No Compassion

DB has always been a fan of the Talking Heads and, in particular, the song "No Compassion." But the song has so much more meaning today with our "Compassionate Conservative Decider" at the helm:

In a world
Where people have problems
In this world
Where decisions are a way of life
Other people's problems they overwhelm my mind
They say compassion is a virtue, but I dont have the time

So many people have their problems
I'm not interested in their problems
I guess I've experienced some problems
But now I've made some decisions
Takes a lot of time to push away the nonsense
Take my compassion, push it as far as it goes
My interest level's dropping, my interest level is dropping
I've heard all I want to, I dont want to hear any more

While Bush is strolling around New Orleans trying to convince America that he really cares, the news out of the Census Bureau yesterday paints a different picture:

"However, the number of people without health insurance increased to 46.6 million in 2005. About 45.3 million people were without insurance the year before. The last decline in the poverty rate was in 2000, during the Clinton administration, when it dropped to 11.3 percent. With the poverty rate steady but median household income rising, 'that could represent an increase in inequality' between the wealthy and the poor, said David Johnson, chief of the Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division of the Census Bureau."

If anything has trickled down from the top, it's Bush's compassionate conservatism. Today, over 400 Radio Shack employees got this in their e-mail inboxes:

"The work force reduction notification is currently in progress. Unfortunately your position is one that has been eliminated."

A freakin' e-mail.

Last week, Northwest Airlines apologized for sending their employees a handbook titled "Ground Operations Restructuring Q&A and Employee Support."

Northwest rattled some employees because of one section in the handbook. In that section -- "Coping with Job Loss" -- was a list of "101 Ways to Save Money," which was not reviewed by Northwest management, according to Blahoski.

Now, remember this was given to employees, some of whom might be losing their jobs by no fault of their own. Here's some of what they were told:

• Buy spare parts for your car at the junkyard.

• Get hand-me-down clothes and toys for your kids from family and friends.

• Take a shorter shower.

• Buy old furniture at yard sales and refinish it yourself.

• Volunteer two hours a month through a food-sharing program to get reduced-cost food.

• Hang clothes out to dry.

• Borrow a dress for a big night out, or go to a consignment shop.

• Ask your doctor for samples of prescriptions.

• Don't be shy about pulling something you like out of the trash.

Really... what can you say after that?