Obama, the Food Pantry, and Me

I watched President Obama speak for eight minutes last night and had to turn him off.  I found myself shouting at him the way I have at Republican presidents.

Here's why:

1.  The Berkeley Food Pantry, where I volunteer, has seen its USDA food allotment cut by half.  So the often-paltry bag of beans/rice/canned veg and fruit will be smaller.  A critical FEMA grant is now 3-6 months late and may be halved.  The Pantry will not give out Thanksgiving food bags this year. 

2. The wars the US is fighting are costing $2 billion a week.

Checking in clients at the Pantry, seeing the desperation in their eyes when I tell them they can pick up groceries only once a month, may have nudged me from progressive Democrat to a Food Not Bombs person who's given up on the system (such as the USDA) and takes to scrounging around in dumpsters or God knows where to supply the poor with food.  The government seems to have completely lost touch.