MICHELE BACHMANN: ‘IF ANYONE WILL NOT WORK, NEITHER SHOULD HE EAT’

[kpete]

MICHELE BACHMANN: ‘IF ANYONE WILL NOT WORK, NEITHER SHOULD HE EAT’ | GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann promised to significantly lower funding to social safety net programs during a speech at the Family Research Council this morning, going so far as to suggest that people who can’t work should not eat. “Our nation needs to stop doing for people what they can and should do for themselves,” she said. “Self reliance means, if anyone will not work, neither should he eat.”

Video & more:
http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2011/11/07/362845/michele-bachmann-if-anyone-will-not-work-neither-should-he-eat/

[seabeyond]

1. where are the jobs... bachmann. nt

[pschoeb]

124. she has a jobs progam plan called "work sets you free"

It sounds better in the original german "Arbeit macht frei" ;)

[amb123]

132. Official Bachmann & GOP Reply

"GET OFF YOUR LAZY BUTT AND CREATE YOUR OWN DAMN JOB! QUIT WASTING OUR TIME!"

:sarcasm:

[Johonny]

141. and yet they claim the top 1 % are the job creators.

So how would the poor create said job :)

[valerief]

2. Why is she still breathing? nt

[FiveGoodMen]

96. My question, too.

[Leopolds Ghost]

131. Unfortunately, Paul said nothing about the right to breathe. :-(

[Myrina]

3. Does that apply to CongressCritters who refused to bring up, debate or vote on legislation?

:shrug:

[MarkCharles]

14. +1000! recommend your post. n/t

[redqueen]

18. +1

[Tippy]

21. + 2

[L0oniX]

27. +99%

[uponit7771]

146. +1

[KansDem]

4. Remind me what she does again to put food on a plate in front of her?

Oh, and her husband, too...

[teddy51]

11. She runs her mouth like this and the stupid American citizens actually

pay her for doing it. ugh.

[HopeHoops]

5. Damn. She obviously hasn't gotten laid in at least a decade. And I doubt Marcus did the deed.

What a waste of flesh.

[livetohike]

6. At the Family Research Council.....nice. That woman is

unhinged. Such an ugly soul.

[teddy51]

7. I seriously doubt if we ever have to worry about her sitting the WH anyway,

but God help us if we did.

[pinboy3niner]

8. Tom Joad would be so proud

:sarcasm:

[closeupready]

9. Fuck her miserly bullshit.

:puke:

[ChairmanAgnostic]

10. Hey, Hitler did the same thing in Poland!

[SOS]

12. Does riding around on a bus in Iowa count as work?

:shrug:

[GodlessBiker]

13. Does this include the children of those who don't work? She clearly doesn't want to live in ...

a society.

[Ruby the Liberal]

38. "kids need jobs." - Michele Bachmann

http://www.cbsnews.com/8618-503544_162-20103207.html?assetTypeId=41&messageId=11278265&blogId=503544

[baldguy]

15. Does this include corporate banksters & hedge-fund managers?

After all, they don't produce anything.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

16. John Boehner just set his tanning bed on high in agreement

before he retires to the golf course for 18 holes, followed by several rounds of martinis with his hard-working buddies.

[bluestateguy]

17. So as long as somebody does work, they're OK, right?

Even if there is no demand for that work? Even if there is not an actual paid job associated with it? As long as it is work, they're OK.

So a squeegee guy who just randomly comes up to your car at a busy traffic stop and starts cleaning your windows (without being asked), he is working, right? He's not likely going to get paid anything, but that is work. So he should pass Bachmann's test.

[PDJane]

19. This is a thoroughly despicable woman

Ugly straight to the bone.

[Skittles]

121. she is absolutely sickening

:puke:

[Lizzie Poppet]

20. I knew you'd come around, Michelle!

Sounds a bit like "from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs."

Of course, that's not what that batshit crazy ninny meant, since for her the current "from each according to his ability, to the 1% according to their greed" status quo is just ducky...

[Zorra]

22. These are the words of Paul, the god of RW fundamentalist Paulists.

Can you imagine Jesus "Love Your Neighbor, Heal the Sick" Christ espousing this type of evil, cold hearted drivel?

