Sunday, December 25, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Everything I Need To Know I Learned In Little League
Everything I need to know I learned in Little League
Try the link above if you prefer to watch the video on YouTube.
Try the link above if you prefer to watch the video on YouTube.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Paychecks, Morality, Art and Government
America now has a Pay Czar. It seems that some rather large financial institutions have a man who now tells them how much they can pay some of their executives because they failed at some task or another. I am going to have to disagree with this concept.
Where do we draw the line on this concept? The Pittsburgh Pirates have not made it into the playoffs in 17 years but every member of their team is guaranteed a League Minimum Salary. Four members of their team earn more than two million dollars a year. Between their 26 players they spend over $25 million a year. That is a heck of a lot of cash to represent America’s 56th largest city so poorly.
There are a number of actors who I have enjoyed the work of only to be disappointed in some effort or another of theirs. I have enjoyed quite a few Brad Pitt movies. I enjoyed the movie Troy. In the movie Troy Brad Stunk up the screen the entire time. Tyler Durden may have been iconic and changed the way a generation of men viewed their place in the world but given what could be arguably better material, certainly material that has withstood a long test of time, Mr. Pitt delivered a performance that made me wish I was watching a 3rd grade Easter play. Is the Fed ready to cut his salary?
What is my government willing to do about moments of erectile dysfunction on porn sets? The poorly waxed alley I tried to bowl on last month? How about that craptastic burger I got from Wendy’s last week? Why do so many people in our country fail so spectacularly and evade the Sauron-like eye of our Pay Czar but somehow the folks doing an amazingly difficult job where they cannot control the circumstances of the market face retribution?
What we have on Wall Street is not a pay problem. We don’t have an incompetence problem either. What we have is a morality problem. Don’t we all know that you “Cannot legislate morality?” Do we? I have to disagree there. Legislation is a broad agreement on morality. Killing and stealing are widely, nearly universally, agreed to be immoral and we legislate that.
My biggest problem with art school was that the entire purpose of the institution was to create self-employed small business people and we were never prepared to run a small business. I have since become a strong component of most, if not all, majors being bound to have some kind of business training. Why can we not institute the same principles towards those who study business? How about a few classes on morality for America’s business people in training? A solid foundation in philosophy coupled with an agreement between employer and employee about the appropriateness of their financial decision would go much further in solving our current crisis than any pay strictures our government can provide.
Where do we draw the line on this concept? The Pittsburgh Pirates have not made it into the playoffs in 17 years but every member of their team is guaranteed a League Minimum Salary. Four members of their team earn more than two million dollars a year. Between their 26 players they spend over $25 million a year. That is a heck of a lot of cash to represent America’s 56th largest city so poorly.
There are a number of actors who I have enjoyed the work of only to be disappointed in some effort or another of theirs. I have enjoyed quite a few Brad Pitt movies. I enjoyed the movie Troy. In the movie Troy Brad Stunk up the screen the entire time. Tyler Durden may have been iconic and changed the way a generation of men viewed their place in the world but given what could be arguably better material, certainly material that has withstood a long test of time, Mr. Pitt delivered a performance that made me wish I was watching a 3rd grade Easter play. Is the Fed ready to cut his salary?
What is my government willing to do about moments of erectile dysfunction on porn sets? The poorly waxed alley I tried to bowl on last month? How about that craptastic burger I got from Wendy’s last week? Why do so many people in our country fail so spectacularly and evade the Sauron-like eye of our Pay Czar but somehow the folks doing an amazingly difficult job where they cannot control the circumstances of the market face retribution?
What we have on Wall Street is not a pay problem. We don’t have an incompetence problem either. What we have is a morality problem. Don’t we all know that you “Cannot legislate morality?” Do we? I have to disagree there. Legislation is a broad agreement on morality. Killing and stealing are widely, nearly universally, agreed to be immoral and we legislate that.
My biggest problem with art school was that the entire purpose of the institution was to create self-employed small business people and we were never prepared to run a small business. I have since become a strong component of most, if not all, majors being bound to have some kind of business training. Why can we not institute the same principles towards those who study business? How about a few classes on morality for America’s business people in training? A solid foundation in philosophy coupled with an agreement between employer and employee about the appropriateness of their financial decision would go much further in solving our current crisis than any pay strictures our government can provide.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Things I Am Sure Of: (First in a series)
Things I am sure of:
#1 Any gift, and I mean any gift, can be wrapped poorly.
#2 Scales at the DMV would reduce our obesity problem. It is hard to lie on your taxes and there are penalties for it. Lie when they ask your weight and there are no consequences. Make folks climb on a scale to get their license and we would have fewer drivers or fewer fat people. Either one is good.
#1 Any gift, and I mean any gift, can be wrapped poorly.
#2 Scales at the DMV would reduce our obesity problem. It is hard to lie on your taxes and there are penalties for it. Lie when they ask your weight and there are no consequences. Make folks climb on a scale to get their license and we would have fewer drivers or fewer fat people. Either one is good.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Taxes and Services
A recent Letter to the Editor:
“You get what you pay for.” It is an accepted fact of life. You do not get a penthouse for $300 a month nor can you expect a top of the line luxury sedan on the cheap. We accept this in every facet of our lives except one- Government. Why is that?
I am hearing quite the uproar about the possibility of a new prepared food tax, Tea Party protesters have marched on Washington and April 15th is the grumpiest day of the year. When are the taxpayers of America going to start acting like adults? Every tax is met with a groan and complaint but demand for services from the government continue to swell. If we want fewer taxes we have to decide what we are going to quit asking for. Shall the FDA quit researching whether drugs are safe? Are you going to explain to the policemen who guard your family that you didn’t want t pay the tax to keep their cars running, much less for a Kevlar vest? Which of us is going to demand fire service while explaining we don’t want to pay for the truck and the good people risking their lives deserve to be paid less than the fellow who mows your lawn?
As long as Americans continue to assault and berate our elected officials by demanding services while insisting taxes be lowered we will never have the best and brightest in leadership positions of government and we will never get the best out of those officials we have.
“You get what you pay for.” It is an accepted fact of life. You do not get a penthouse for $300 a month nor can you expect a top of the line luxury sedan on the cheap. We accept this in every facet of our lives except one- Government. Why is that?
