This is what poverty sometimes looks like in America: parents here in Appalachian hill country pulling their children out of literacy classes. Moms and dads fear that if kids learn to read, they are less likely to qualify for a monthly check for having an intellectual disability. …This is painful for a liberal to admit, but conservatives have a point when they suggest that America’s safety net can sometimes entangle people in a soul-crushing dependency. …Some young people here don’t join the military (a traditional escape route for poor, rural Americans) because it’s easier to rely on food stamps and disability payments. Antipoverty programs also discourage marriage: In a means-tested program like S.S.I., a woman raising a child may receive a bigger check if she refrains from marrying that hard-working guy she likes. Yet marriage is one of the best forces to blunt poverty. In married couple households only one child in 10 grows up in poverty, while almost half do in single-mother households. Most wrenching of all are the parents who think it’s best if a child stays illiterate, because then the family may be able to claim a disability check each month.

Wait....first FaceBook didn't save California and now Cap and Trade isn't going to save Cali? What's next? The sun rising in the west?

Obama's request, as detailed in a letter sent to Capitol Hill by the director of the White House's Office of Management and Budget, Jeffrey Zients, includes these requests:

— “This request would provide $4 million to the Federal Bureau of Investigation to replace vehicles, laboratory and office equipment, and furniture damaged as a result of Hurricane Sandy.”

— “This request would provide $2.4 million in response to Hurricane Sandy to replace destroyed or damaged vehicles, including mobile x-ray machines at ports of entry in New York and New Jersey, and other equipment.”

— “This request would provide $1 million to the Drug Enforcement Administration, which would be used to repair or replace over 15 vehicles, information technology equipment, and antennas and repeaters at sites affected by Hurricane Sandy.”

— “This request would provide $855,000 to replace Immigration and Customs Enforcement law enforcement vehicles damaged in Hurricane Sandy.”

— “This request would provide $300,000 to replace Secret Service law enforcement vehicles as well as associated communications equipment permanently damaged by flooding associated with Hurricane Sandy.”

— “This request would provide $230,000 to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to replace three vehicles, repair communication lines, and replace damaged furniture as a result of Hurricane Sandy.”

— “This request would provide $20,000 for the Office of Inspector General to repair and replace vehicles, equipment, and furniture as a result of Hurricane Sandy.”

— “This request would provide $348 million for large-scale National Park Service projects that repair or rehabilitate a resource or facility damaged in national parks as a result of Hurricane Sandy. Hardest hit parks include Statue of Liberty Island, Ellis Island, Gateway NRA, and Fire Island. This request also includes funding for affected parks in Florida, North Carolina, and the D.C. area. Federal real property damage includes buildings, utilities, seawalls, docks, piers, and shoreline restoration. Equipment damage includes damages to radios, fueling stations, vehicles, boats, fire systems and historical assets.”

— “This request would provide $78 million for large-scale Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) projects that repair or rehabilitate resources or facilities damage to National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) or other FWS properties, such as Fish Health and Technology Centers in response to Hurricane Sandy. Refuges that were hit hardest by the Hurricane include E.B. Forsythe NWR (New Jersey), the Long Island NWR Complex (New York) and Prime Hook NWR (Delaware). This request also includes funding for Refuges from Florida to Maine. Major damage to Federal real property includes buildings, utilities, vegetation, gates, fences, seawalls, docks, and shorelines. Equipment damage includes damages to water treatment tanks, fueling stations, vehicles, and boats.”