Here is a video a group of RW fundamentalist Paulists advocating the slow death of people that are severely ill:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zy9TvrSGVHE

Michelle Bachmann is about as much of a Christian as Vlad the Impaler was.

[yodermon]

33. is there a cite for Paul expressing that sentiment? n/t

[Zorra]

55. Yeah, Thessalonians 3:10 in the epistles of Paul. nt

[librechik]

72. my dear mother had a copy of this verse on a slip of paper in her wallet

so she would never forget where the "fine print" in the Bible gives Christians an out-clause on charity. She was given the verse by my cousin, also a tight fisted Republican Tru Believer. I guess, according to them, Jesus wasn't all that sincere about helping the poor. Buried in the Bible is one clause that will get you out of the obligation. And they still think they'll be saved!

[Tsiyu]

104. The problem she has with quoting from the New Testament is:

according to the same guy she's quoting (Paul) she doesn't need to be in public TEACHING for Saul's sake! She should be home in the kitchen, barefoot and with child.....

Why does her husband let her out of the house?

[MadMaddie]

110. um technically she is the husband right?

[Tsiyu]

114. Not according to the Bobble.

She's missing some key equipment.

No leadership without TESTiclies in the New TESTament...

[Leopolds Ghost]

127. The problem they have is that Paul was describing how to operate the communism of the Early Church.

The communists who operated Plymoth Plantation made similar exhortations in an effort to maintain productivity in their egalitarian, utopian community.

Suck on that, Michelle Bachmann.

[yodermon]

90. ty.

[ChazInAz]

115. Let's be fair.

Vlad was a very good Christian....why just look at all the churches and monasteries he founded and supported.
Of course, he did burn all those unemployed people alive that time....

[MarkCharles]

23. Is she going to give jobs to everyone that doesn't have one? There's about

5- 10 unemployed people applying for every single job out there in the USA today, and another couple dozen that simply don't see any job for which to apply.

So is she going to come up with jobs for every worker? Isn't that, you know, "socialism"?

[ljm2002]

24. Proving once again, she is nothing but a useful tool...

...for the oligarchs. She couches the hateful rhetoric in religion and morality, as if the lack of available jobs is the fault of those who are out of work. Never mind there are 4 or 5 job seekers for every available job, that is not relevant. Let those extra people starve! It's the same way that religion works to convince people that their lot in life is as it should be, that it's all a matter of "personal responsibility". A very useful fiction indeed.

If people started banding together and building their own housing and creating their own urban gardens, she would be the first to condemn them.

She is an ugly, hateful person.

[PETRUS]

25. She is cherry-picking and misinterpreting Thessalonians 2.

If she is going to rely on Christian theology to make her point, she needs to get it right.

[Ganja Ninja]

26. Perhaps arresting, trying them and housing them in jail will be cheaper.

Since if they're starving their likely to do whatever it takes to feed themselves and their kids including committing criminal acts.

[Turbineguy]

28. Family Research Counsel.

Very droll.

[sinkingfeeling]

29. And she dares to call herself a 'Christian'?

[toddwv]

30. That's exactly what Jesus Christ said.

"Let the poor starve. They are nothing but freeloaders. Especially their children. The children are useless to my Kingdom AFTER they've been born. Let them starve too."
~Tea Party Jesus

[libinnyandia]

35. and the Bible is mistranslated: instead of suffer the little

children to come to me its should make the little children suffer.

[GodlessBiker]

36. So true.

[LeftishBrit]

31. Then give people jobs.

And by the way I have read this text in Thessalonians, and it's pretty clear that in the context it is an attack on people who joined early Christian communities as hangers-on without intending to contribute in any way, rather than a general social prescription about the treatment of poor people. I'm an atheist by the way, but I can't stand Republicans distorting the Bible to suit themselves.

[WCGreen]

76. Exactly!

[renegade000]

32. i wonder how we would enforce that rule for

wealthy people who mooch off inheritances and such.

[Democrats_win]

34. Yes, but why does our labor have to pay for the Military Industrial Complex?

Doesn't the Bible say something about cutting off offensive members (of our bodies) that cause us to sin? So why not cut off the murderous military industrial complex? Those who refuse to work for such a system are, in effect, doing just that! Yet they certainly deserve to eat---more than those who do work and support this great evil! (of course this is all a judgement call.)

