White Supremecists in the Army, Exploitation of Undocumented Immigrants, and Losses of Food Stamps to the Most Needy

Our country is struggles galore.

One of the scariest things I've read in a long time is this article on white supremecists in the US Army. People with tattoos of swastikas and other racist symbols are being encouraged to just "give an explanation" when they enlist. And, obviously, these groups are now having increased access to and recruitment success among psychologically vulnerable men and women in the US Armed Forces with expertise and training. One person in the article pointed out that this war is particularly conducive to recruitment for racist groups. "The military is attractive to white supremacists," Millard says, "because the war itself is racist."

The author of the article, Matt Kennard, tried posing as a potential Army recruit with racist tattoos, with interesting results:

In the spring, I telephoned at random five Army recruitment centers across the country. I said I was interested in joining up and mentioned that I had a pair of "SS bolts" tattooed on my arm. A 2000 military brochure stated that SS bolts were a tattoo image that should raise suspicions. But none of the recruiters reacted negatively, and when pressed directly about the tattoo, not one said it would be an outright problem. A recruiter in Houston was typical; he said he'd never heard of SS bolts and just encouraged me to come on in.

It's in the interest of recruiters to interpret recruiting standards loosely. If they fail to meet targets, based on the number of soldiers they enlist, they may have to attend a punitive counseling session, and it could hurt any chance for promotion. When, in 2005, the Army relaxed regulations on non-extremist tattoos, such as body art covering the hands, neck and face, this cut recruiters even more slack.

In other news, three men were arrested for posing as Christian pastors and promising hundreds of undocumented immigrants that they would get them green cards for a fee of anywhere between $6,000-$10,000 per person. Without reform to our incredibly flawed system of course already-vulnerable undocumented immigrants trying to make a living are going to continue to be exploited and taken advantage of by individuals eager to make a buck. I also think it is interesting that the NYTimes focuses on this case but makes no mention of comparable exploitation going on elsewhere every day, primarily by major corporations. (read the full article here)

Also, Obama's stimulus package cut food stamps for some of the most needy, the Huffington Post reported last week. They write,

Under the economic recovery plan, laid-off workers have seen a $25 weekly bump in their unemployment checks as part of a broad expansion of benefits for the poor. But the law did not raise the income cap for food stamp eligibility, so the extra money has pushed some people over the limit.

Laid-off workers and state officials are only now realizing the quirk, a consequence of pushing a $787 billion, 400-page bill through Congress and into law in three weeks.

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What a mess.