Comment: After watching Frontline last night, it's hard to be "optimistic" about Haiti's future. We Americans are addicted to our "democratic" narrative, as if one size fits all. But the level of corruption & crime in Haiti, as is the case elsewhere, but especially so in Haiti, can make democracy nothing but a manipulated sham. Look here in our own backyard of America, where OUR public officals have been pretty much fully privatized with legislation & handouts on retainer for those engaged in buying their own corporate welfare subsidies, fractions of a penny on the dollar, the best ROI anywhere.

Haiti simply needs a benevolent autocrat dictator, that, e.g., Singapore benefited from in its stellar development. 10,000 NGO's suck the life blood out of any potentially effective Haiti government; where they are naturally distrustful due to rampent corruption, and protect their carved out turf of power & influence, as they see fit.

Chicken or the egg... when do you allow a corrupt goverment to "takeover" its own country... while tolerating all the dysfunctional corruption and incompentency... while it finds its sea legs towards, maybe someday... effectiveness? It's an absolute mess there. I say find a benevolent dictator... let him/her run free... with SUPPORTING, COORDINATED NGO's at his or her side. Fastest way to better way of life, imho. It's a military model of leadership: one leader.

"Aid" is also making them dysfuctionally dependent... which is a real kill joy for those who wish to help. Watch Frontline on PBS World today, or online. Eye-opening. Stellar production. Our insistence on "democracy" is exponentially counter-productive there. </ two cents>

wow....word escape me....

@J.Brown,

It sounds like you need to see the place for yourself. Make arrangements, go on a trip and educate yourself before passing judgement. If this isn't possible, do a little research on the internet. And, while you're at it, do some reading about poverty and how it functions. Hell, find the poverty in your own community and take an honest look at it.

Please. For all our sakes.

<< Matthew 25 >>
New American Standard Bible

35‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37“Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40“The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

41“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; 42for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ 44“Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ 45“Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46“These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

You and Senator Coburn, Browning. Would not want to be either of you on Judgement Day.

@J Brown: Do you make a habit out of being completely obtuse, or is it just on this subject?

Where were you born? Did your community have an infrastructure that takes care of water, sewage, garbage? Have you ever thought about what your life would be like without those things? What would you do if they were gone tomorrow? What would you do if they had never been there in the first place?

Step outside your life. Think.

It has happened here in America too. Hurricane Katrina NOLA, some redneck was rattling on about the only solution for Katrina refugees was to have them all sterilized because of the giant drain they produced on the system...

face the facts

The difference is the pets were wanted and don't cause social problems. The blacks (and whites) who were stranded by Katrina were the lowest economic and educational rung of society. They march to their own drummer, and expect the rest of us to pick of the pieces of their mistakeb lives through government handouts and charity. This has got to stop. This happens when people who cannot support themselves are allowed to reproduce, and have dropped out of school, and who have addictions to alcohol and drugs, fast food, etc. Until this element is eleminated from society there will be major problems. The world is running out of resources rapidly. Those that from birth to grave will never contribute anything good need to be stopped from reproducing and making this problem bigger and bigger and bigger. This is not a racial issue, as people like this exist in all the races. The blacks stand out in the case of Katrina because New Orleans is mainly black. A government program to pay $1000. to anyone who wants to be sterilized would be a cheap and viable solution to the problem. Also, a permit should be required to have a child. If all of the things required to raise a child properly cannot be provided, then no children should be allowed. Like everything in life, if you cannot afford it, you don't get it. When someone buys a car they cannot afford, that only hurts the. When someone has children they cannot afford, it hurts all of decent working society as we end up paying for the support of the children of deadbeats. This needs to stop NOW.

Eugenics and final solution talk plays real well with this crowd, though most of them are too polite to admit it. These are the same people to scream and moan day and night about how the wealthiest Americans are suffering and need billions more dollars in tax cuts when people are being cut off of unemployment insurance. Rich, so very rich.