I am hearing quite the uproar about the possibility of a new prepared food tax, Tea Party protesters have marched on Washington and April 15th is the grumpiest day of the year. When are the taxpayers of America going to start acting like adults? Every tax is met with a groan and complaint but demand for services from the government continue to swell. If we want fewer taxes we have to decide what we are going to quit asking for. Shall the FDA quit researching whether drugs are safe? Are you going to explain to the policemen who guard your family that you didn’t want t pay the tax to keep their cars running, much less for a Kevlar vest? Which of us is going to demand fire service while explaining we don’t want to pay for the truck and the good people risking their lives deserve to be paid less than the fellow who mows your lawn?
As long as Americans continue to assault and berate our elected officials by demanding services while insisting taxes be lowered we will never have the best and brightest in leadership positions of government and we will never get the best out of those officials we have.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Famous For Being Famous
What is famous simply for being famous? We have celebrity chefs who put much more emphasis on the celebrity than the chef, rappers who don’t write their own lyrics and singers who can’t sing!
With a significant percentage of high school children (yes, they are still children) believing that they will someday be famous. In a recent MTV poll (because when I think ‘Accurate polling’ the first thing that pops into my mind is MTV!) 25% of teenagers think that they will be famous. Stunning. I wonder how many of them think it will be for hard work they are doing now.
Schwarzenegger was already bulking up by 14, many Olympians are facing ruination towards then end of puberty and song/dance sensations frequently have peaked and disappeared into reality TV by 30. It would seem that those things most likely to lead to fame would be evident and marked by the teen years. Sure, nuclear physicists and brain surgeons haven’t even started on the core of their training until well past the legal age to buy a bottle of brandy but how many of them can you name?
Fame, itself, as a goal seems most peculiar. Notice that more and more fame seems to be a goal instead of a side effect of excellence. Fame was, at one time not too long ago, a consequence of some quality or combination of qualities pursued for their own sake. To be the best baseball player or to be able to entertain through some skill was the goal and fame frequently followed. It is almost unheard of today to find a talented individual who has no ambition to take their chosen practice no further than an intimate jazz club or local park. Total domination of the pop charts and early draft choices would seem to be the only worthwhile conclusion if we listened to our youth.
How did an entire generation come to celebrate fame rather than excellence? It is like taking a medication for the side effects. “You know Bob, I don’t care if it keeps me from being depressed or not, the hair loss and burning diarrhea are the real benefits.” Can you imagine?
With a significant percentage of high school children (yes, they are still children) believing that they will someday be famous. In a recent MTV poll (because when I think ‘Accurate polling’ the first thing that pops into my mind is MTV!) 25% of teenagers think that they will be famous. Stunning. I wonder how many of them think it will be for hard work they are doing now.
Schwarzenegger was already bulking up by 14, many Olympians are facing ruination towards then end of puberty and song/dance sensations frequently have peaked and disappeared into reality TV by 30. It would seem that those things most likely to lead to fame would be evident and marked by the teen years. Sure, nuclear physicists and brain surgeons haven’t even started on the core of their training until well past the legal age to buy a bottle of brandy but how many of them can you name?
Fame, itself, as a goal seems most peculiar. Notice that more and more fame seems to be a goal instead of a side effect of excellence. Fame was, at one time not too long ago, a consequence of some quality or combination of qualities pursued for their own sake. To be the best baseball player or to be able to entertain through some skill was the goal and fame frequently followed. It is almost unheard of today to find a talented individual who has no ambition to take their chosen practice no further than an intimate jazz club or local park. Total domination of the pop charts and early draft choices would seem to be the only worthwhile conclusion if we listened to our youth.
How did an entire generation come to celebrate fame rather than excellence? It is like taking a medication for the side effects. “You know Bob, I don’t care if it keeps me from being depressed or not, the hair loss and burning diarrhea are the real benefits.” Can you imagine?
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Another Dick In the Wall
Remember the terrible fear of the Cold War? Can you remember the hideous fear of sudden annihilation from the sky? We knew we were the good guys. Western Europe and the United States of America were obviously on the side of right. Sure, we had a ton of nukes pointed at everyone and their grandmother but we had the symbolism on our side. Those wacky Commies built a wall, you see. We stood for freedom and they stood for oppression and anyone who was willing to look at the pictures or listen to the speeches knew this because they had a wall. They were so afraid of justice and freedom and unrestricted travel that they had to stack bricks and concrete and top it off with razor wire and spikes like some hideous sundae of oppression because they were wrong.
The Iron Curtain was its name and while it was only a symbol to people in the ‘free world’ it was a powerful symbol. Folks who were right needed no walls and folks who were wrong needed walls. Prisons have walls, the Eastern Bloc had walls ergo they were obviously ninnies and bad guys and sported an inferior political system and probably were late for meetings and farted in elevators and all those other terrible wall builder type of behaviors. Our lack of wall building showed that we were apple pie makers who all mowed grass for old ladies and didn’t accept payment. IT was the exact opposite of might makes right. Our rightness is what gave us might. And we won, dammit. 1991, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” And Gorbachev ran right out to the middle of Germany and pounded the wall down, wiping the sweat and port wine stain right off his big forehead. No walls equals we win.
Fast forward. Early twenty-first century and what have we done with our winnings? Well, our allies in Israel are building some walls. Walls between them and those nasty people who made the terrible mistake of never leaving the Middle East and by virtue of building homes, occupying the land for several centuries straight and tending their orchards somehow came to believe that the land actually belonged to them. Somehow, when they got violent about their homes and lands being taken from them this was seen as very unneighborly and they now deserve to be attacked and killed for throwing rocks at tanks. That’ll teach them. Lord knows that over here in the land of the free you aren’t allowed to shoot at trespassers and thieves, right?
Now, we are in Iraq. Some folks there don’t get along. Sunni and Shia mix like oil and water it seems and a strong arm was keeping them apart. Now, do not misunderstand me. I am not defending the principles of the now dead Mr. Hussein. But let us please be honest about the blame for the Middle Eastern situation. Much of it lies at the feet of whatever bastard in England was allowed to goof all over the map of the Fertile Crescent like a drunken Parkinson’s victim with his own particular crayon of randomness. So how are we fixing it? Tanks and walls. That is right. Drawing artificial lines didn’t teach these people to do what we want when we want so we built a three mile long wall between some Sunni and Shia and there hasn’t been any violence in Iraq since. Wow, we rock!
These stunning successes have taught a valuable lesson. Walls are not just about politics, they work great for controlling brown people. Thus, we are attempting to build a 1,500 mile long wall along our border with Mexico. A few Republican congressmen have actually suggested a wall around Daytona Beach to keep anyone who gets too tan from returning. That is right. A 1,500 mile wall. Now, we know for a fact that no one ever escaped the Eastern Bloc, Palestinians are no longer threatening those fragile Israeli tanks with their nasty slings and rocks (those bullies!) and Iraq has been completely pacified so this wall will, of course, work.