Nevertheless, working in the micro-managed mess of our economy today serves as Karma for those who are supporting this great evil.
Work has become punishment. Even though work could be something that people enjoy and use to socialize and further their own goals.

[LiberalEsto]

37. So the lazy 1%, who live on investment income

should put down their platinum-plated forks right now!

[Coyote_Bandit]

39. I'd like to know

what her kids do and whether they are self-supporting.

[chaska]

40. Before corporations took over the entire economic world...

people worked for themselves. Working for another was considered one notch above slavery. Nowadays you'll find yourself in direct competition with them if you want to have your own business. The only small businesses that can make it in this economy operate in niches that aren't owned by the corporations.

Therefore, if the corporations aren't hiring, you don't work.

[OnionPatch]

125. That is really the truth these days.

Everyone these days has to be a cog in a corporate wheel. Our government used to protect the economy against monopolies so the little guys would have a chance, but huge corporations monopolize nearly EVERY sector of our economy now. There are very few niches the big guys haven't gobbled up yet. Even a small farmer can't make a living anymore. We're pretty much at the mercy of the corporations these days. Try making a living if they aren't hiring.

[Name removed]

41. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[TBF]

42. Jesus and I are with you Michelle - but you misquoted a bit

I think this is the phrase she is going for: From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs!

Used by Marx most famously, but the origin of this phrasing has also been attributed to the French communist Morelly,<4> who proposed in his 1755 Code of Nature "Sacred and Fundamental Laws that would tear out the roots of vice and of all the evils of a society" including:
I. Nothing in society will belong to anyone, either as a personal possession or as capital goods, except the things for which the person has immediate use, for either his needs, his pleasures, or his daily work.
II. Every citizen will be a public man, sustained by, supported by, and occupied at the public expense.
III. Every citizen will make his particular contribution to the activities of the community according to his capacity, his talent and his age; it is on this basis that his duties will be determined, in conformity with the distributive laws.

And, most interestingly, some scholars trace the origin of the phrase to the New Testament. In the parable of the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus spoke of what we are given, according to our abilities; to test the commitment of the steward to his master. In Acts the Apostles' lifestyle is described as communal (without individual possession), and uses the phrase "distribution was made unto every man according as he had need"

Cite: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_each_according_to_his_ability,_to_each_according_to_his_need

All that believed were together, and had all things in common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. (Acts 2:44-45)

[DirkGently]

43. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands,

so that he may have something to share with anyone in need

Ephesians 4:28 ESV

[PatSeg]

44. Of all the stupid things this woman has said,

this one just turned my stomach. How Christian of her.

[buczak]

45. walmart welfare

Why is it that many workers at Walmart or other minimum wage jobs can qualify for food stamps and other assistance?

[ck4829]

46. Let's start with Paris Hilton and the Waltons then

You're not working if you're living off of an inheritance, right?

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

47. So, she'd have let Jesus starve. He lived on handouts.

[salin]

48. So... she wants to raise taxes on the poor,

protect tax cuts for the rich, and wants a national epidemic of starvation.

Got it.

[Marr]

49. Odd. Then shouln't all capitalists starve?

I mean actual capitalists-- people who make money by moving money-- not the hordes of moronic serfs who've been convinced they're actually knights.

[geardaddy]

She doesn't work. She uses taxpayer money to promote herself.

end of story.

Edited to add: I fucking hate that waste of human flesh.

[sufrommich]

50. What about their kids, should they starve too? If only they

could stay fetuses forever, then the GOP would care.

[crim son]

51. Yeah, and if anybody be not sane, she should keep her *$%^X! mouth shut. n/t

[Matariki]

52. I have a secret hope that thousands of hungry people show up at Bachmann's door

and WORK their way through her house to raid her refrigerator.

[Matariki]

53. Do you think the Republicans are going for the Reagan "Welfare Queen" meme?

Attempting to shift the blame of the cause of unemployment in the mind of the public? Foster the idea that there is a whole class of lazy people who want to live off other's labor (and there is, but not the people Bachmann is trying to make it out to be. That would be the people she serves.)

[barbtries]

123. they never stopped.

Cain: if you're poor, blame yourself!
such a sick country we have here. sigh.

[robertpaulsen]

54. Straight out of the gospel of the god she prays to: Supply Side Jesus!

[TNDemo]

56. Especially those quadriplegic ones.

They're just lazy.

