Congress kicks old people, kids and cancer victims to the curb

So our compassionate Congress rescued the frequent fliers from the horrible trauma of waiting too long on the tarmac, (and I assume also saved the private little airports serving the Lear Jets of the wealthy), with the greatest of haste. The Village consensus is "a win for Republicans." Certainly they see it that way. The roar of GOPers gloating over beating Obummer conveniently drowns out the anguished cries of the millions of Americans who are suffering real pain as a result of the GOP's parliamentary trickery. I guess that's how they're able to sleep at night with the full knowledge of their cruelty.

Republicans could end this sequester as quickly as they saved their fellow frequent fliers if they wanted to, by simply abolishing the damnable thing altogether. They won't because those tenacious bastards still see political advantage in sabotaging our economy. Think Progress has 12 stupid spending cuts Republicans refuse to reverse. Starting with effectively eliminating emergency benefits for the long term unemployed. As if the country is just awash with jobs that pay a living wage.

Sadly that's not the most sadistic indiscriminate slashing of funds. Disabled vets and the 80 year old housebound elderly poors who can't cook much less get to a food bank and depend on Meals on Wheels? Tough luck. GOP rules that wasteful spending. And if you need housing vouchers to keep a roof over your head? What's so wrong with a tent in a homeless camp?

Cancer patients being turned away from health care providers? Too bad dying people. Can't afford to keep all of you alive. And independent medical research? Sorry but Big Pharma is not that into finding cures for disease.

Oh and disaster survivors, we gotta cut back on this federal aid thing (unless of course, it's an industrial explosion in Texas). Figure the rest of y'all can do with a billion less.

These big cuts to public safety programs filter down to millions of individual citizens. NYT editorial at the link said it well:

The voiceless people who are the most affected by these cuts can’t afford high-priced lobbyists to get them an exception to the sequester, the way that the agriculture lobby was able to fend off a furlough to meat inspectors, which might have disrupted beef and poultry operations. And what was cut in order to keep those inspectors on the job? About $25 million from a program to provide free school breakfasts.

The sequester also cut Head Start funding. Because it's so much easier for a child born into poverty to lift themselves out of the ghetto when they start life homeless and hungry. [photo via]