In his speech to the UN President Obama talked about “an almost reflexive anti-Americanism” among people around the world. In a story about the speech Jennifer Loven, the AP White House correspondent, said the anti-Americanism Obama referred to “swept the globe under the administration of his predecessor, George W. Bush.”

Those were her words not his, though he’s made clear in other talks that he believes that.

Obama also said in the UN speech, “I took office at a time when many around the world had come to view America with skepticism and distrust.”

Oh, really. Hmm. That’s weird because the day before Obama’s talk where he trashed America and said everybody around the world hated us until he took office there was a story about a different talk at the UN.

In it leaders of several poor countries thanked the U.S. government and American for helping with economic development.

From the story: “The presidents of Tanzania and Burkina Faso and the prime minister of Albania said a U.S. government aid agency — which lets recipients decide on the best programs to reduce poverty — is having a major impact on the development of their countries.”

The three countries are among 38 nations in Africa, Asia, Europe and Central America that got grants totaling over $7.3 billion

Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha said, “I would like to thank U.S. government and U.S. taxpayer for their very generous help. It is my deep belief that this money was of great efficiency and help to my nation. Sixty million dollars granted three years ago were used in several projects which really changed my country.”

The money came from an agency created by Congress in 2004.

2004? Let’s see, who was the president in 2004 who signed that bill? Oh I remember, it was that evil George Bush that made everybody all over the world hate the Untied States.

Who pays for day care?

I came across a story about how day care centers are getting hurt by the state budget impasse. Some were laying off staff, cutting back hours or closing. Now one might think that as day care centers are private businesses, they wouldn’t be impacted so much by a state budget crisis.

But it turns out you and I and the rest of the state’s taxpayers are paying the day care bills of most families.

The story said 2,500 of the children in day cares in Luzerne County are subsidized by taxpayers. The subsidies leave most families with co-payments of $5 to $50 per week, while the state pays the rest of the full price, typically anywhere from $110 to $200 per week, per child. The story said that at one day care with 88 children, 75 are subsidized, while the other 13 children’s parents pay the full amount.

I wonder how the parents of those 13 children felt when they read that.

I know, it’s so compassionate. We have to pay for those low-income families day care or they won’t be able to work.

How do we know this? How do we know that if parents really wanted to work they couldn’t find a way with the help of family, friends, neighbors, split shifts or whatever it took? I believe they could because I believe in Americans’ inventiveness, work ethic and pride.

I believe those things, unlike liberal politicians who think of themselves as compassionate while they take other people’s money to pay for the rent, food, heat, day care, medical care, you name it, of some imagined great unwashed out there.

And they do this, I might add, while they look down their noses at the people they purport to help. I say this because people who care for their own kids and feed themselves must think of themselves as betters if they believe there are millions of other people incapable of caring for their own kids or feeding themselves.

In my opinion social welfare systems create dependency. Saying there are people incapable of caring for themselves without the government’s help is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

About the Author

Jack Smiles covers for the Times Leader. Reach him at or jsmiles@psdispatch.com.

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