is food stamps, renamed Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by the Obama administration to eliminate the welfare stigma. Under Obama the food stamp tab reached a ghastly $80.4 billion in one year to provide a record 46 million people with the welfare benefit. The Trump administration has reduced it a bit, but not by much. The latest USDA figures reveal the food stamp budget is hovering north of $60 billion annually to feed around 44 million people. That’s still a chunk of change. Uncle Sam spends $5.3 billion a year on the other program, which is known as Women Infants and Children (WIC). It serves around 7 million recipients and claims to “safeguard the health of low-income women, infants, and children younger than 5 who are at nutritional risk.”
Besides doling out huge sums of taxpayer dollars to feed this large demographic, the USDA dedicates extra money to school the beneficiaries about nutritional matters. The classes and counseling are conducted in daycares, grocery stores, public housing, health clinics, food banks, recreation centers and other public facilities throughout the country. In fiscal year 2017 this cost $907 million, according to a federal audit that concludes the effectiveness of the so-called “SNAPEd” cannot be aggregated or reviewed. States, which are responsible for distributing food stamps, also provide information about the educational programs in a way that “hinders the USDA’s ability to assess the effectiveness” and “determine whether SNAPEd is achieving its goals,” according to the audit, which was conducted by the investigative arm of Congress, the Government Accountability Office (GAO). That’s diplomatic, sugar coating for it’s a waste. The congressional watchdog further reveals that it already reviewed the USDA’s dubious nutrition education efforts a decade and a half ago and found “challenges” across the agency.
The GAO report breaks down the expenses and offers some details about the actual courses. The USDA spent $422 million to educate WIC recipients about good nutrition and $404 million to school those who get food stamps. An additional $51 million went to an “expanded food and nutrition education program,” $16 million to “team nutrition” and $13 million to a “food insecurity nutrition incentive grant program.” Those wondering how it all works may find answers in this line from the GAO: “Sometimes multiple nutrition education programs operate in the same setting. For example, SNAP-Ed may provide classes for students while Team Nutrition may distribute teacher training materials and nutrition education curricula to the same school.” The bottom line is that most of the USDA’s nutrition education programs target interventions to low income populations, according to the audit.
Why does the USDA waste such large sums on this nonsense? Because another government agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), claims that the diet of many Americans lacks adequate sources of good nutrition and that contributes to costly chronic health conditions. In typical government fashion, the solution is to throw money at the so-called problem with no follow through. The goal, according to the USDA, is to help educate Americans on nutrition and improve their dietary choices. The agency considers it an important intervention that also involves social marketing as well as policy and environmental changes. More than 4 million people participated in the “direct education interventions” last year, yet it remains unclear what impact the costly...
How To Strangle The Free Market...
And Hard Work, And Personal Responsibility, Prosperity, Dignity, Rewarding Hard Work, etc.
Hungary: Married Couples to Receive Over €30,000 Free if They Have 3 Children
Orbán wants to boost native population without relying on mass migration.
In an effort to boost the country’s population without having to rely on mass migration, Hungary will hand out €30,600 to married couples who have three or more children.
Here’s how it works; A married couple receives the €30,600 as a loan from the government upon getting married. The loan then has to be repaid until the couple has three children. At this point, the debt is completely forgiven.
“In this month alone, approximately 2,400 Hungarian families have already signed up and applied for the loan which is paid out in monthly installments,” reports Voice of Europe. “In the case that the couple has a child within five years, the loan’s interest and scheduled repayments are both suspended for a period of three years.”
In an effort to prevent the loan being exploited by work-shy couples, one person in the married couple will need to have paid 180 days worth of tax contributions to the state. The marriage must also be the first for at least one of the couple.
Couples who do not have a child within five years or who get divorced within that same time period will be forced to repay the loan in full within four months.
The loans are part of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s efforts to reverse the demographic decline of Hungary’s native population while maintaining a strict immigration policy.
“We do not want to mix our Christianity-based culture, values, attitude to life with other cultures,” Orbán previously stated.
Partly thanks to Orbán’s pro-family policies, abortions in Hungary dropped from...
10 Offbeat Stories You Might Have Missed This Week (8/3/19)
If you’ve had a busy week, you might have overlooked some of the stranger stories that hit the headlines. Luckily for you, this list is here to help you catch up. If you missed last week’s offbeat list, you can check it out here.This time, we have for you a clown brawl, a zombie chicken, and an antique sex toy. There’s a blast from the past as John Dillinger’s body gets dug up, and we look toward the future with human-animal hybrids.
