[WOSG]

That headline is a lie. Perry *did not* “slam food stamps”. Instead he “slammed” the Obama apparatchik who said that “food stamps stimulate the economy.” This is NOT a subtle difference, so it is pretty obvious that whoever wrote the headline did so to attack Perry. That being said, supporting food stamps right now is essential to Republican victory, as people who rely on food stamps, more and more that are middle class unemployed, MUST have food stamps if they want to eat.

ASTUTE OBSERVATION!

This is a good example of the Ass.Press. doing the Alinskyite thing of trying to 'isolate' a Republican candidate. Take their words and twist it. Next up, they get a RINO on MeetTheDepressed and ask if they support FoodStamps or want it destroyed like Perry does. Then they get the blathering RINO to do the 'distance' dance and - voila - a GOP circular firing squad. Rinse and repeat.

Perry is smart enough to know that these things HELP HIM, so he will be making some out there comments that draw media attention. So far so good for him. He's correct on the substance and is already drawing blood from the Obama administration. The only prior candidate who did that was (gulp) Trump. It's good to see a candidate who can land a punch on the Obama administration.

[Finny]

Aren't things like milk and eggs excluded from sales tax? I'm pretty sure they are in California.

In any case, Perry and every other conservative ought to JUMP holler and YELL that YESTERDAY should have been the day it was required: Food Stamps or those debit cards can be used ONLY for the purchase of essentials, and it would be easy enough to do that. You can't buy beer with them -- they must add soft drinks to that list -- the only beverages one should be able to purchase with food stamps should be milk (or milk substitute), water, or juice.

Screw drug testing. The only thing drug testing would do would be to force a black market in ways to outsmart drug tests, and druggie moms who suddenly lost their food stamp/welfare privileges would create MORE problems, not fewer. No, drug testing is a thing to salve the vanities of those who call for them, but it serves no real purpose. It sure as HELL isn't going to be "the thing" that gets these people off drugs. Been there, done that -- I know of what I speak. People start and stop drugs for other reasons.

SURELY, especially with today's amazing technology, it must be relateively straightforward and simple to have a list of food types eligible for food stamps -- canned tuna, eggs, canned soup, bread, peanut butter, jelly, margerine, cooking oil, dairy basics (milk, butter, cheese, etc.), flour, breakfast cereal, sugar, fish, GROUND BEEF (that should be the ONLY kind of beef one can buy with food stamps), chicken, fresh or frozen vegetables. OF COURSE that could be done, and I'd personally be okay if they allowed frozen TV dinners and frozen pizzas, because I know many people really don't know how to cook. If grocery stores can keep such tight track of what I buy that they'll custom-target marketing to me based on it, then SURE AS HELL any food stamp program can very strictly define the items that may be purchased with food stamps.

It ROYALLY PISSES ME OFF that my husband and I work hard and pay so much in taxes that when I go the store, I have to buy hamburger instead of my favoriate leg of lamb -- and I get in line behind some STUPID leech buying filet mignon and sodas with MY money that I COULD have used to buy lamb in instead of hamburger.

It is IMMORAL.