Isn't it amazing how easy it is for those who have never been poor or hungry to look down on those who are less fortunate?
You folks in Costa Mesa have yourselves a fine mayor, indeed. And you voted for him.

I live in Costa Mesa and I can provide insight. We are starting to have a really big problem with homeless people. I never encountered this in my life. It was right after the economy tanked. Mix that with our crazy politicians and the fact we make alot of money on "prestige" alone.

I love this city but we do have to get rid of the homeless-I hate saying it. People do alot of shopping here and we make a ton of money from it. They are becoming a nuisance, especially for all our tourists.

BTW I dont agree with what our mayor did, but this is only one of the crazy things politicians have done here.

And I want us to have soup kitchens etc. however we also need to solve the homeless problem. Sorry but people come here to do alot of shopping and having homeless beg for money makes them and us really uncomfortable.

It was cruel to confine the mentally disabled against their will, so we turned them loose to live on the streets. There has always been some number of hobos who chose the lifestyle. Then we have those who can't make it - reasons vary from financial misfortune, lack of friends and family, lack of skill or opportunity, drugs, alcohol, you name it.

Homelessness is a condition. The real problems aren't quite as easily solved.

“If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn’t help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus is just as selfish as we are or we’ve got to acknowledge that he commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition. And then admit that we just don’t want to do it.”

– Stephen Colbert

Stephan Colbert?

You are joking, right?

There is no homelessness in America. It ended on January 20, 2009.

He obviously didn't present it tactfully, but I think what he was trying to say is they are making it too easy for the homeless. There is no incentive to be responsible for yourself if you can just show up a soup kitchen and your needs are met.

Feevie- why would you think that was a joke?

oops- Feebie.

Well, first off Eric, one - this quote is a logical fallacy (called a "false alternantive") a falasy which Stephan relates to his eager, gullible and undereducated audience quite frequently. It's pretty much all he comes up with - because it's catchy, and quippy and is about the only way he can keep his low brow fan base's minuscule attention span.

Two, he is a narcissistic satirist - who enjoys wasting my tax money to make a mockery infront of paid public officials in a kabuki theater publicity stunt (so, in my estimation, he owes me a few bucks for wasting my money).

Three, he doesnt get what "Jesus" said at all. I could elaborate from a pure literary and historical perspective. But I would guess if you are a fan of his - then it is a flat out waste of time. I'm not religious, but I have a particular distaste for entertainers/atheist who distort What Jesus said to support their political statist agenda.

Cliff notes version: people should voluntarily help the poor. And he didn't exactly like the Roman Goat-rapist who were taking peoples money and giving it to a wealthy, immoral, state!

"Three, he doesnt get what "Jesus" said at all."

Stephen Cobert is a devout Catholic, and his comment is consistent with Catholic teaching.

How is this different from saying that welfare should be curtailed? Just because it involves soup kitchens it is bad? Maybe he just did not put things across in a diplomatic manner, but it is a well known fact that almost all welfare measures are abused inside out in America.

I was born and raised Catholic.

Jesus didn't like The State. He spoke of "voluntaryism". His comment is absurd. Kinda like the drivel I read from you and Eric.

"Render unto Ceasar" (bitches!)
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Render_unto_Caesar...

It's not up to the state to provide food for the poor- especially when it involves holding a gun to others head and punitively taking their money to do so!!!

Colbert sounds like a devout Statist in practice, not a Catholic. It's about the principles, not the catchy words!

Again. I loath it when Jesus is brought up by athiests and statists to make piss poor irrelevant arguments. You don't know what you're talking about.

Read it. This is written by an attorney.

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig11/barr-j1.1.1.html

Jesus was not in favor of collecting taxes to help the poor. He spoke out against dependncy on The State. Pilate was chief tax collector. Jesus spoke of voluntary charity and helping the poor.

Colbert is a moron and his Catholic label, is just that, Catholic in Name Only. Talk sure is cheap!

Those of you who live in CA and want to help the homeless, go and vote for the most pro growth politicians that you can. Stop voting for left wing nut jobs like Jerry Brown. This is what happens when you over regulate and over tax. You kill the golden goose that provides the jobs and just end up creating more poor people.

Feebie, you are running away with your own ranting, not absorbing the context of why I quoted Stephen Colbert.

I agree the welfare state, both rich and poor welfare, is out of control. It's corrupt.

However, it is usually the "Christian conservatives" that are the first to deny help to the poor, which is one of the central themes behind Jesus's message. In Matthew, Luke and Mark Jesus said "go home and sell everything and give it to the poor. You will have treasure in heaven." Not a lot of wiggle room there.

My borrowed quotation was to demonstrate the hypocrisy, especially of the concentration of wealth at the top who use Jesus in their platforms.

I don't understand the problem. He simply stated facts: 1) homeless people lower a city's attractiveness and 2) remove the food, the people will follow. I doubt many of you would want people pooping in your yard-in fact we KNOW how Amy feels about peeing near her property. Why should people in Cost Mesa feel differently than you?

Christian conservatives give more money to charity, even after controlled for income, than anyone else. (Who Really Gives). Religions run most of the nonprofit hospitals in this country.

Stephen Colbert lives better than 99% of us. I care about his thoughts on charity about as much as I care about Al Gores on the environment.

Eric, like I said - clearly there is a reason why you chose to quote Colbert. What I referenced were direct sources, not some political satirist's transparently divisive spin.

