Homeless woman uplifted by compassionate Americans
Henrietta Hughes and her son had been homeless. Her son was cut from his job and was unable to find work. She and her son were subsequently forced out of their homes, which led them to take shelter in their 2-seat Nissan Frontier. On Tuesday, Ms. Hughes had the opportunity of a lifetime when President Obama, at his town hall meeting in Fort Meyers, Florida, chose her to ask a question.
“I have an urgent need, unemployment and homelessness, a very small vehicle for my family and I to live in,” said Ms. Hughes. “The housing authority has two years waiting lists, and we need something more than the vehicle and the parks to go to. We need our own kitchen and our own bathroom. Please help.”
The President was compassionate. He went over and kissed her on the cheek. He said, “We’re going to do everything we can to help you, but there are a lot of people like you.” Then he ordered his staff to assist her.
Since then, Ms. Hughes has received a flood of support. Media outlets from CNN to NBC have featured her on their stations. Countless scores of people have offered financial assistance. Nick Thompson, a House Republican from Florida, invited Ms. Hughes and her son to stay at their home in La Belle, rent-free.
The cynics are skeptical at best about Ms. Hughes’ appearance. Michelle Malkin, a conservative blogger, said, “if Hughes “had more time, she probably would have remembered to ask Obama to fill up her gas tank, too.” One CNN reader asked, “How does a 61-year-old homeless woman who’s living in a pickup truck with her son JUST HAPPEN to get a ticket so she can VERY PUBLICALLY ask Prez. Obama for a HOUSE? Anyone? Who pushes her up on stage? She’s right at the front of the crowd. Did she just happen to get a seat there?”
I applaud the President and the thousands of people who were compassionate toward Ms. Hughes. As Arthur Ashe, the great tennis player, once said: “From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however, makes a life.” In Ms. Hughes’ case, the selflessness of countless Americans saved a woman and her son from living in despair during these difficult times.
I hate to fall under the category of ‘cynic’ but a few reports I read said that her son had been out of his IT job for 7 years. Mind you, in the past 7 years, the information technology business has boomed and anyone who is qualified could find a job relatively easily by sending a couple resumes around.
If it’s true that her son was out of a job for that long, it’s obvious that they weren’t hurt by the current economic situation: they were hurt by their own laziness and a lack of willingness to work their way up through society, they were living off of the federal government waiting for another handout.
Again if the stories I read are true, it’s tragic to see them in a house of any kind through someone else’s work. It’s difficult to believe the ‘gift’ was meant for anything other than political purposes, anyways.
Austin, you’re probably onto something there. A number of blogs mention the fact of her son’s unemployment, although in a sympathetic light. He either hasn’t tried to resume the career or was not qualified. The whole affair stinks just like the whole “Joe the Plumber” situation (which I believe was just as big a show, albeit staged by the other party).
Amen! And note that it was a Republican who offered for her and her son to come live in his house. So apparently a few of us are capable of compassion.
Well said Thoe, very true..
Timetheos-
Unfortunately for our discussion, you are cherry picking statistics. And you know what? That’s fine. Unlike with MoveOn.org and the Huffington Post, you are more than welcome to come on and express your view point without having to worry about fellow bloggers jumping down your throat.
But know this, LBJ’s great society was a failure. Not only did he increase the size of government and create a permanent lower class of individuals totally dependent on government, but he got us into a full blown war in Vietnam that cost us $70,000 lives.
But being deemed a ”war criminal” by the radicals during the 60’s is not up for discussion. What is, was the effectiveness of his domestic programs.
Who better to answer that question than Thomas Sowell. According to TS:
“the black family, which had survived centuries of slavery and discrimination, began rapidly disintegrating in the liberal welfare state that subsidized unwed pregnancy and changed welfare from an emergency rescue to a way of life…
The poverty rate among black families fell from 87 percent in 1940 to 47 percent in 1960, during an era of virtually no major civil rights legislation or anti-poverty programs. It dropped another 17 percentage points during the decade of the 1960s and one percentage point during the 1970s, but this continuation of the previous trend was neither unprecedented nor something to be arbitrarily attributed to the programs like the War on Poverty.”
That’s the analysis from an African-American intellectual who lived through it. Now it’s up to readers to decide, who do you trust more? Thomas Sowell’s life experience or Timetheos talking points?
Interesting developments on this story:
http://www.winknews.com/news/local/39518252.html
Don’t know that this changes anything, but it does draw out the point there may be more here than meets the eye. It doesn’t change the fact that all the people who have offered this woman support are prime examples of why America is a great country.
So the cynics are vindicated. Sam, it doesn’t change anything; the fact that one person was helped out doesn’t change the fact that our economy is in serious trouble thanks to decisions made by people like Barack Obama.
I’m still baffled at how this all reflects any credit upon Obama. IMO, the whole affair has occupied far more attention than it deserved. Who among us are at all familiar with what the President’s speaking engagement was even about?
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