10 No Clowning Around
A British cruise ship had to deal with a mass brawl that was allegedly sparked by one of the guests dressing up as a clown.The Britannia, operated by P&O Cruises, was sailing to Southampton after a week spent admiring the Nordic fjords. One evening included a black-tie event which, supposedly, took place after an afternoon-long party on deck which involved copious amounts of alcohol.During the formal event, one passenger was said to have showed up dressed as a clown. This greatly annoyed another person who really hated costumes and had specifically booked a cruise with no dressing up.[1] This resulted in a confrontation that soon turned violent.The matter was turned over to the Hampshire Police once the cruise disembarked. A spokeswoman said that three men and three women were assaulted and ended up with cuts and bruises. A man and a woman in their forties, both from Essex, were arrested.The story later took a turn when both the police and the cruise line denied any reports that a clown had been onboard the ship, let alone involved in an altercation. The more straightforward cause of the fight was people drinking too much. It is unclear at the moment how the clown made it into the tale.
9 A Close Encounter
Photo credit: NASA/JPL/Caltech
An asteroid branded a “city killer” came within a “cosmic whisker” of Earth last week, and scientists had no idea that it was on the way.Just so everyone can relax, the rock passed close to our planet by space standards. At its nearest approach, it was still 72,000 kilometers (45,000 mi) away.[2] Still, that is about five times closer to us than the Moon.The asteroid, dubbed 2019 OK, is roughly 60 to 130 meters (200–420 ft) across and was racing through space at a speed of 87,000 kilometers per hour (54,000 mph). If it made contact, it would have hit Earth with the force of 30 Hiroshima bombs. Astronomers didn’t know about it because it came our way from the direction of the Sun, and they could only see the rock a few days prior to it passing us.
8 Public Enemy Back From The Grave
Photo credit: Federal Bureau of Investigation
The body of notorious Depression-era gangster John Dillinger is set to be exhumed next month from Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis.[3]Dillinger, one of America’s most famous outlaws, was gunned down by FBI agents in 1934 in front of the Biograph Theater in Chicago. He and his gang were responsible for at least ten murders and numerous violent robberies.Now, 85 years later, a request to dig up his remains has been approved by the Indiana State Department of Health. The request came courtesy of his nephew, Michael Thompson. He claims to have evidence that suggests the body in the cemetery might not belong to John Dillinger. In fact, he believes the FBI gunned down the wrong man that fateful night in front of the Biograph Theater. An FBI spokesperson dismissed the claim, saying that there is plentiful proof of Dillinger’s identity, including three sets of fingerprints.The exhumation will be filmed for a documentary and, afterward, Dillinger’s body will be interred in the same place as before. Thompson has until September 16 to go through with it.
7 Putting On A Prayer
Photo credit: BBC News
People who will be visiting Rochester, Kent, during August will surely stop to see the 900-year-old Rochester Cathedral, where they will be able to enjoy a few holes of miniature golf.For the entire month, the main central part of the church (nave) will be converted into a nine-hole course of crazy golf where each hole includes a famous British bridge alongside a panel with information about said bridge. This overpass obsession is due to the fact that the course was developed and paid for by the Rochester Bridge Trust.[4]A spokesman said that they are hoping the initiative will bring more young people and families into the beautiful cathedral, and while they are there, they might also learn a few things about the structures of different bridges. Reverend Rachel Phillips with the Rochester Cathedral believes that the minigolf will inspire people to build or mend metaphorical bridges in their lives.Not everyone is thrilled with this plan. Other church officials have decried the move, saying that it is “born of desperation” or that it tricks people into a “search for God.”
6 Is The Zombie Chicken Real?
A viral video people refer to as “zombie chicken” is freaking everybody out. Seemingly taking place in a restaurant, it shows a piece of raw meat start moving right off the plate and off the table while a woman is screaming in the background.Of course, given the day and age we’re living in, one question is on everyone’s minds: Is the video real? While we can’t say with certainty, it appears possible, although with a few caveats.The video comes from Asia and first went viral back in June on Chinese social media site Weibo. By the time it became a hit in the West, people referred to the video as “zombie chicken.” Although the meat could possibly be real, it is definitely not chicken. A few Asian media outlets identified it as skinned frog, which would make more sense.We have seen in the past footage of extremely fresh frog meat which started twitching when it was salted because the still-active neurons reacted to the sodium ion in the salt.[5] If this new video is real, then that is likely what is happening here, although to an extreme degree. However, at least one expert has dismissed the mystery meat as being frog, so that remains a pretty big “if.”