Basically, separation of church and state, ya know! As a conservative I believe in voluntarily helping the poor. I am 100% opposed to paying taxes to the state to do it. Hey, where are the churches in all this? Can't they run the soup kitchens? Are they being run out of town or prohibited from feeding the poor like in many so called progressive bastions?!?!

And m4 is dead on right! It's liberals who lack the charitable gene NoT conservatives. It's a well known fact. Even check out the NYT article here ("Tightwads").

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=&source=hp&q=conservative+vs+liberal+charitable+giving&oq=conservative+vs+liberal+charitable+&gs_l=mobile-gws-hp.1.0.0j0i30j0i8i30j0i22l2.2011.24889.0.27081.38.30.1.5.5.0.854.6441.2-1j4j3j3j2.13.0.les%3Behyp%2Ca%3D1%2Cb%3D1000%2Cn%3D5%2Ct%3D2..0.0...1ac.1.x_-WQU5BeLM

Saying it ain't so doesn't change the facts, Eric. Ya, keep watching Colbert. Good luck with that!

I wonder how many mouths Eric and doggone have volunteered their time to feed? Donated any money to organizations for the poor? How much?

>> I wonder how many mouths Eric and doggone have volunteered their time to feed?

Just one, about 7 years ago. A tobbaco and meth addicted baby that had no one to turn to, and me being a person that never wanted children but wouldn't leave this child to the system. He is my (not biologically) son.

And just for laughs, I was very influenced by Samuel Jackson in the film Pulp Fiction...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmvnXKRfdb8

These words influenced my decision to adopt this lost child, who now flourishes.

You are a single parent?

Nice to know a movie from Hollywood influences your decision making when it comes to such profound responsibilities in your life. And Colbert for your religious and political beliefs.

I'm married, and have been for almost 25 (Nov 19th) years.

I am going to be thrown under a bus for that, but hey that's life.

the rant from freebie and eric is illuminating. Because in my mind, it is not liberal and conservative that are or not christian, it is 95% of the mainlander (and some hawaiian too, but not all). Most mainlanders are "christian", and still it is okay to have poor people. but what's more, it is ok to pay minimum wages of 5$ without health insurance. How can you face god the day you die if you really believe in it. When I was 17, I wanted to fuck whatever moved, my church had a firm stand on sex and wedding. I did not play hypocritical like the other youngsters, I left the church and that god and went on my sex journey. back to the minimal wages, how can you think you are a good person when you accept (and find normal) that someone (not too smart obviously, and not well educated) has to clean your shit for less money that it takes to have a poor but decent life?

In houston, most people around me say: get rid of the latino, back to mexico! I am a stay at home dad. What I see, is the fifth column of gardener and maid, all fucking latino! So it is not that you really want the latino to go back, you want to put pressure on them, so that you can control them and underpay them. Hypocrites! If you really wanted to have the latino back, you know what to do: Take the TSA people out of the airport and put them in charge of the main intersections. (and amy will be happy to travel humanly again on plane).

By the way, I always find hilarious that the only white gardener i see here works for a non-caucasian family.

PS: Amy, I want to have the choice to go to work in space-jet, motorcycles, surfboard, horse, boat, bicycles!

@Eric: Congrats so the soon to come anniversary!

Eric. Weird because you gave your wife zero credit or parental acknowledgment in you decision to adopt.

Telling.

"However, it is usually the "Christian conservatives" that are the first to deny help to the poor, which is one of the central themes behind Jesus's message."

And again we see the mistaken idea that if someone does not want the government to do it, they must not want it done at all.

Folks are missing Colbert's point. He's not just saying that if your're Christian, you need to think the Government needs to take care of poor people. He's taking issue with the people who claim that this is a Christian country, that our laws regarding abortion and gay marriage should be based on the teachings of Jesus. If you want to run a Jesus-based government, fine, but I'd guess that one of the problems he had with the government at the time was that it didn't take care of the poor.

@Feebie, I think it's more telling that he thinks raising his kid is the same as giving to/performing acts of charity. Eric, he's either your son or your charity case. Not both.

FWIW I agree that Colbert has a point as clinky explained---the government is either supposed to ask WWJD and do that or not. I vote not.

But that's really neither here no there with regards to the soup kitchen question. It's silly to act as though anyone opposing the *location* of the soup kitchen is opposing the *existence* of it and it's silly to pretend that soup kitchens don't have drawbacks. It may make much more sense to feed the poor people somewhere else, why is that so hard to understand?

"He's taking issue with the people who claim that this is a Christian country, that our laws regarding abortion and gay marriage should be based on the teachings of Jesus. "

But that's based on the extremely warped view of what Christianity is. In fact, it's so warped that Colbert's quote doesn't actually have any meaning, one way or the other, in the real world.

(And relying on Stephen Colbert for guidance on questions of personal morality? Really. What a fucking joke. Colbert is a narcissistic empty suit, just like everyone else in Hollywood. I can absolutely guarantee you that there are no homeless people wandering around his neighborhood and smearing shit on his front door.)

It didn't go unnoticed that Feebie did a lot of heavy lifting here today and it is not Tuesday. I think a promotion is called for. She has been working her butt of lately and she is with child you know.

butt off - I've been making that same mistake most of my life, why oh why.

Although I personally have no knowledge of the state of Feebie's butt, it does appear that we're going to have to start letting her in the clubhouse on Mondays too.

:-)

I've been traveling to Costa Mesa for 12 years, and it is pristine and luxurious. I've never seen a homeless person. I would eat off the sidewalks. The waitresses have more expensive highlights than I do.

On one trip, though, I saw that someone vandalized the exterior of our swank office building: "I Will Not Forgive the Sins of the Rich."