Now, there are already enough tunnels going under the border to provide every stoner west of the Mississippi with enough Mexican Brown Dirt Dope to get through the year. Any moron with a canoe can ease themselves out into the Gulf of Mexico (We need to rename that while we are at it, right? Gulf of Texas has a nice ring!) and land on a Texas beach, assuming people go to Texas voluntarily. And those funky Wright Brothers let their plans get out and it is my understanding that airplanes are actually used down there. But a wall, well, a wall will stop them for sure. Because walls represent freedom, right?
The Iron Curtain was its name and while it was only a symbol to people in the ‘free world’ it was a powerful symbol. Folks who were right needed no walls and folks who were wrong needed walls. Prisons have walls, the Eastern Bloc had walls ergo they were obviously ninnies and bad guys and sported an inferior political system and probably were late for meetings and farted in elevators and all those other terrible wall builder type of behaviors. Our lack of wall building showed that we were apple pie makers who all mowed grass for old ladies and didn’t accept payment. IT was the exact opposite of might makes right. Our rightness is what gave us might. And we won, dammit. 1991, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” And Gorbachev ran right out to the middle of Germany and pounded the wall down, wiping the sweat and port wine stain right off his big forehead. No walls equals we win.
Fast forward. Early twenty-first century and what have we done with our winnings? Well, our allies in Israel are building some walls. Walls between them and those nasty people who made the terrible mistake of never leaving the Middle East and by virtue of building homes, occupying the land for several centuries straight and tending their orchards somehow came to believe that the land actually belonged to them. Somehow, when they got violent about their homes and lands being taken from them this was seen as very unneighborly and they now deserve to be attacked and killed for throwing rocks at tanks. That’ll teach them. Lord knows that over here in the land of the free you aren’t allowed to shoot at trespassers and thieves, right?
Now, we are in Iraq. Some folks there don’t get along. Sunni and Shia mix like oil and water it seems and a strong arm was keeping them apart. Now, do not misunderstand me. I am not defending the principles of the now dead Mr. Hussein. But let us please be honest about the blame for the Middle Eastern situation. Much of it lies at the feet of whatever bastard in England was allowed to goof all over the map of the Fertile Crescent like a drunken Parkinson’s victim with his own particular crayon of randomness. So how are we fixing it? Tanks and walls. That is right. Drawing artificial lines didn’t teach these people to do what we want when we want so we built a three mile long wall between some Sunni and Shia and there hasn’t been any violence in Iraq since. Wow, we rock!
These stunning successes have taught a valuable lesson. Walls are not just about politics, they work great for controlling brown people. Thus, we are attempting to build a 1,500 mile long wall along our border with Mexico. A few Republican congressmen have actually suggested a wall around Daytona Beach to keep anyone who gets too tan from returning. That is right. A 1,500 mile wall. Now, we know for a fact that no one ever escaped the Eastern Bloc, Palestinians are no longer threatening those fragile Israeli tanks with their nasty slings and rocks (those bullies!) and Iraq has been completely pacified so this wall will, of course, work.
Now, there are already enough tunnels going under the border to provide every stoner west of the Mississippi with enough Mexican Brown Dirt Dope to get through the year. Any moron with a canoe can ease themselves out into the Gulf of Mexico (We need to rename that while we are at it, right? Gulf of Texas has a nice ring!) and land on a Texas beach, assuming people go to Texas voluntarily. And those funky Wright Brothers let their plans get out and it is my understanding that airplanes are actually used down there. But a wall, well, a wall will stop them for sure. Because walls represent freedom, right?
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Ripe and Rotten Fruit...On Tour Now!
“With so much drama in the L-B-C
Its kinda hard bein Snoop D-O-double-G
But I, somehow, some way
Keep comin up with funky ass shit like every single day”
-Snoop
But he doesn’t, does he? I mean, has Snoop come up with “…funky ass shit, like, every single day?”
No. And it isn’t his fault. Well, it is partially his fault but that is as far as I will go. Do you remember Pearl Jam’s first album? Remember the first time you heard the now worn Welcome To the Jungle? Remember Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magic before it became Scabby, Saccharin, Masturbatory, Mundane? What happened? Are you really so much more sophisticated now than then?
No offense to you but I doubt it.
That first public work, at least for musicians, is a monumental task of epic worth. It involves blood sweat and tears, sometimes literally, and changes the band as much as it changes all of us, if done correctly. This awesome act of birth, yes, birth, is painful, beautiful to watch and inspiring even when it brings us something that will later turn into the current Metallica or dump someone like Axl Rose on society at large for the next two to three decades. So why is that the second, third and fourth album so frequently fail to impress? I would argue that there are several reasons.
Me, me, me, now, now, now!!! is the first problem. Not the whiny artists, the whiny consumer. Yes, I loved the subtle grooves and funky lyrics of that first album, too. But can we all stop and realize that, with the exception of pure evil such as Miley Cyrus and Tiffany, talent that inspires many takes a long time to develop. Twenty years is no tome at all to produce a decent singer or guitarist. Twenty five is a decent number and no one ever got hurt by waiting to serve the wine until it was time by letting an artist reach their thirties before wringing some genius and cash out of them. So how is it, that after letting a childhood, lessons, early performances, failed attempts, club dates and broken hearts produce a work of genius, or at least dancability, that we want a follow up within 18 months? Sure, the Beatles kicked our ass over and over again but they are the exception to the rule. Don’t believe me? Go break out all your Led Zeppelin vinyl and listen to them on order of their release. Led Zeppelin rocked, Led Zeppelin IV set a standard, and Physical Graffiti can be listened to but Coda? Seriously? Coda? Get outta here!
The second is need. Not want, need. This secret doesn’t work for sex, well, it doesn’t work for guys and sex, but it does work with music. Hunger makes even Captain D’s seem like good food if you wait long enough. Once the adulation, eager groupies, travel and big money start to sink in you are no longer dealing with the same artist. You are dealing with a spoiled dweeb. Spoiled dweeb is if you are lucky. Frequently you are dealing with a megalomaniacal ass of epic proportions that would make Darth Vader look like a pony-tailed church girl with candy to share. I consider myself a decent human being but if you offer me my fill of nubile college girls, wads of cash and my own jet with a list of riders on my contract letting me describe under what conditions I am willing to pursue my passion with all the free, kinky sex I can take and a small army of sycophantic suck ups I am under no delusion that I will be throwing temper tantrums over my tea being 3 degree off my preferred temperature in just under a heartbeat. You would too, trust me.
