Schoolyard Bully to Dole out the Punishment: Rehberg after your Kids’ School Lunch
By JC
I’m not one wont to beat up on Denny Rehberg (I usually leave that up to others, but I hadn’t seen a report on this yet), except when he does really stupid things like go on drunk rampages in boats across lakes, call Pell Grants welfare, and now, he wants to steal kids’ lunch money. Having just returned from 3 days in Billings, and talking with friends whose kids go to school there (and pointed out the Gazette article), I thought I’d offer up some more on the creep watch.
At a recent tour of a school in Billings (where his sister is principal) Rehberg got back into his schoolyard bully ways:
…[Rehberg’s sister Shanna] Henry was accompanied by Brenda Koch, the district’s new executive director for the kindergarten through 12th grade schools on the east side of Billings.
Rehberg asked the pair pointed questions about fraud and whether families ever dupe the free and reduced-price meal system.
Koch explained that each year, a random sample of families who sign up and qualify are audited by the district to make sure they meet the income guidelines.
On top of that, she said, the district is audited by the state every year on how its Title I dollars are spent.
“And that’s a good thing. It’s not a bad thing,” she said. “Those funds are just crucial to our schools.”
Rehberg is chairman of the House subcommittee on labor, health and human services and education and is eager to make sure the funds he oversees are spent correctly.
“I’d like to punish those systems that rip the taxpayers off,” he said…
[Rehberg] said as a congressman in his office in Washington, D.C., he sees the numbers, the statistics and balance sheets.
“But you gotta see it and touch it and smell it,” he said. “It makes it real.”
What does Montana’s Superintendent have to say?
In Montana, the concern is not fraud caused by poor families, according to the state Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau, but rather poor families not getting the assistance they need. Her office told TPM that “there are many people eligible for free and reduced lunch who don’t apply for the program out of stigma.”
“The Superintendent has absolutely no concern that Montana families are committing fraud,” Montana OPI spokesperson Allyson Hagen said.
Hey Denny, know what’s real? Poverty. But about fraud, if “you gotta see it and touch it and smell it” why don’t you head on down to Wall Street and check out the lunch menu of the 1%. Then dole out some real punishment. What a pathetic maroon.
-
1
Pingback on Oct 4th, 2011 at 11:40 pm
[…] have noted the spectacle of Representative Rehberg deciding that the most important issue of fraud we need to […]
October 3, 2011 at 2:04 pm
Dopey Reeburp was walkin’ down the street one day and saw sumthin’ in the road. He boldly strode up to it and examined it. (That’s the Dopey Way) He declared, “Hmmm. Looks like dog shit. Smells like dog shit. TASTES like dog shit!…..Good thing I didn’t STEP in it!”
Well, actually, he did…… again. He really IS this friggin’ stupid. I have been trying for years to impress upon people just how stupid this idiot really is and what a bully he is. But hell, lookin’ for fraud from folks who are just trying to feed their kids is about as low as snake shit!…..or Dopey Reeburp, the Lone Ranger ever on the lookout for hungry kids abusing the lunch program for a buck or two.
I think I’ll go puke now.
p.s. Dopey and his burly pals tried like hell to intimidate a sweet little elderly couple at the state fair in GF who were colleting signatures for I-122. I’ve never forgotten that. He’s slime. That’s all. Just slime.
October 3, 2011 at 2:27 pm
Now now. Dennis is a real humanitarian. At least he’s seeing to it that these poor undeserving lying little food looters get born.
October 3, 2011 at 2:41 pm
And what would Denny know, or care, about poverty? Why should he care when people facing the issues that stem from poverty don’t contribute to his re-election?
October 3, 2011 at 3:15 pm
So Denny is out to take away free lunches regardless of their parents (or parent) income level?
October 3, 2011 at 3:50 pm
Ingrid, are you REALLY saying that defrauding the gubmint out of a fifity cent crummy soy burger is HIGH on the list of Dopey Reeburp’s crime busting priorities? Wow. Just wow. You wanna know, Sumthin’, Ingrid? I’ll be the Dickster cheney and his Helliburton pals are QUAKIN’, I mean QUAKIN’ in their boots just realizin’ that the Dopester on the prowl for fraud! Why he’s a regula Smelliot Mess! He’s untouchable!……except for suin’ the Fire Dept.
October 3, 2011 at 7:22 pm
Scary, you’re going to look pretty stupid when Denny defeats Jon.
Especially when you’ve lied about his involvement and responsibility in the boat wreck, his drinking, the fire and now starving children.
October 3, 2011 at 8:24 pm
Denny Rehberg isn’t looking for real waste – as whatever his name is saying, it’s a 50 cent lunch for crying out loud.
Fraud is fraud, and all of it is wrong, don’t get me wrong – but he’s picking at pennies and that isn’t where anything but success in his own political and social agenda is going to come.
If he wanted to go at real fraud, he’d look at the military, for one. I mean, one mis-payed for missile? Let alone the billions in cash contractors were give to bribe local Iraqis that has gone unaccounted for.
Think of it this way, Swede – How effective is Rehberg going to be at reducing fraud if all he’s going after is 50 cent school lunches instead of $569,000 Tomahawk cruise missiles and wheelbarrows of cash money?