[PatSeg]

57. She needs to read her bible

"When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

Nothing was said about only inviting the EMPLOYED.

[Xithras]

58. I had a nitwit friend post this on Facebook a few minutes ago. My response:

"Great soundbyte, but it misses the point entirely. Most Americans are completely willing to work hard and support themselves. It's not a matter of a person deciding that he "WILL NOT WORK", but of our corrupt society eliminating jobs so that he "CAN NOT WORK". If a person is willing to work hard, but there are no jobs around for him to perform, should he still starve?"

So far, no response.

[The Straight Story]

62. Post this as your reply:

[Xithras]

65. Well, it makes me feel better...

...to know that his comment already has nine replies, and every one of them agrees with me.

Most people are intelligent enough to see the stupidity of Bachmann's positions without visual aids. When you're so extreme that even the extremists in your own party won't support your candidacy any more, it's time to hang up the hat. The fact that Bachmann ranks so poorly even among Republicans demonstrates that she's not really a "conservative", but is simply "nuts".

[Quantess]

89. You stumped him/her.

It's incredible to fathom that anyone could be so cognitively challenged, but, maybe you gave your facebook friend an entirely new concept to ponder...and the gears in their brain are chugging hard. That's why you haven't gotten a response yet.

[Name removed]

59. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[TwilightGardener]

60. What weird, cruel timing to say such things, when so many are falling behind,

or struggling to stay afloat, or can't find work.

[GoCubsGo]

61. Well then, this ignorant bint should be starving by her own standards.

Because, most sane, intelligent people don't consider what she does for a living as anything resembling "work".

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

63. Apparently, the actual translation from the Greek is very different

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/He_who_does_not_work,_neither_shall_he_eat


Instead of "if anyone will not work" the actual translation is "he who is UNWILLING to work. That's different from those who can't work or who can't find work or who can't find enough work to keep them from falling through the cracks. What's funny is that this biblical reference has often been used in the past by communists to describe the bourgeois overlords who profit off the labor of others.

[Duer 157099]

64. Good, then all those trust-fund babies and other wealthy slackers

can starve.

Oh wait, she doesn't mean them, does she?

[Ikonoklast]

66. I agree with her.

She produces nothing of value, she creates no wealth, she is a parasite on humanity.

She needs to either find gainful employment, or starve.

[Obamanaut]

67. Did she say "can't work" as in 'incapable of working due to age or physical

inability', or "can't find work" as in 'looking diligently but unable to find work due to scarcity of jobs', or did she say "will not work", as in 'able to work, and work is available but due to laziness will not work'?

There is a world of difference there, and even Paul (in the Epistles) was aware of it.

[Blue Owl]

68. Michele works hard for her annual farm subsidy

NOW LEAVE HER ALONE!!1!!!!

:sarcasm:

[AntiFascist]

69. Unless, of course, they are in the 1%...

in which case they can enjoy all the benefits of Economic Fascism.

[w8liftinglady]

70. Michelle- since you love "HIM" so much,a quote about Jesus

Matthew: 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; 36 naked, 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; 42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43 I 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.”



Which catagory do YOU fall in?

[ieoeja]

71. What do we need them to do?

I have yet to see any shortages of anything I need or even want. In fact, we are pretty saturated. We even have more housing than people to fill it (though we still make people live outside if they don't have money).

[Orsino]

73. Jesus was not fucking around when He said that.

Galtians 3:20

[Jack Rabbit]

74. Are there no exceptions?

So said Robin Hood (Errol Flynn) while drawing a arrow on Sir Guy of Gisbourne (Basil Rathbone) in the 1938 film, The Adventures of Robin Hood. Sir Guy had just gently reminded Robin that killing the king's deer is a capital offense, at least when done by a starving peasant like the one to whose aid Robin came.

So, if there are no exceptions to Ms. Bachmann's rule, we should now expect to see a number of emaciated bankers, industrialists and politicians running about in the coming days. David Koch could stand to lose a little weight, anyway, don't you think?

[grasswire]

75. obviously a goat n/t

[JohnnyRingo]

77. She finally came out and said what every Republican hints at.

"If you don't work, you don't eat" has been an unmentioned platform of the party since the Great Depression. There's nothing a Republican enjoys more than a hungry man begging him to shine his shoes for him.

