<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Funny & awful.<div><br><div><div>On Jun 26, 2012, at 3:41 PM, E. Wayne Johnson wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> <div text="#000000" bgcolor="#ffffff"> Perhaps one of the most evil things that the US Government has done is to redirect foodstuffs <br> from the mouths of poor people to the maw of transportation. The production of "biofuels" is<br> an example of the Stupidity of Evil. As planned, the diversion of food to automobile fuels has<br> raised food prices worldwide, and put more pressure on the poor and hungry. <br> <br> It's hard for people to be happy when they are hungry. <br> They tend to get angry.<br> <br> Oh, you're hungry? Your poor wittle bewwy is empty? <br> How about some Gasohol soup? Oh, baby doesnt like Gasohol soup?<br> How about some nice Biodiesel, you ungrateful little twerp?<br> <br> Biofuels for your tank. <br> America needs more tanks.<br> Tanks a lot. Tanks but no tanks.<br> <br> "you know where to put the cork"<br> <br> <br> <br> On 6/27/2012 3:04 AM, Jenifer Cartwright wrote: <blockquote cite="mid:1340737478.2119.YahooMailClassic@web44903.mail.sp1.yahoo.com" type="cite"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; -x-system-font: none;" valign="top">Pls sign, then forward widely to yr family and friends. Color of Change gets results!<br> <br> --- On <b>Tue, 6/26/12, Rashad Robinson, ColorOfChange.org <i><a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:info@colorofchange.org"><info@colorofchange.org></a></i></b> wrote: <blockquote style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(16, 16, 255); margin-left: 5px; padding-left: 5px;"><br> <div id="yiv933870481"> <style type="text/css"> #yiv933870481 body, #yiv933870481 td, #yiv933870481 font {font-size:10pt;} #yiv933870481 #yiv933870481 td p {margin:0em;} #yiv933870481 p {margin:1em 0em;} #yiv933870481 td div p {margin:1em 0em;} </style><span style="margin: 1em 0px; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <table align="right" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td id="yiv933870481boxholder"> <table style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 10px; width: 240px;" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="padding: 16px;" align="center" bgcolor="#eeeeee"> <span style="margin: 1em 0px; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><strong>Why is Congress cutting food stamps while funding Big Agribusiness?</strong></span><p style="margin: 1em 0pt;"><a moz-do-not-send="true" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1584?t=1&akid=2528.394109.46JCrQ"><img moz-do-not-send="true" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.colorofchange.org/images/farmer7.jpg" alt="farmer" border="0"></a></p><p style="margin: 1em 0pt;"><strong><span style="margin: 1em 0px; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Demand a Farm Bill that protects critical nutritional assistance programs and livelihoods for Black family farmers.</span></strong></p><p style="margin: 1em 0pt;"><a moz-do-not-send="true" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1584?t=2&akid=2528.394109.46JCrQ"><img moz-do-not-send="true" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.colorofchange.org/images/btn_join_us.png" alt="Join Us" border="0"></a></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table><p>Dear Jenifer,</p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><strong>Congress is poised to both cut food stamps for nearly half a million recipients and cripple a program that assists Black family farmers</strong>. And while it's slashing these essential programs that help regular folks make ends meet, our Representatives are bending over backwards to protect billions in wasteful subsidies for Big Agribusiness.<sup>1,2</sup></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;">In light of the ongoing economic crisis — including stubbornly high rates of joblessness and food insecurity — <strong>it's imperative that healthy food, hungry people and struggling family farmers come first</strong>. But time is running out to make our voices heard: the House Ag Committee is now deliberating the text of the 2012 Farm Bill, the omnibus legislation that will dictate our agriculture and nutrition policy for the next five years.</p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;">The Farm Bill has already suffered major cuts to crucial programs in the Senate.<sup>3</sup> <strong>Amending the bill now before it passes out of the House committee is crucial to ensuring that our families — on the farm and off — will continue to be able to put enough food on the table even in the toughest of times</strong>. Please urge Congress to protect the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and safeguard livelihoods for Black family farmers. It only takes a moment:</p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><a moz-do-not-send="true" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1584?t=3&akid=2528.394109.46JCrQ">http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/farmbill_house/</a></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;">The Farm Bill was created over 60 years ago to help the country recover from the Great Depression, and to ensure that farmers could survive and people wouldn't go hungry. And that remains its primary purpose. The last Farm Bill was passed in 2008 and is set to expire in September of this year.</p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><strong>Ensuring food security for all</strong></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;">The largest expenditure in the Farm Bill funds the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, which helps hungry families buy groceries, provides a market for small farmers, and boosts local economies in some of the most depressed regions of our country. Put plainly, <strong>SNAP is key to ensuring food security for millions of Americans who are struggling</strong>.</p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;">46 million people, or more than one in seven Americans, have signed up for SNAP so far in 2012 — which is in keeping with the percentage of the U.S. workforce experiencing unemployment or underemployment.<sup>4</sup> Of that number, 22.5% are Black folks,<sup>5</sup> with as many as 9 in 10 Black children receiving food stamps before reaching the age of 20.<sup>6</sup> Yet, in spite of the staggering levels of American poverty and hunger these numbers represent, proposals continually roll in to eviscerate SNAP, a vital element of our rapidly-fraying social safety net.</p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;">And SNAP isn't just necessary to make sure that no one goes hungry — the program also reliably generates significant economic growth. For every dollar invested in the food stamp program, $1.71 is pumped back into the economy, helping to pay the wages of producers, grocers, truck drivers, and any number of other people who help move our food from farm to table.<sup>7</sup> In this way, SNAP is key to the economic stability of some of our poorest states.