This situation cannot be helped by record companies that pursue a steady supply of cash like fat, single girls treat wedding cake. There is maximizing what you have and then there are record companies. These over-industrious leeches think that if an artist doesn’t produce 3 top 10 hits a year they have wasted their investment. As if their investment somehow entailed driving a precocious Kurt Cobain to his guitar lesson at the age of 9 and being forced to sit through his early adolescent poetry. These epic level morons wait until the tree ahs fruit and then stand around looking sharp but useless whining through three seasons that it isn’t time to make jam again yet. But that is another rant.
So, what now? Do we eliminate long-term contracts? Visual artists spent a few centuries showing that they were only as good as their next painting or sculpture and it seemed to work for them. Executing record company executives seems appealing but there are legal difficulties in the effort and there will always be another crop of cocksure asshats lining up to take their places. Educating the public seems like it would work but if that was possible it would have been done by now, Van
Gogh would still have both ears and someone would have kicked the shit out of Mozart’s father when it would have done some good.
What if everyone was a little more patient? You, me, record company executives, that whore who got Van Goghs ear, and even the artists themselves. Is there not enough music? Wouldn’t you rather have your favorite artist produce a whole, heaping mess of genius twice a decade than sit through another mediocre attempt?
Its kinda hard bein Snoop D-O-double-G
But I, somehow, some way
Keep comin up with funky ass shit like every single day”
-Snoop
But he doesn’t, does he? I mean, has Snoop come up with “…funky ass shit, like, every single day?”
No. And it isn’t his fault. Well, it is partially his fault but that is as far as I will go. Do you remember Pearl Jam’s first album? Remember the first time you heard the now worn Welcome To the Jungle? Remember Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magic before it became Scabby, Saccharin, Masturbatory, Mundane? What happened? Are you really so much more sophisticated now than then?
No offense to you but I doubt it.
That first public work, at least for musicians, is a monumental task of epic worth. It involves blood sweat and tears, sometimes literally, and changes the band as much as it changes all of us, if done correctly. This awesome act of birth, yes, birth, is painful, beautiful to watch and inspiring even when it brings us something that will later turn into the current Metallica or dump someone like Axl Rose on society at large for the next two to three decades. So why is that the second, third and fourth album so frequently fail to impress? I would argue that there are several reasons.
Me, me, me, now, now, now!!! is the first problem. Not the whiny artists, the whiny consumer. Yes, I loved the subtle grooves and funky lyrics of that first album, too. But can we all stop and realize that, with the exception of pure evil such as Miley Cyrus and Tiffany, talent that inspires many takes a long time to develop. Twenty years is no tome at all to produce a decent singer or guitarist. Twenty five is a decent number and no one ever got hurt by waiting to serve the wine until it was time by letting an artist reach their thirties before wringing some genius and cash out of them. So how is it, that after letting a childhood, lessons, early performances, failed attempts, club dates and broken hearts produce a work of genius, or at least dancability, that we want a follow up within 18 months? Sure, the Beatles kicked our ass over and over again but they are the exception to the rule. Don’t believe me? Go break out all your Led Zeppelin vinyl and listen to them on order of their release. Led Zeppelin rocked, Led Zeppelin IV set a standard, and Physical Graffiti can be listened to but Coda? Seriously? Coda? Get outta here!
The second is need. Not want, need. This secret doesn’t work for sex, well, it doesn’t work for guys and sex, but it does work with music. Hunger makes even Captain D’s seem like good food if you wait long enough. Once the adulation, eager groupies, travel and big money start to sink in you are no longer dealing with the same artist. You are dealing with a spoiled dweeb. Spoiled dweeb is if you are lucky. Frequently you are dealing with a megalomaniacal ass of epic proportions that would make Darth Vader look like a pony-tailed church girl with candy to share. I consider myself a decent human being but if you offer me my fill of nubile college girls, wads of cash and my own jet with a list of riders on my contract letting me describe under what conditions I am willing to pursue my passion with all the free, kinky sex I can take and a small army of sycophantic suck ups I am under no delusion that I will be throwing temper tantrums over my tea being 3 degree off my preferred temperature in just under a heartbeat. You would too, trust me.
This situation cannot be helped by record companies that pursue a steady supply of cash like fat, single girls treat wedding cake. There is maximizing what you have and then there are record companies. These over-industrious leeches think that if an artist doesn’t produce 3 top 10 hits a year they have wasted their investment. As if their investment somehow entailed driving a precocious Kurt Cobain to his guitar lesson at the age of 9 and being forced to sit through his early adolescent poetry. These epic level morons wait until the tree ahs fruit and then stand around looking sharp but useless whining through three seasons that it isn’t time to make jam again yet. But that is another rant.
So, what now? Do we eliminate long-term contracts? Visual artists spent a few centuries showing that they were only as good as their next painting or sculpture and it seemed to work for them. Executing record company executives seems appealing but there are legal difficulties in the effort and there will always be another crop of cocksure asshats lining up to take their places. Educating the public seems like it would work but if that was possible it would have been done by now, Van
Gogh would still have both ears and someone would have kicked the shit out of Mozart’s father when it would have done some good.
What if everyone was a little more patient? You, me, record company executives, that whore who got Van Goghs ear, and even the artists themselves. Is there not enough music? Wouldn’t you rather have your favorite artist produce a whole, heaping mess of genius twice a decade than sit through another mediocre attempt?
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Bodies or Battles?
Given a choice would you give pleasure or remove it? This is not a complex question. If you had the ability to make everyone on earth as happy as they could be or you could remove all of their joy, which would you choose?
My money says you didn’t even have to pause. I would bet in a heartbeat that you would choose to be the best at giving joy. (If your name is Snape or Lucifer, kiss my tuckus and go watch Fox News) This is why people become singers, teachers, dancers, artist and strippers. Giving joy is not only a great thing to do but it also will be the skill that always leaves you wanted in the market.
Where do we find joy? Brownies probably make you joyful, unless you are diabetic. A job well done may make you joyful but other times it is just tedium. A good piece of music may leave you joyful but eventually it will get old. It may be the 500th time in a row you hear it but it will get old.
So what does work? What works across every culture and throughout time? What brings enough joy to make people risk their lives, surrender their income, start wars, alter their appearance and tell a million lies? Sex, baby! Bumping uglies. Rocking the casbah. Knocking boots. The horizontal mambo. A vigorous game of hide the sausage. The bedroom rodeo.