[Amaya]

78. awww... how fucking christian of her

sometimes i wish there was a god and he /she would come and kick these fuckers off the planet!

[DainBramaged]

79. There are a few choice words that apply to this piece of shit.....

So, if a man out of work is paid to wipe your ass Queen Douche Bag, will you feed him?

[DainBramaged]

80. I spoke of this last week

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2236066

[Xicano]

81. M. Bachmann, as far as I'm concerned, you can shove the bible up your ass.

That heinous book has caused more death, destruction and suffering than anything else I know in history. n/t

[Taverner]

82. The sad part is that the people in the picture would probably vote for her

They know THEY'RE not going to be a victim! :eyes:

[in_cog_ni_to]

83. How "Christian" of her.

"whatever you did for the least of these, you did for Me"

Hypocrite.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

84. Hey, Bachmann, FUCK YOU, and try reading THIS. Then GO FUCK YOURSELF:

Mark 8:1-9

New International Version (NIV)

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”

His disciples answered, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?”

“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.

“Seven,” they replied.

He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people, and they did so. They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. About four thousand were present.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+8%3A1-9&version=NIV

[booley]

85. It's the conservative version of Cheap Grace

In other words a way to be "moral" while doing evil.

Look at her statement "Our nation needs to stop doing for people what they can and should do for themselves...,"

Any conservative can easily elaborate on this that the problem is that the poor are poor because they made the decisions that made them poor. By helping the poor we enable them to be the way they are. These people made their bed as it were and won't ever change if help them get out of it.

And no details like how people are supposed to get jobs if there are no jobs don't enter into the discussion. facts don't matter. This is true because it's taken on faith to be true. Facts that contradict this truth" are cast away and ignored.

And this philosophy is very tempting. After all, no one can say that in hind sight they never did anything wrong that could have contributed to their current misfortune. And who wants to help someone who won't help themselves? Even the most bleeding heart would be hard pressed to justify helping someone who is gaming the system.

OF course a sI am sure many here have already thought, this moral system breaks down when it hits reality.

Once one starts using a broad brush to decide who is and isn't worthy of help, then it becomes childishly easy to conclude that no one deserves help ( at least not anyone who isn't "like you") Indeed, helping is actually the evil because you are enabling people.

But that's the point. One gets to claim the moral high ground without any of the burden of having to sacrifice for one's morals (unless one chooses too which really isn't a burden at all).

It lets people like Bachmann claim to be christian without all that bothersome toil of following Christ's teachings.

Clever, no?

[blindpig]

86. That should apply to all who live on the labor of others...

of course, that's not what she had in mind.

[Skidmore]

87. She never read this verse.

But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed,
because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.

[devilgrrl]

88. Arbeit macht frei

[The Second Stone]

91. I'm pretty sure that MB doesn't work

why does she get so much subsidization?

[BOG PERSON]

92. “He who does not work, neither shall he eat”

—how is this to be put into effect? It is as clear as daylight that in order to put it into effect we require, first, a state grain monopoly, i.e., the absolute prohibition of all private trade in grain, the compulsory delivery of all surplus grain to the state at a fixed price, the absolute prohibition of all hoarding and concealment of surplus grain, no matter by whom. Secondly, we require the strictest registration of all grain surpluses, faultless organisation of the transportation of grain from places of abundance to places of shortage, and the building up of reserves for consumption, for processing, and for seed. Thirdly, we require a just and proper distribution of bread, controlled by the workers’ state, the proletarian state, among all the citizens of the state, a distribution which will permit of no privileges and advantages for the rich.

[glinda]

93. Batshit Bachmann strikes again.

[Maven]

94. The Crazy Eyed Turd is heard from again

She should retreat to her spaceship and fly away.

[treestar]

95. They are so hateful

Paul would have been talking about a particular place and time with a completely different economic system than what we have.

[kickysnana]

97. Let them eat cake!

[newspeak]

137. I think the thing is that these so called christians

read the words of saul of tarsus more than the words of jesus. Ever wonder why Thomas Jefferson wrote the jeffersonian bible? To me, Saul was a roman citizen who murdered jews and just seemed to find the light on his way to damascus--between his finding the so called light and rome embracing christian dogma, they basically neutralized the words of jesus. Of course reading some of these scriptures translated from Aramaic rather than greek, it has a very different meaning.