</p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><strong>Preserving livelihoods for Black family farmers</strong></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;">Protecting access to healthy and affordable food through SNAP is only half the battle. Also on the chopping block is a program dedicated to redressing the generations of disparate land loss experienced by so-called "socially disadvantaged" producers — meaning Black, Latino, Native American, and other minority farmers and ranchers historically discriminated against by the US Department of Agriculture.</p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><strong>For decades, USDA officials systematically denied Black farmers loans and subsidies that they routinely made available to white farmers</strong>.<sup>8</sup> At best, this state-sponsored discrimination retarded the growth of many Black farms, but in practice it resulted in many simply going under — causing devastating losses of land, income, and intergenerational vocational knowledge. In 1920, Blacks made up about 15 percent of the nation's farmers, but today that number is just one percent.<sup>9</sup></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;">The Farm Bill's 2501 program exists to ensure that today, minority producers have opportunities to successfully acquire, own, operate and retain farms and ranches despite the USDA's history of neglect and abuse. Specifically, 2501 seeks to guarantee that socially disadvantaged producers equitably participate in all USDA programs, through the provision of targeted financial and technical assistance. Yet the current version of the Farm Bill would decimate 2501, significantly slashing the program's funding and making it much more difficult to access resources.<sup>10</sup></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><strong>The 2501 Program and SNAP provide necessary resources to improve equity for Black farmers as well as ensure access to healthy food and vegetables for our families.</strong> So many Black folks are struggling in these tough economic times — it's critical that Congress prioritize safeguarding human lives and livelihoods over pandering to ludicrously profitable agribusiness corporations that don't need the help. Without sufficient resources provided in the Farm Bill, millions of families will have an even harder time making ends meet than they do today. Join us in urging our Representatives to fully fund those portions of the Farm Bill that our community relies on the most. And when you do, please ask your friends and family to do the same:</p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><a moz-do-not-send="true" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1585?t=4&akid=2528.394109.46JCrQ">http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/farmbill_house/</a></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;">Thanks and Peace,</p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;">-- Rashad, Gabriel, Dani, Matt, Natasha, Kim, Aimée and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team<br> June 26th, 2012</p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><strong>Help support our work. </strong>ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU—your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don't share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way. You can contribute here:</p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><a moz-do-not-send="true" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://act.colorofchange.org/go/205?t=5&akid=2528.394109.46JCrQ">http://www.colorofchange.org/donate</a></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;">References</p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;">1. "Food Leaders: The Farm Bill Props Up The Wrong People," The Atlantic, 06-05-2012<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1567?t=6&akid=2528.394109.46JCrQ">http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1567?t=7&akid=2528.394109.46JCrQ</a></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;">2. "Senate farm bill a small step forward for California," San Francisco Chronicle, 05-28-2012<br> <a moz-do-not-send="true" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1568?t=8&akid=2528.394109.46JCrQ">http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1568?t=9&akid=2528.394109.46JCrQ</a></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;">3. "Food Stamp Vote In Senate Blocks Bid To Restore $4.5 Billion In Aid," Huffington Post, 06-19-2012<br> <a moz-do-not-send="true" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1583?t=10&akid=2528.394109.46JCrQ"> http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1583?t=11&akid=2528.394109.46JCrQ</a></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;">4. "More than 46.4 Million Americans Participated in SNAP in March 2012," Food Research & Action Center, 03-01-2012<br> <a moz-do-not-send="true" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1570?t=12&akid=2528.394109.46JCrQ">http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1570?t=13&akid=2528.394109.46JCrQ</a></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;">5. "Fact Sheet: Poverty and Hunger among African-Americans" (.pdf), Bread for the World Institute, 02-2011<br> <a moz-do-not-send="true" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1580?t=14&akid=2528.394109.46JCrQ">http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1580?t=15&akid=2528.394109.46JCrQ</a></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;">6. "Study: Half of U.S. kids will receive food stamps," USA Today, 11-02-2009<br> <a moz-do-not-send="true" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1571?t=16&akid=2528.394109.46JCrQ">http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1571?t=17&akid=2528.394109.46JCrQ</a></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;">7. "The Farm Bill Should Protect Hungry Kids, Not Subsidies for Insurance Companies," Huffington Post, 06-06-201<br> <a moz-do-not-send="true" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1572?t=18&akid=2528.394109.46JCrQ">http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1572?t=19&akid=2528.394109.46JCrQ</a></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;">8. "Demand immediate justice for Black farmers," ColorOfChange.org, 04-01-2009<br> <a moz-do-not-send="true" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1573?t=20&akid=2528.394109.46JCrQ">http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1573?t=21&akid=2528.394109.46JCrQ</a></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;">9. "Payout to black farmers: Too little, too late," Atlanta Voice, 05-10-2012<br> <a moz-do-not-send="true" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1574?t=22&akid=2528.394109.46JCrQ">http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1574?t=23&akid=2528.394109.46JCrQ</a></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;">10. "The Farm Bill is Dead! Long Live the Farm Bill – Part Two," National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, 11-22-2011<br> <a moz-do-not-send="true" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1577?t=24&akid=2528.394109.46JCrQ">http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1577?t=25&akid=2528.394109.46JCrQ</a></p> <img moz-do-not-send="true" src="http://act.colorofchange.org/o.gif?akid=2528.394109.46JCrQ"> </span><p style="font-size: small;"> <br> <br> </p> </div> </blockquote> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <pre wrap=""><hr size="4" width="90%">
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