5 A Dildo For Ireland
Photo credit: The Irish Times
The Irish online community banded together and crowdfunded the purchase of an antique dildo to keep it in the country.Back in 2017, sex shop owner Shawna Scott from Dublin found out about the auction of a Victorian-era sex toy which she considered to be an important part of Ireland’s sexual history. Described as a “ladies’ companion,” the dildo was carved out of ivory and was kept in a...
10 No Clowning Around
9 A Close Encounter
An asteroid branded a “city killer” came within a “cosmic whisker” of Earth last week, and scientists had no idea that it was on the way.Just so everyone can relax, the rock passed close to our planet by space standards. At its nearest approach, it was still 72,000 kilometers (45,000 mi) away.[2] Still, that is about five times closer to us than the Moon.The asteroid, dubbed 2019 OK, is roughly 60 to 130 meters (200–420 ft) across and was racing through space at a speed of 87,000 kilometers per hour (54,000 mph). If it made contact, it would have hit Earth with the force of 30 Hiroshima bombs. Astronomers didn’t know about it because it came our way from the direction of the Sun, and they could only see the rock a few days prior to it passing us.
8 Public Enemy Back From The Grave
The body of notorious Depression-era gangster John Dillinger is set to be exhumed next month from Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis.[3]Dillinger, one of America’s most famous outlaws, was gunned down by FBI agents in 1934 in front of the Biograph Theater in Chicago. He and his gang were responsible for at least ten murders and numerous violent robberies.Now, 85 years later, a request to dig up his remains has been approved by the Indiana State Department of Health. The request came courtesy of his nephew, Michael Thompson. He claims to have evidence that suggests the body in the cemetery might not belong to John Dillinger. In fact, he believes the FBI gunned down the wrong man that fateful night in front of the Biograph Theater. An FBI spokesperson dismissed the claim, saying that there is plentiful proof of Dillinger’s identity, including three sets of fingerprints.The exhumation will be filmed for a documentary and, afterward, Dillinger’s body will be interred in the same place as before. Thompson has until September 16 to go through with it.
7 Putting On A Prayer
People who will be visiting Rochester, Kent, during August will surely stop to see the 900-year-old Rochester Cathedral, where they will be able to enjoy a few holes of miniature golf.For the entire month, the main central part of the church (nave) will be converted into a nine-hole course of crazy golf where each hole includes a famous British bridge alongside a panel with information about said bridge. This overpass obsession is due to the fact that the course was developed and paid for by the Rochester Bridge Trust.[4]A spokesman said that they are hoping the initiative will bring more young people and families into the beautiful cathedral, and while they are there, they might also learn a few things about the structures of different bridges. Reverend Rachel Phillips with the Rochester Cathedral believes that the minigolf will inspire people to build or mend metaphorical bridges in their lives.Not everyone is thrilled with this plan. Other church officials have decried the move, saying that it is “born of desperation” or that it tricks people into a “search for God.”
6 Is The Zombie Chicken Real?
A viral video people refer to as “zombie chicken” is freaking everybody out. Seemingly taking place in a restaurant, it shows a piece of raw meat start moving right off the plate and off the table while a woman is screaming in the background.Of course, given the day and age we’re living in, one question is on everyone’s minds: Is the video real? While we can’t say with certainty, it appears possible, although with a few caveats.The video comes from Asia and first went viral back in June on Chinese social media site Weibo. By the time it became a hit in the West, people referred to the video as “zombie chicken.” Although the meat could possibly be real, it is definitely not chicken. A few Asian media outlets identified it as skinned frog, which would make more sense.We have seen in the past footage of extremely fresh frog meat which started twitching when it was salted because the still-active neurons reacted to the sodium ion in the salt.[5] If this new video is real, then that is likely what is happening here, although to an extreme degree. However, at least one expert has dismissed the mystery meat as being frog, so that remains a pretty big “if.”
5 A Dildo For Ireland
The Irish online community banded together and crowdfunded the purchase of an antique dildo to keep it in the country.Back in 2017, sex shop owner Shawna Scott from Dublin found out about the auction of a Victorian-era sex toy which she considered to be an important part of Ireland’s sexual history. Described as a “ladies’ companion,” the dildo was carved out of ivory and was kept in a...
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