Fox's Food Stamp Smear Surfs Into House Committee Hearing

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/05/20/foxs-food-stamp-smear-surfs-into-house-committe/203719

Fox News' misleading smear of food stamp recipients as surfing freeloaders found its way into a congressional hearing aimed at examining the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). 

On May 20, the House Committee on Agriculture held a hearing addressing the "Past, Present, and Future of SNAP." Throughout the hearing, Fox News' misleading 2013 special, "The Great Food Stamp Binge" that attempted to make a surfing freeloader "the new face of food stamps" was referenced several times as evidence of abuse within the program. 

Fox's misrepresentation of food stamp recipients found its way into the hearing when two members on the committee used the special as anecdotal evidence of abuse within SNAP. Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-OH) used Fox's example of a "surfer out in California living on food stamps and eating lobster" as evidence of abuse within the program, though he "forg[o]t which network" aired the special. 

Later, Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL) also referenced "the surfer that was on one of the news channels," claiming, "unfortunately, we see that in our districts, and I hear stories about that every day." 

The surfer mentioned by Reps. Gibbs and Yoho was Jason Greenslate who featured in Fox's special as part of Fox News' longstanding history of maligning the poor and misrepresenting food stamp recipients. After it aired, the network delivered physical copies of the special to members of Congress in an attempt to influence a vote to cut SNAP benefits by billions of dollars.

What the special failed to note was the fact that according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service, the fraud and waste rate in SNAP is roughly only 1 percent. The special also ignored the fact that SNAP kept 4.7 million people out of poverty in 2011, many of whom are children, and that 82 percent of SNAP households include a child, elderly person, or disabled American. 

what i find very interesting is that for decades republicans have cast the role of food stamp abusers to the Black community convincing their base that the Black recipients were making it bad for everyone.  they proceed to put restrictions on what those recipients can eat and bought with those food stamps.  that is separating us by class what they claim Pres. is doing, it also is denying the freedom to chose what goes in your body elite foods like steak and lobster "oh hell no you can't".  

now the interesting part we hear no noise of dissent on that side of the street odd since the majority of food stamp recipients are their base those that vote obviously blindly to keep their thumbs on their own necks,  are they that under informed or just part of the party of stupid???  their kids are getting the food snatched from their mouths just like healthcare, why do they keep the cycle going????

http://wepartypatriots.com/wp/2012/01/09/fact-there-are-more-whites-on-food-stamps-than-blacks/