AFP/Hrvoje Polan


Song in my head
Fifteen men on a dead man's chest
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum
Drink and the devil had done for the restYo ho ho and a bottle of rum.
Almut Koerting

I appreciate it when other bloggers show their sensitivity to issues like poverty and homelessness. In that light I bring your Archy's post on finding creative ways to alleviate the suffering of the "have-nots", titled, "Blow up the Poor".

Blow up the poor

Finally, some real leadership and creative thinking on the problem of homelessness and poverty.

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport planned to give 11 boxes of surrendered items to the city's human services department, which will give the unopened bottles of shampoo, toothpaste and other items to homeless shelters, airport spokeswoman Lexie Van Haren said.


Let's see if we can follow this through. We take these bottles away from people boarding planes because they might contain bomb ingredients. Then we feel bad about throwing away perfectly good products, so we donate them to the poor. We know it's safe enough for the poor to use because it's in unopened bottles. We think the products are too dangerous to allow on planes because terrorists can always fix it so that the bottles look unopened. We cannot accept the risk of letting these potentially reactive or explosive chemicals on a plane, but it is an acceptable risk to let the homeless pour these potentially reactive or explosive chemicals on their heads.

Is the conclusion that we can draw from this: a) our leaders harbor murderous intentions toward the poor; b) our leaders care more about appearing wasteful than they do about helping the poor; c) our leaders are completely clueless about the implications of their actions; or d) our leaders' commitment to transportation security is completely bogus. Choose as many as you think apply.