Another Quiet Executive Order

[Gaspar]

Election is at the door.  Gotta buy some votes.

Through Executive fiat and by bypassing Congress, President Obama lifted the 2005 restrictions in Welfare reform, therefore expanding the definition of "work" to include such activities as:

1.    Bed rest
2.    Personal care activities
3.    Massage
4.    Exercise
5.    Journaling
6.    Motivational reading
7.    Smoking cessation
8.    Weight loss promotion
9.    Participating in parent teacher meetings
10.  Helping a friend or relative with household tasks and errands

Good news for many Democrats looking for the extra income that a Welfare check can provide.  So, kick back, get a massage, pedicure, and rest assured that your leisure time will help qualify you for Welfare benefits. Make sure to say thank you by voting for your good buddies President Obama and Jumpin Joe this November, and stay tuned, because if the race is tight, President Obama will figure out a way to send you a bonus check of some kind.  What a great president.

http://www.finance.senate.gov/newsroom/ranking/release/?id=47ada91c-07ac-4c7f-bc20-182df03d2654

[Conan71]

Your ODS is in the red zone, dude!  There's nothing wrong with bed rest and smoking cessation as an occupation.  How about learning to smoke?

[Gaspar]

I wonder if there is a medication I can take that will help me ignore the stupidity, and better yet, perhaps I can get the medication free from the government and taking it can qualify me for some form of welfare or disability?

[Conan71]

I wonder if there is a medication I can take that will help me ignore the stupidity, and better yet, perhaps I can get the medication free from the government and taking it can qualify me for some form of welfare or disability?

I already turned you in to Attack Watch.  Not sure if that puts you to the front of the line for that med or if you get brown-shirted instead.

[nathanm]

Wow, way to pull quote. The press release doesn't actually say that. It says that in 2005, some states had those items on their list of what counted for work. TANF is a block grant administered by the individual states, theoretically using federal guidelines where required.

So yeah, ODS in full effect.

I wonder what the new federal rule actually says.

Oh, look, a memo from HHS:

Section 1115 of the Social Security Act provides authority for the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to consider and approve experimental, pilot, or demonstration projects which, in the Secretary's judgment, are likely to assist in promoting the objectives of Title IV-A.  Section 1115 allows for waiver of compliance with section 402 of the Social Security Act to the extent and for the period necessary to enable a state to carry out an approved project.  The statute also provides authority for costs of such projects which would not otherwise be an allowable use of funds under Part A of Title IV to be regarded as an allowable use of funds, to the extent and for the period approved.

That's lie number one outed. They do in fact have the authority to run pilot programs.

HHS will only consider approving waivers relating to the work participation requirements that make changes intended to lead to more effective means of meeting the work goals of TANF.

Lie number two outed. HHS will only grant (temporary) waivers in cases where they are convinced that the state's proposed rule will in fact better enforce the work requirement.

The policy memo is here if you actually care to get the truth about the policy change rather than the ridiculous right wing spin.

Oh, and lie number 3 outed: It's not an executive order.

[heironymouspasparagus]

I wonder if there is a medication I can take that will help me ignore the stupidity, and better yet, perhaps I can get the medication free from the government and taking it can qualify me for some form of welfare or disability?

You could work to legalize marijuana...

[Ed W]

From Wikipedia - "truthiness":

"Truthiness is a quality characterizing a "truth" that a person claims to know intuitively "from the gut" or because it "feels right" without regard to evidence, logic, intellectual examination, or facts."

And I shouldn't be astonished to find there's now Wikiality, an encyclopedia of truthiness.  I expect it will come in handy, though the somewhat loose idea of proper spelling will set my teeth on edge.

http://wikiality.wikia.com/Main_Page

Remember that facts, however interesting, are irrelevant.