October 3, 2011 at 8:56 pm
It’s not just ’bout 50 cent meals. Its ’bout Title 1 moines which ties directly to the amount of kids on assistance.
And Denny isn’t sending missiles downrange.
That’s the Commander and Chief’s job.
October 5, 2011 at 12:18 pm
But it’s Denny’s job to pay for it, if I remember my constitution right.
October 5, 2011 at 3:33 pm
Pay to restock.
October 3, 2011 at 8:39 pm
Ingrid, even WITH the Kockh billions that will be coming Dopey’s way, he will lose to Big Jon. He’s worn out any legitimacy he had. He’s now conrad burns but only worse. You see, Ingrid, even in Montana, you can’t buy respect! It’s earned. And Dopey’s hungry for our love but he’s standin’ in the welfare line!
October 3, 2011 at 9:02 pm
Let’s test your political knowledge Scary.
Which billionaire has spent more money trying to influence elections.
The Koch’s (even put together) or Soros?
October 3, 2011 at 9:35 pm
Come back when you have a clue, dude. Let’s test YOUR political knowledge, Ingrid. Which rightwing think tanks HAVEN’T the Big Kockhs funded? You’re a silly man.
October 3, 2011 at 10:04 pm
48 Million to Media Matters alone Scary. Then there’s this.
“Soros funds at least 180 media-related organizations — from groups dedicated to to getting government funding for journalsim to tiny blogs and hard-Left media outlets. These are operations that promote pretty much everything conservatives love to hate: abortion, drugs, the gay agenda, illegal immigration, unions, nationalized health care, getting rid of the dollar as the reserve currency and attacks on conservative Supreme Court justices. Throw in an anti-Israel and anti-American theme, and Soros groups have something for everyone on the Right to dislike.”
Put up or shut up.
October 3, 2011 at 10:17 pm
And in 2008, 5 Billion to the DNC.
October 3, 2011 at 3:15 pm
Just to clear something up, JC: Are you, by criticizing Rehberg here, saying that it matters who is elected to the senate in 2012? Somehow I got the idea that you were one of those “forget electoral politics” guys.
October 3, 2011 at 4:46 pm
I’m a policy guy Turner. I calls ’em likes I sees ’em. I just happen to think that our rep trying to punish people trying to feed their kids is a real chicken sh*t thing to do, particularly when there are far greater criminals who need punishing.
This sort of stuff points out the pettiness of culture war politics and why people reject the system.
And no, I’m not a “forget electoral politics” sort of guy–even if I think all the choices suck, I still go vote. I can always write in a better choice. What I am not is partisan, which infuriates the hell out of a lot a people, but c’est la vie. And I am working on a couple of campaigns already.
October 3, 2011 at 5:59 pm
I suggest to you, JC, that you completely misunderstand the word “partisan”.
October 3, 2011 at 4:19 pm
Let me get this clear, what you are saying is that it’s OK to cheat the government out of our dollars, and that they should never audit anything for compliance ?
Thank you Denny –
October 3, 2011 at 4:53 pm
Geez you’re dense. Nobody is complaining about audits. What is crazy is Rehberg’s intent to punish people who are just trying to feed their kids.
How do you feel about all those Wall Streeters who have never been held accountable for taking down the world’s economy? They’re taking your and my tax dollars. Shouldn’t they be investigated and prosecuted?
I’ll bet the amount of money Rehberg would spend punishing free loaders would far outweigh the total amount of money that goes into the free lunch program. Is that the way you want your government to run–totally inefficient? Or is this really just another way to eliminate a program for people who don’t make campaign contributions to republicans?
October 3, 2011 at 5:30 pm
no class war here, folks. just a bunch of greedy kids looking for a free lunch.
October 3, 2011 at 7:16 pm
So the kids are filling out the forms?
October 3, 2011 at 8:29 pm
no, thanks to attacks by the right on funding public education, they probably can’t read or write
October 3, 2011 at 9:17 pm
Now you’ve insulted my relatives that teach.
October 3, 2011 at 9:37 pm
Teachers teach. Rightwing morons make it harder. Is that REALLY hard for to understand?
October 3, 2011 at 9:42 pm
what do your relatives that teach think of Rehberg?
October 3, 2011 at 9:56 pm
They’re great teachers.
They’ve always told me they’d rather be paid based on their individual performance.
And like a lot of MT teachers, they supported Denny.
October 3, 2011 at 10:12 pm
Ask them if it’s easier to teach hungry kids. Ask them if they think this program is being taken advantage of.
October 3, 2011 at 10:27 pm
The only hungry kids they’ve taught were kids from strict vegan families.
My Mother-in-law used to sneak them beef jerky.
October 4, 2011 at 7:52 am
Made up bullcrap, Ingrid.
October 4, 2011 at 10:37 am
Yeah, right, Ingy. Montana teachers are lining up to support Denny.
October 5, 2011 at 5:10 am
Sneaky jerky. Luv it, Ingrid. My new name for you, Sneaky Jerky! Too funny. Shows how folksy and down home you really are.