Now, what removes pleasure? What things can you think of that would remove not only pleasure but any chance of pleasure? Sure, taxes come to mind. So does borscht, if you have retained any knowledge of decent cuisine. However, taxes do not remove all pleasure and there are people who enjoy borscht. I don’t know how, but there are.
How about war? All of it. Not the glorious, identify with the hero, B.S. you get form Hollywood or the stories you were taught to revel in form G.I. Joe cartoons and bad T.V. where you either survive or die instantly but the real version. The ‘My god my face just got ripped off and all I can do is produce guttural screams and moans out of my now-jawless mouth while no one cares because their own asses are on the line’ type of war. The needless suffering and civilian casualty version of war. The part where it doesn’t even matter if you are good at it because artillery can end your pasty ass form miles (or continents in modern warfare) away while you think it is lunchtime type of war. Finish this sentence: “______ is hell.” Not even borscht or taxes fill it adequately. Only war.
War is the end of physical, emotional and intellectual joy. Ask anyone who has lost one, they will tell you. At least the non-maimed, non-paralyzed, still-sane people will tell you. Even the winners come back with scars, seen or unseen. War damages even those who do not participate. Name me a war that stopped so a group of children could get out of the way. Name the war where no innocent person died. Please, list me the wars that included only volunteers who all came out thinking ”Not bad, we should do this again sometime.” Go to a thousand Hallmark stores and you will not find a single “Thanks for the war!” card. Not one.
While we are being so truthful about all of this let’s discuss, well, being truthful. I would not suggest lying as a day to day activity for anyone (questions about buttock appearance in new dresses aside) but I would say we should especially leave it out of anything we choose to call education. Can we agree on that? Telling schoolchildren that the North American continent is made of peanut brittle and the sun is a ball of leftover Christmas lights is not what we, as a society, have as an aim. We attempt to be honest even when we fudge around the edges or use language in tricky ways. (Remember that whole story about Columbus ‘discovering’ a continent that had 10 million people on it? Hell, my local Wal-Mart only has about 400 people in it and I am not allowed to just bop in, plant a flag and claim it!)
So how did we get caught up in debating Sex Education? Seriously, how? We have been duped again. No sane person would even stop to pretend there should be a debate. What is the question anyway? “Well, Bobby, we seem to have a method for people to share near-ultimate bliss and if they don’t know how to do it properly their little peckers will fall off and their lives will be ruined by having to drag a little crotch-monkey to Senior Prom. Not to mention a burning sensation in that particular area of their body with a stunning concentration of nerve ending for the rest of their lives. Should we tell them about it or just expect them to figure this genital rocket science out on their own?” Is that a question any sane person would ask? And that doesn’t even begin to touch on the whole ‘Smart enough to know abuse and name who did it’ protection form Catholic priests and other monsters’ aspect.
How, as a culture, did we fall for the concept of pre-emptive war with far away cultures but stop to argue about whether Dick and Jane should be told how to play with their dicks and, well, janes? Should we not be mastering the equipment we are born with before mastering the taking of human life? And while we are at it, maybe a map to the clitoris for Cletus instead of a map to the Persian Gulf for the Pentagon?
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Haiku, Zen and the Politics of Politics
Lost economy
Like characters on some isle.
Is it all a dream?
Bi-racial Nazi?
Surely not even Glenn Beck
Believes this horse shit
Universal health?
What a national nightmare!
How goes that Oil War?
Democracy dies
If enough people believe
Instead of thinking
Pimps run for Congress
Family Values for sale
Urinal cake smell
Our own FCC
Stares at Janet Jackson’s boob
To protect us all
Health care somehow means
Boners for old men to use
But not birth control.
Kanye, Wilson, Vonnegut. Vonnegut Wins.
The Joe Wilsons and Kanye Wests of the world will burn through more resources this year, more privilege this year, more influence this year than I will have in a lifetime…and it is not enough for them. When did we make these monsters so important?
How is it that these people were able to rise to such influential positions while being unable to recognize their turn to speak? If one cannot recognize the difference between being the invited speaker and being in the audience how do they manage normal conversation?
Kanye is being ripped a new one all over the media, both old and new. Joe Wilson has become a major force in America recognizing that Republicans are not making a good faith effort to work with Democrats to find a solution that benefits America. Poll
We are creating these monsters constantly but there is good news. We could all start reading Vonnegut. Kurt gave us all the advice we need. We must, as a group, look these people in the eye and tell them “To take a flying fuck at a rolling doughnut. Take a flying fuck at the mooooon!”
You may think this is happening. Huge news has been made of Joe Wilson’s opponent raising around a million dollars in under 3 days after Joe’s hissy fit in front of the nation. What has not gained as much attention is that Mr. Wilson has raised about 75% of that, started with a larger war chest and has the advantage of being an incumbent.
It is too soon to prove it but I am willing to bet that Kanye West will be allowed into the next VMA. I bet he is allowed into the Grammy Award ceremony as well. And probably the Oscars. Do you think his management and record company are trying to separate themselves from him this morning or celebrating the free publicity?
There is almost always a movement on to ‘Throw the bums out!’ in America. With the current funding structure this is very unlikely to happen. Members of Congress seeking re-election have a success rate over 95%. But how about Kanye? Surely you will get the opportunity to go see a local musician instead of funding his ridiculousness. And writing your Congressman or Senator is always a crapshoot but if you write MTV and explain your vote in economic terms I am willing to bet you get a much better response.
We need more tolerance as a country, this is true. I am going to ask you to realize that, in many ways, we need a lot less tolerance. Remember Vonnegut. Remember that these two have shown no respect for the rights of the speaker, no tolerance for disagreement and no patience. I say we show them the same.
Kick Ass and Chew Bubblegum (With Too Much Emphasis on the Bubblegum)
You are going to hear one now that you do not hear from me too darned often. I think the Republicans have the better game plan. They have finally caught on, after our 233 year experiment in democracy that being right doesn’t matter in a democracy. Getting lots of people to agree with you is all that matters. What kind of scenario would make me retract this and get back behind the Democrats?
How about this scenario: Someone in Washington gathers enough intestinal fortitude to stand up to the nutcases who, with a majority in both houses, the Presidency and free pass from the Supreme Court gave the populace nothing but the largest terror attack ever on our soil, a useless lie of a war, an inability to humble a cave-dwelling opponent and a new name for french fries?
With 20 of 29 years under their near-complete control the Republicans promised to stop abortion and didn’t, promised broad gun rights and failed to deliver, assured America of security they could not deliver, made ‘intelligence’ an oxymoron, and pushed prayer over clear thinking. What did they actually accomplish? They lowered taxes on the rich and drove the economy into the ground. And not a simple drop-the-ball kind of drive it into the ground but a full blown muscley-moustachioed-guy with a sledgehammer Big-Top-tent-stake kind of drove it into the ground. Now, out of power they are still making all the noise.