I'm reminded of the part in the "christmas carol", where the father, mother and two children are out in the cold trying to keep warm and the father states how he wants to work, but there is no work. Bachman is nothing but a sociopath who finds excuses for such cruelty.

[fascisthunter]

98. the sociopathic wind bag needs a rubberized room

[Vinca]

99. Bachmann doesn't amount to much . . . no soup for you!

[alphafemale]

100. When was the last time Michelle showed up for work at her Government Job? nt

[RagAss]

101. If we need anymore shit out of you, Bachman - we'll just gently squeeze your head !

[Brigid]

140. A Brigid DUzy for you!

:rofl:

[lumberjack_jeff]

102. When did Jesus say that farm subsidies aren't "eating but not working"? n/t

[MedleyMisty]

103. These people are evil

EVIL.

And anyone who supports them or votes for them is complicit in their evil, and should be considered a traitor to the species.

[Motown_Johnny]

105. as far as I am concerned, what she does isn't work

[thereismore]

106. She is just quoting the Bible, folks. nt

[Matariki]

107. Haha - She's actually quoting LENIN. She's a COMMIE, lol

According to Lenin, “He who does not work shall not eat” is a necessary principle under socialism, the preliminary phase of the evolution towards communist society. The phrase appears in his 1917 work, The State and Revolution. Through this slogan Lenin explains that in socialist states only productive individuals could be allowed access to the articles of consumption.

In Lenin’s writing, this was not so much directed at lazy or unproductive workers, but rather the bourgeoisie. (Marxist theory defines the bourgeoisie as the group of those who buy the labor-power of workers and engage it in the process of production, deriving profits from the surplus value thus expropriated. Once communism was realised, that is, after the abolition of property and the law of value, no-one would live off the labor of others.)

Neither did the principle apply to those rendered incapable of work by old age or disability. These groups would have a right to society's products because they were not at fault for their condition. The elderly, in particular, had worked during their youth, and so could not be denied life’s basic necessities. The Soviet state accordingly provided a basic level of social security

https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/He_who_does_not_work,_neither_shall_he_eat

[thereismore]

135. 2 Thessalonians 3:10. This was of course embraced by Lenin later.

"For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat."

King James Bible.

[Leopolds Ghost]

147. Because the early church was communist. The Puritan communists at Jamestown made similar remarks.

:shrug:

[Matariki]

108. oops, duplicate due to network glich

[coalition_unwilling]

109. The principal beneficiary of food assistance programs, after the

hungry, are farmers who benefit from the demand such food assistance creats for their production.

Jeesh, Bachmann, that position of yours won't sell in Iowa nor in any bread basket state. What a dolt!

[Initech]

111. Speaking to religious wingnut hate groups like the FRC should be immediate campaign termination.

After all if nuts like Michelle Bachmann had any respect for our founding fathers and constitution like they claim to have. :eyes:

And they might as well just tell poor people to go fuck themselves and get it over with.

[MisterP]

112. why do cons and liberts love Maoism?

[CoffeeCat]

113. EVIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Republicans engage in evil when they belittle and trying to tear down people who need help.

Republicans are so skilled at doing this. They convince their own little
party of hate--that anyone receiving help from government programs--is stupid,
lazy and undeserving.

I am so sick and tired of these piece of shit Republicans and their evil. They
are the WORST kind of evil in the world.

Anyone who kicks people who are having a rough time, or down on their luck or
have fallen on hard times---is an inhuman, compassion lacking jackal.

This sickens me beyond belief.

People have reasons for needing help. Michelle Bachman might not have any desire
to understand those reasons--because she is a rabid, shallow limelight slut with
no empathy--but that doesn't mean that she gets to define them.

I don't believe in hell, but I think I might just decide that I do--so I can find
comfort in knowing that someone so evil and disgusting will be there when she leaves
this planet.

Screw her.

[and-justice-for-all]

116. She is an economic fucking moron and a piece of shit...

Not every single person can have a job, it is ecnomically impossible and seeing that NOTHING is being done about the Human animal population, its going to get worse.

Allowing people to starve to death is fucking vile and disgusting to even consider such a thought..

Bachmann, you make hitler proud.

