Our story on local people facing the cut-off of unemployment benefits included a photo of this guy, who is not local.

Here's the AP cutline:

A person looking for work stands on a street corner in Portland, Maine. Unless Congress acts before the end of the month to extend unemployment benefits, thousands will lose their unemployment benefits during the next few months.

Excuse me, but THAT guy is not looking for work. That guy is panhandling! And nothing Congress does or doesn't do will prevent him from panhandling in 2011.

As for our local citizens collecting unemployed, 99 weeks is a pretty long time to be out of work. And excuse me again, but this also jumped out at me from our story:

"Barbara said she can’t get a more physically demanding job due to a disability. That does offer her the ability to apply for Social Security disability insurance, but for someone who has spent much of her life working toward independence, the thought of moving back in with her parents is devastating."

"Devastating?" Really? I don't know Barbara's parents but how bad can they be? Isn't that what families are for, to be there to help each other when hard times hit?

UPDATE: Then there's this story about the fake war veteran in New York. Get a load of Bob McMahon (not to be confused with our very own Media Mayor and real Vietnam War vet Bob McMahon.)
That missing arm, suddenly reappeared after a hard day's work guilting commuters into giving him money.

You've got to hand it to him, at least the only taxpayers he's a burden to are the ones who voluntarily subsidize his lifestyle, such as it is.

(Hat to: our Bob McMahon and The New York Post)