You see, this is not a war, it is a shouting match. That is what a democracy is now. The Republican shouters may be irrational douchebags in depends carrying pictures of an interracial constitutional scholar with a Hitler moustache Sharpied onto his face but shouting is what they are doing. And shouting is all that matters in a shouting match.
Here is my request to the Democrats: Start kicking asses, start screaming or pull a Palin and quit, go home and bitch incessantly on Facebook.
Not all Republicans are racists. However, enough of them are it should be an embarrassment to the party. Not all Republicans are screaming about Socialism without being able to define it. However, enough are that it should be an embarrassment to the party. Not all Republicans have joined Glenn Beck’s brainless, ignorant horde. But enough have that is should be embarrassing. And guess what? They are not embarrassed. In contrast the Obama administration just ousted a man from the club for calling Republicans ‘assholes’ and daring to think the Bush government didn’t do enough to stop 9/11.
Obama isn’t Hitler. He is starting to look like Pope Pius XII, though. Standing on the sidelines afraid to call a Nazi a Nazi. Perhaps he could take a cue and start defending policy and belief as vigorously as the Catholic Church has defended the pedophiles in its ranks?
How about this scenario: Someone in Washington gathers enough intestinal fortitude to stand up to the nutcases who, with a majority in both houses, the Presidency and free pass from the Supreme Court gave the populace nothing but the largest terror attack ever on our soil, a useless lie of a war, an inability to humble a cave-dwelling opponent and a new name for french fries?
With 20 of 29 years under their near-complete control the Republicans promised to stop abortion and didn’t, promised broad gun rights and failed to deliver, assured America of security they could not deliver, made ‘intelligence’ an oxymoron, and pushed prayer over clear thinking. What did they actually accomplish? They lowered taxes on the rich and drove the economy into the ground. And not a simple drop-the-ball kind of drive it into the ground but a full blown muscley-moustachioed-guy with a sledgehammer Big-Top-tent-stake kind of drove it into the ground. Now, out of power they are still making all the noise.
You see, this is not a war, it is a shouting match. That is what a democracy is now. The Republican shouters may be irrational douchebags in depends carrying pictures of an interracial constitutional scholar with a Hitler moustache Sharpied onto his face but shouting is what they are doing. And shouting is all that matters in a shouting match.
Here is my request to the Democrats: Start kicking asses, start screaming or pull a Palin and quit, go home and bitch incessantly on Facebook.
Not all Republicans are racists. However, enough of them are it should be an embarrassment to the party. Not all Republicans are screaming about Socialism without being able to define it. However, enough are that it should be an embarrassment to the party. Not all Republicans have joined Glenn Beck’s brainless, ignorant horde. But enough have that is should be embarrassing. And guess what? They are not embarrassed. In contrast the Obama administration just ousted a man from the club for calling Republicans ‘assholes’ and daring to think the Bush government didn’t do enough to stop 9/11.
Obama isn’t Hitler. He is starting to look like Pope Pius XII, though. Standing on the sidelines afraid to call a Nazi a Nazi. Perhaps he could take a cue and start defending policy and belief as vigorously as the Catholic Church has defended the pedophiles in its ranks?
Getting the Government Out of Health Care
Another argument against Health Care Reform: “the government messes up everything it touches. Why let them into health care?”
I say we let them win this one. Hand it over to them. Agree in every way that the government should not be involved in funding or regulating any care for health.
First, this will mean getting government agencies at all level away from the abortion debate. Abortions are not provided by shoe salesmen; they are performed by doctors and involve the health of the mother and the fetus. I am so sorry that you have worked so hard to prevent abortion but it has become obvious that your beliefs contradict your actions. Back off.
Next, that sandwich you are stuffing in your face. Every ingredient in it is fair game for a government Health Inspector. No more. If the folks who run the slaughterhouse want to just skim off a little bit of rancid meat on the edges and push the product on to you that is their prerogative. You will also get to find out just how enjoyable it is to have no limits on the amount of rat feces on the grain that made the bun. While we are on the subject there will be no more ingredient lists. This is a government effort and law to protect your health. That nutritional information on the side also becomes fair game for whatever they wish to tell you.
Medicare? Government program, shut it down. Same for Medicaid. These people are already sucking far more money out of the government than they put in. It sounds like this one not only violates the government and healthcare rule but it reeks of socialism. We can’t have that. Oh, and aid to women and infants? Out the window with it. That is just the government interfering in healthcare again.
Remember the outrage about lead in toys coming from China? Well, that is the government interfering in your child’s health. Choking hazards will fall under the same turf. We will just have to give whatever toys you can get to your kids and conduct a long-term experiment by seeing which ones die. It would be terrible to have the government involved in protecting their health, yes?
Oh! The Food and Drug Administration is another one of those nasty, nasty government health programs. Get ready for medications being completely unregulated because we can’t have the government running around screwing that up!
While we have that red marker out we have to hit them all, right? This means six million bucks in cancer research out the window. $16,000,000,000 a year in research funds, including government funding that was instrumental in 15 of the 21 drugs with the greatest therapeutic effect released between 1965 and 1992. Thank goodness we can keep the government form screwing that up!
Now, I am just a humble artist who can’t possibly understand this huge issue so I am quite sure that this list of protections, er, I mean interference by the government in healthcare is by no means exhaustive but all you people against the government screwing up healthcare won’t mind these changes until I can figure out what else needs shut down, right?
Oh, darn! The V.A.! Somebody call all the veterans. They are on their own.
Snake Oil and the Snakes Who Sell It.
One of the arguments I consistently hear conservatives use against Health Care Reform is that “Government can’t get anything right! Why let them into healthcare?” (Right before they get on the interstate to buy a burger that was inspected by a Fed.)
Well, let’s look at some other facts and predictions by our Right-wing brethren, shall we?
It would seem that the Conservatives who argue against government involvement have quite a few favorite lines to throw out. Let’s take a detailed look at their logic using…their logic.
We are just a few years into the experiment but it would appear, according to the numbers, that the divorce rate in Massachusetts has dropped since homosexual couples have been allowed to marry in that state. I guess one group is defending marriage more than the others? They’re here, they’re queer and they’re not getting divorced like you folks who defend marriage.
