Grand Forks event to help homeless, poor starts today
November 14, 2012 at 2:55 pm in Grand Forks Herald
Organizers expect more people will show up this year thanks to a boom in the number of homeless and poor people in North Dakota. Many came looking for work in the Oil Patch, but weren’t able to find jobs before running out of money for rent. Continue Reading
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The economy must be WONDERFUL, when charities have to ADVERTISE for poor people to show up and get freebies.
Very much like Tri-Valley advertising “heating assistance” in the East Grand Forks movie theater. They want to give money to those poor, poor people who can’t pay their heat bill…but have money to attend movies.
Apparently, the only part of the Oil Boom Grand Forks is seeing is the overflow of jobless oil-field wannabes pouring in from out-of-state. At least, that’s what we’re told:
“The energy boom is drawing so many people who have few resources and no place to live until finding a new job that it’s causing a people boom spilling over into the Red River Valley, said Michael Carbone, executive director of the North Dakota Homeless Coalition,”
I don’t think they’re REALLY trying to get jobs in “The Oil Field”. I think they’ve heard that “North Dakota” has a heap of un-spent tax dollars, and they figure the charities must be well-funded. Thus they descend like locusts. They’re welcome to go back, back to where they once belonged.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Schurkey: you need to look up Karma. I would live in fear of it if you actually believe what you post. Karma is a decidedly unchristian concept, but God’s wrath/judgement/justice is not. What goes around comes around as they say.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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It is NOT wrong to suggest that folks NOT prey on the taxpayer.
It is NOT wrong to suggest that an enormous amount of resources are being squandered on people who have a history of making poor choices–and then being REWARDED for their bad decisions with money “legally stolen” from the taxpayer. Less reward would encourage better thinking. Too much “assistance” robs people of dignity AND ambition. Too much “safety net” ENCOURAGES irresponsible behavior.
It is NOT wrong to explain that folks who are just following the Gravy Train of “entitlements” wherever the train happens to be going at the moment are undeserving of those subsidies.
Point ‘em towards Aspen.
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I purposefully waited to see who would post and what form those posts would take. You did not disappoint me.
Let me give you this to chew on. Many of you during the last election went on and on about how the moral fabric of our country is going straight to the dogs, and how four more years of the coloured man in the casa de blanco would spell the ruin of Western civilization as we know it.
You also went on and on about the social issues: abortion, gay marriage, freedom of uncensored speech, etc. You never missed an opportunity to remind people that this was a Christian nation and we should act accordingly.
With this in mind I’d like to rain in your cheerios if I may.
The Tea Party is 100% correct: God never meant for government to be in the welfare business. He had already assigned that responsibility: to the church. The New Testament is full of exhortations and examples. Did you know Jesus spoke of money more often than Hell? It was that important to Him.
He was very specific: the Church is to take care of those who are downtrodden. The Church is to heal the sick, visit people in prison, feed the hungry, clothe the naked and otherwise do whatever is needed to make sure people do not starve or freeze to death.
So folks: Do you actually believe what you profess to, or do you just wear the fish on the front of your shirt to pick up chicks?
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Thumbs up…I wholeheartedly agree about the role of Government vs. “The Church” when it comes to Charity.
I will expand “The Church” to include “The Mosque”, “The Synagogue”, “The Temple”…etc. For that matter, any person of good conscience no matter their “religious” affiliation.
The dividing line for me is: “Charity ENFORCED via the tax code; under penalty of law and threats of incarceration” versus “Charity freely given”.
The only genuine charity is genuinely voluntary charity. Enforced charity is “Wealth Redistribution” and is evil.
Get Government OUT of the Charity Industry. Government is no damn good at it; they’ll throw money at anything that has the potential to generate votes, no matter how harmful it is to the taxpayers in general; or how parasitic the recipient is.
I therefore take some offense at your apparent attacks on me. Seems we’re suggesting the same thing.
