All day the cable news networks have been showing helicopter rescues taking place in the flooded county of Kingfisher, Oklahoma.
People are being plucked by State Police helicopters out of rising water and off rooftops near the small town of Kingfisher.
But why are these people even there in the first place? Were they not aware that their creek might crest at 27 feet as the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin dropped 11 inches of rain in their locale?
Why are they not able to rescue themselves? Why are they using up valuable helicopter fuel that could be spent training the Oklahoma National Guard for its next tour of duty in Iraq?
Don't get me wrong, my heart goes out to the flood victims, and this is in no way an attack on their racial Okie origin or Okie culture.
But what is it with These People?
The answer may be unpleasant, but it must be faced.
It is no coincidence that These People, living as they do in rural Oklahoma, depend to a far greater degree on government handouts than more self-reliant city people.
In the last few decades, these poor people have become the victims of a deliberate attempt by the Republicans to foster in them a culture of dependency, keeping them on the government teat in order to buy their votes for the Republican party.
And now we see the sad results; people without even the self-reliance to swim a few hundred yards to safety, who just float there in the water waiting for the government to help them.
Again, let me plainly say that I take no joy in pointing this out. On the contrary, it saddens me to see the inevitable result of these supposedly humane, but actually deleterious government handouts.
I don't blame These People. They are the victims. It is the government I blame, and of course, the Republican party that continues these ag handouts at the expense of the self-reliance of the once proud Okies.
It hurts me to say it, it really does, but it must be said.