[liberalhistorian]

117. As a Christian, I am sick to death of that

verse being coopted, twisted and distorted by the RW, and used to promote and justify their apathy and hate, and thus twisting the entire social gospel. They've always taken it out of context. What that verse is REALLY referring to are those who are perfectly able-bodied, with work being available to them, who outright refuse to contribute in any way to their community and their support. It DOES NOT NOT NOT refer to those who are unable to work or who cannot find any work, which is a good percentage of the unemployed right now.

Apparently, she and her cohorts have completely forgotten Matthew 25 ("I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and nothing to drink, sick or in prison and you didn't visit me, etc., etc.), or the hundreds of other New and Old Testament verses that practically leap off the page with demands to care for the poor, hungry, sick, etc., etc. And it says nothing whatsoever about only doing it if they have jobs.

[thereismore]

136. The trouble with the Bible is that it usually says contradictory things about everything.

Like love your neighbor, and dash their little ones against the rocks.

In this case, she is quoting from 2 Thessalonians 3:10:

"For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat."

[liberalhistorian]

138. Again, it means people who CAN work, but choose not to,

not people who cannot work and/or who cannot find work. You have to take it in context and as a whole, not just one part. Being in seminary does have some advantages right now, lol!

[thereismore]

143. You are right about the context, but she obviously chooses to ignore it. nt

[Laluchacontinua]

118. so why don't you & your husband get REAL jobs, michele, instead of leeching

off the government?

these people are such frigging hypocrites. it's always the biggest grifters wagging their ugly fingers.

[Fire Walk With Me]

119. Hey Michele! IF ANYONE WILL NOT THINK, NEITHER SHOULD THEY SPEAK.

[saras]

120. If they will enforce it without exception from the top down, I'll accept it

...because it will never get to me.

Apparently what we can and should do for ourselves, as the government won't and shouldn't do it, is go and forcibly take our money back from the bankers, and our property from the corporations, and create ourselves a functioning economy in a first-world country.

[barbtries]

122. she actually said that? wow

christian family values. wow.

[OnionPatch]

126. Ok, which is it.......there are not enough jobs? Or people are too lazy?

The GOP can't decide which it is...... One day they complain that Obama isn't making enough jobs. The next day they insinuate that there are jobs, but people are just too lazy to work. (Funny how suddenly so many people just decided to be lazy all at once, isn't it?)

[Wind Dancer]

128. Mean and hateful!

I'll never understand that attitude. :puke:

[kevinbgoode]

129. So when is Bachmann going to start actually working?

I'm getting rather sick and tired of listening to "conservatives" talk about hard work, when most of them don't seem to have any evidence of producing anything useful for society. They seem to be under some illusion that just because someone writes them a check, they've actually performed some meaningful task - and yet these are the same people with the philosophy that the American ideal is to make your money work FOR you - rather than have to work themselves for the money.

[AsahinaKimi]

130. If Michele Bachmann were President ...

We would have more starving people than North Korea, Africa and India combined.

[opihimoimoi]

133. Her Squeaky ass voice drives me use the remote asap

[Le Taz Hot]

134. Well, honey, my husband and I "work" everyday.,

In case no one has informed you, looking for a job is a full-time occupation which encompasses sending out scads of resumes with no acknowledgements, sifting through the REAL job offers vs. the scam job offers and sitting through idiot presentations on "how to look for a job" (my husband is 49 and I'm 56 -- we KNOW how to LOOK for jobs, we've been doing it for decades and up until the last few years, with a good success rate).

[abelenkpe]

139. Children, the Elderly, the Disabled should not eat if they can't work?

I'm sorry, WTF happened that this psycho is a candidate for the president of the United States of America?

[Kalidurga]

142. So, Michele who should we starve first...

elderly people, children, or the disabled? Such a hard decision. I guess we could leave out the children there is an off chance they might grow up and get a job. The elderly aren't getting any younger though and have probably outlived their usefulness, unless they are employed at Walmart, then they might kick off soon and Walmart can cash those insurance policies in. Guess, that leaves the disabled, well unless you can get them some kind of job...

[Name removed]

144. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Leopolds Ghost]

145. Attention America: Michele Bachmann is Takin' ALL Y'alls Sh-t

[piedmont]

148. Jesus wept. nt