Shall we touch on those awful weapons of mass destruction in Iraq? Perhaps the Iraqi connection with 9/11? Maybe we should skip those and go right to the part where our troops were met with flowers in the street as liberators. "It could last six days, six weeks. I doubt six months." Ah, Rumsfeld: WRONG! How about G.W. Bush, over six years ago: “Good news to the men and women who fought ... their mission is complete.” WRONG! And six years ago Cheney told us “I think it'll go relatively quickly, …
Weeks rather than months.” When he was asked how long the conflict would last. WRONG!
Karl Rove predicted a majority for Repubs in 2006. That didn’t quite work. He also stated “"The Republican philosophy is alive and well and likely to reemerge in the majority in 2008." Well, isn’t that cute. And wrong. Very, very wrong.
How about Bill Kristol? "If [Hillary Clinton] gets a race against John Edwards and Barack Obama, she's going to be the nominee. Gore is the only threat to her ... Barack Obama is not going to beat Hillary Clinton in a single democratic primary. I'll predict that right now." Wow. Wrong-a-palooza!
Peter Mulhern in 2007- "In this case conventional wisdom is not just wrong but comically so. [Fred] Thompson will win the Republican nomination for two reasons. First, he's a very impressive candidate. Second, there's no realistic alternative. He will win the general election for the same two reasons." Wrong-a-long-a-ding-dong.
Ann Coulter in 2007- "I think it's probably going to be Romney for the Republicans, Hillary for the Democrats." Not even close!
Rudy Guliani in 2008- "We'll win Florida. It's an unconventional strategy, but I've never followed conventional wisdom before; it's always worked." Somebody call Rudy. Tell him he is SO wrong.
Rush Limbaugh- "I think [Obama has] been dead in the water since the primaries.” Ouchies!
"High tech is potent, precise, and in the end, unbeatable. …Look, I want to give the high-five symbol to high tech." —George Bush Sr., on the growing tech bubble. Remember that busting in our faces like a cheap bubble gum bubble?
Do you remember being told that even if you disagreed with the President you should have respect for the office? Guess what- It was a Republican who screamed out his (totally false) opinion in the middle of President Obama’s speech.
Now, this same group, this same mindset, is telling us all that Healthcare reform will be the end of us. They shout the word “Socialism” without being able to define it. They insist, through all of it, that they are compassionate.
How many times can you be sold the same snake oil? How many times can you believe? How many times am I expected to see the same people following the same group making the same bad predictions before it is no longer rude to laugh in your face?
We all know the adage "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and
expecting different results.” So how many times are you going to listen? Really.
Pugilistic Linguists and the Temple of Thought
I am not a linguist, but shouldn’t language become simpler over time? What does it say about our language and specifically about US culture that our language is apparently becoming more convoluted? And can we stop and take a look at how the Conservative movement has taken control of so many situations by taking control of language?
Truthers don’t seem to be too interested in facts. Birthers are not concerned with childbirth, outside of single child’s birth. Freepers are not worried about delivering more freedom. Birchers do not seem to care about the fate of trees.
This bastardization of our language seems to be about normalizing the fringe. I say it is high time that the liberal crowd took advantage of it. We should start labeling things ourselves, we should take over a few words and see if we cannot spread them like wildfire.
Do you believe that two people who love one another should be allowed to marry, regardless of gender? I say you are a ‘Lover.”
Are you of the opinion that health care should be available to all, regardless of income? I dub you a “Carer.”
Would you agree that a homosexual can be patriotic and should be able to demonstrate that patriotism by serving in the armed forces and fighting for their country? I say we call you a “Fighter.”
If someone you know drives a gas hog vehicle capable of carrying eight passengers and they do not regularly carry eight passengers we need a new name for them as well. Hawgs is a label taken year ago by our two-wheeled friends so I suggest we call them ‘Gassy.’
If you believe abortion should only be available to victims of rape, I guess we have to call you a ‘Raper.’
As for those who work against environmental laws and believe that industries should be able to dump more and more poison into our environment; welcome to the debate ‘Dumpers.’
Hannity, Limbaugh, Beck? Well, they keep dumping crap into the debate. ‘Crappers’ it is.
Think about it. And remember that this fight is non-violent and capable of being won.
Truthers don’t seem to be too interested in facts. Birthers are not concerned with childbirth, outside of single child’s birth. Freepers are not worried about delivering more freedom. Birchers do not seem to care about the fate of trees.
This bastardization of our language seems to be about normalizing the fringe. I say it is high time that the liberal crowd took advantage of it. We should start labeling things ourselves, we should take over a few words and see if we cannot spread them like wildfire.
Do you believe that two people who love one another should be allowed to marry, regardless of gender? I say you are a ‘Lover.”
Are you of the opinion that health care should be available to all, regardless of income? I dub you a “Carer.”
Would you agree that a homosexual can be patriotic and should be able to demonstrate that patriotism by serving in the armed forces and fighting for their country? I say we call you a “Fighter.”
If someone you know drives a gas hog vehicle capable of carrying eight passengers and they do not regularly carry eight passengers we need a new name for them as well. Hawgs is a label taken year ago by our two-wheeled friends so I suggest we call them ‘Gassy.’
If you believe abortion should only be available to victims of rape, I guess we have to call you a ‘Raper.’
As for those who work against environmental laws and believe that industries should be able to dump more and more poison into our environment; welcome to the debate ‘Dumpers.’
Hannity, Limbaugh, Beck? Well, they keep dumping crap into the debate. ‘Crappers’ it is.
Think about it. And remember that this fight is non-violent and capable of being won.
The Culture of CaCa
When did the current level of debate sink lower than a sea cucumbers fartmaker? When did conversing in order to find a truth or compromise die a messy, painful death and leave a bloated carcass in the sun to mark where a chance for consensus once stood?
It would seem that the current infatuation with anti-intellectual clap-trap snuck up on us, which is embarrassing. It was about as stealthy as one of those giant walking tanks from the last decent Star Wars movie but it ninjaed right up behind the whole country and slapped an atomic wedgie on our best opportunity of improving our culture at the expense of Glenn Beck and Keith Olbermann getting a shoulder ride around the gym while Formal Argument got a swirly in the locker room. And then, suddenly, it stood on our neck and called our mother names. Making a sound argument or appealing to supposedly universal ethics now make you as popular as a cello player at the football rally. How did that happen?
When was it that facts became the mullets of conversation? When was it that opinion came to be a flamethrower with attached shotgun and fact became the annoying hum from your fridge everyone has learned to ignore? What seismic shift occurred that led so many of us to believe that believing was more important than knowing and that knowing had nothing to do with proving? And when did proving come to be considered the social equivalent of spitting in someone else’s Big Gulp?