Please provide me with your evidence that I:
“went on and on about how the moral fabric of our country is going straight to the dogs, and how four more years of the coloured man in the casa de blanco would spell the ruin of Western civilization as we know it.
You also went on and on about the social issues: abortion, gay marriage, freedom of uncensored speech, etc. You never missed an opportunity to remind people that this was a Christian nation and we should act accordingly.”
I submit that that DOES NOT reflect the posts I’ve made. With specific reference to the “COLOURED MAN” paragraph, I state openly that Obama is ALMOST as bad as Dubbya Bush; and in many of the same ways. This has nothing to do with race or color, it has to do with a TOTAL LACK OF RESPECT for the Constitution, the Citizen, and the Citizen’s Tax Dollars.
There are three evil forces attempting to reduce Humans to slavery.
Big Religion
Big Government
Big Business
The first two have been a plague on Civilization since forever. The best situation then was when one fought the other, and left the people mostly alone. The third is relatively new; and with Big Business currently in collusion with Big Government, people are suffering again.
If ALL THREE ever team up, you’ll find out the REAL purpose behind all the surveillance cameras in this world. When the AntiChrist comes, he’s going to find that we’ve already built his infrastructure.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Schurkey: I did not point you out specifically in my post on purpose. I was referring to my faux Christian brethren that believe God is Republican.
I did call you out on bad Karma. The average American is less than 6 weeks away from homeless. Do you have enough savings to survive a new furnace, a major car repair & an unforeseen furlough or layoff?
Just be very careful with the overly judgmental you are poor because you choose to be. While that may be true for a % of people on welfare; it is an unsupportable generalization.
Most of the people who show up will have a job, just not make enough to survive.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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“Schurkey: I did not point you out specifically in my post on purpose. ”
Yours were the THIRD and FOURTH posts in this thread. None and I were the only two to post before you, although replies after the fact have added to the post count above your main reply.
“Many of you…”
If it’s plural, you must therefore have meant None and I.
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Yes, we should help others whenever we can. This is something most people teach their kids at an early age. So here’s how I would help…
If you are a homeless person truly from Grand Forks or even ND, we will help you with food and shelter until you can get back on your feet. If you are a homeless person from out of state, we will help you with transportation costs to get back to where you came here from, hopefully those back home can help you once you arrive. Finally, if you are from out of state and homeless, but want to stay here and build a life here, we welcome you, we will help you but certain deadlines and progress will be enforced or you will have to leave.
We should help others, but that doesn’t mean we can’t help ourselves by setting the guidlines and managing outcomes. We must have control of who gets help here and who gets a ride back to where they called home. I would be interested to know what percent of residents at the mission are actual ND citizens?
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I’m all for churches doing charity work with poor people and the homeless just as long as they don’t make them sing “Jesus loves me” and sign pledges to join a bible study group before they get their dinner. I think people should have a fundamental right to be free from religion if they chose to be. Making homeless people dance to whatever tune before they get help is a step too far. I think that’s where the government has a huge role to play so that help is given to all, even those not able to stomach the religious stuff.
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What you say would be true if the state was providing the service. If a church or other private organization is providing the service, there is no such expectation.
If listening to the Gospil is the price of your meal, & you don’t want to hear it, don’t eat.
My favorite charities never discriminate on externals. Black, white, green, or yellow it does not matter. Christian, Muslim, Jew, agnostic, or atheist; it is irrelevant.
What separates them from many is you have to give back. We will help house you, but you will have chores. Look up 2 Thessolonians 3:10. There is a breathalyzer at intake & you will pee in a cup.
You will definitely hear the Gospil, but no conversion story will get you a bed if you have alcohol or drugs in your system.
The goal is a safe place to move on. We give tools. You do the work. No person is allowed to drag down the entire community.
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There will be jobs opening up pretty soon in the oil field. Once real winter sets in you find many who don’t think they’re making enough to work out in that kind of weather…Especially those working on the derricks. If you didn’t grow up where there was at least temps around zero in Dec and Jan then going sub zero is pretty near a torture to some of those from the south
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