The surest proof of this final surrender is in the number of people who use the phrase “Nothing can change my mind.” If nothing can change your mind I don’t think you can actually call your skull-filler a mind. Even a rat will take the better way through amaze once it has been made apparent.
However it happened, it is too late to stand around placing blame like an overweight accident investigator. Let us fight back! How? Intolerance! The next time someone insists that their opinion is as valid as any fact treat them like a telemarketer with a lisp and thick accent. And even that is not enough. It is time to start reacting to sound arguments like chocolate in chocolate sauce with a chocolate filling. Congratulate people when you hear them being brave enough to cite a valid source. Give footrubs to the rational, offer a ride to anyone willing to debate clearly. Get out the carrot AND the stick. It isn’t too late.
It would seem that the current infatuation with anti-intellectual clap-trap snuck up on us, which is embarrassing. It was about as stealthy as one of those giant walking tanks from the last decent Star Wars movie but it ninjaed right up behind the whole country and slapped an atomic wedgie on our best opportunity of improving our culture at the expense of Glenn Beck and Keith Olbermann getting a shoulder ride around the gym while Formal Argument got a swirly in the locker room. And then, suddenly, it stood on our neck and called our mother names. Making a sound argument or appealing to supposedly universal ethics now make you as popular as a cello player at the football rally. How did that happen?
When was it that facts became the mullets of conversation? When was it that opinion came to be a flamethrower with attached shotgun and fact became the annoying hum from your fridge everyone has learned to ignore? What seismic shift occurred that led so many of us to believe that believing was more important than knowing and that knowing had nothing to do with proving? And when did proving come to be considered the social equivalent of spitting in someone else’s Big Gulp?
The surest proof of this final surrender is in the number of people who use the phrase “Nothing can change my mind.” If nothing can change your mind I don’t think you can actually call your skull-filler a mind. Even a rat will take the better way through amaze once it has been made apparent.
However it happened, it is too late to stand around placing blame like an overweight accident investigator. Let us fight back! How? Intolerance! The next time someone insists that their opinion is as valid as any fact treat them like a telemarketer with a lisp and thick accent. And even that is not enough. It is time to start reacting to sound arguments like chocolate in chocolate sauce with a chocolate filling. Congratulate people when you hear them being brave enough to cite a valid source. Give footrubs to the rational, offer a ride to anyone willing to debate clearly. Get out the carrot AND the stick. It isn’t too late.
Health, Terror, Belief.
What is the greater likelihood: that Al Qaida will target your home or that you will be refused medical care?
We have spent the almost eight years being told we should be afraid of Al Qaida coming to get us. Al Qaida has struck no American school, no American home. Refusal to cover basic medical procedures has struck millions. Bankruptcy caused by medical bills strikes more people, more families, everyday. The youngest victim of 9/11 was two, the oldest was 85. Lack of healthcare strikes Americans of every age.
There is no way to absolutely stop terrorism. If some faction, somewhere in the world, decides to strike us there is no way to stop them from driving a car into a gas station, damaging the piers of the bridge you travel most frequently, possibly spreading a silent, invisible disease. These people, filled with hate, can strike you or me.
But you can save me from not having healthcare. You can take preventative measures to protect yourself should you or your spouse lose their jobs and thus lose their health benefits or, at least as common, finding out that the insurance you have paid for year after year just flat refuses to cover a needed procedure or treatment. And it will not slow you down at the airport or keep you from travelling freely. How about we create universal health insurance through the group that has the lowest overhead for such service?
Is any percentage of your income more important than humanitarian care? Does your religion not tell you that you are, indeed, responsible for caring for others? Is your greed for 300 cable channels, a bigger car and another vacation so great that a child should die for it?
You pay for roads and education for others and these things will not prevent an untreated illness form mutating into something that kills a member of your family. Are you so secure in your income and absolute marketability that you are positive you will never need this care? IS your position in life permanent? If it is, feel blessed…and responsible for helping another.
If you are a Christian can you not spare a few more dollars, even a lot more of your paycheck, for others after someone else died for you? Did Christ not compel you to charity? (Matthew 25:31-46) If you are a Muslim does the Zakat not compel you to care for your brother and sister?
I hear a lot that the current proposal is being rushed, but universal healthcare has been near the forefront of political debate since Clinton took office in 1992. That is 17 years, far more time than we have debated our right to start any war. I hear people stating that they support reform but it must be done better than the current plans aims. Does this mean we cannot impose this plan to protect ourselves until you come up with a better one?
Think on it. Think on it without outside influence. Pretend you mother is watching. Know your God is watching.
We have spent the almost eight years being told we should be afraid of Al Qaida coming to get us. Al Qaida has struck no American school, no American home. Refusal to cover basic medical procedures has struck millions. Bankruptcy caused by medical bills strikes more people, more families, everyday. The youngest victim of 9/11 was two, the oldest was 85. Lack of healthcare strikes Americans of every age.
There is no way to absolutely stop terrorism. If some faction, somewhere in the world, decides to strike us there is no way to stop them from driving a car into a gas station, damaging the piers of the bridge you travel most frequently, possibly spreading a silent, invisible disease. These people, filled with hate, can strike you or me.
But you can save me from not having healthcare. You can take preventative measures to protect yourself should you or your spouse lose their jobs and thus lose their health benefits or, at least as common, finding out that the insurance you have paid for year after year just flat refuses to cover a needed procedure or treatment. And it will not slow you down at the airport or keep you from travelling freely. How about we create universal health insurance through the group that has the lowest overhead for such service?
Is any percentage of your income more important than humanitarian care? Does your religion not tell you that you are, indeed, responsible for caring for others? Is your greed for 300 cable channels, a bigger car and another vacation so great that a child should die for it?
You pay for roads and education for others and these things will not prevent an untreated illness form mutating into something that kills a member of your family. Are you so secure in your income and absolute marketability that you are positive you will never need this care? IS your position in life permanent? If it is, feel blessed…and responsible for helping another.
If you are a Christian can you not spare a few more dollars, even a lot more of your paycheck, for others after someone else died for you? Did Christ not compel you to charity? (Matthew 25:31-46) If you are a Muslim does the Zakat not compel you to care for your brother and sister?
I hear a lot that the current proposal is being rushed, but universal healthcare has been near the forefront of political debate since Clinton took office in 1992. That is 17 years, far more time than we have debated our right to start any war. I hear people stating that they support reform but it must be done better than the current plans aims. Does this mean we cannot impose this plan to protect ourselves until you come up with a better one?
Think on it. Think on it without outside influence. Pretend you mother is watching. Know your God is watching.
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