Showed Us Their Rear Ends

(to Todd Rundgren's "Can We Still Be Friends")

When they shut down
Place they abhor, they
Showed us their rear ends
Sweet tea egos
Stomped feet on floor and
Showed us their rear ends

They made country
Go blind
With the light
From their bright behinds
Thought it grand
Lovely shine
Then when it blew up
Press time

Won’t admit they
Made big mistakes when
Showed us their rear ends
Right whine with the
Sourest grapes, it
Showed us their rear ends

Moons a-full
Cheek to spare
Cracking words
With a puff of air
Here’s high five
For their work
Glutes not imbued
With clever.

(showed us their rear ends)
Will you please hide your nethers next time?
(showed us their rear ends)
Still each night they shine moon on and on and on

When they plot
Their next scheme
Hope to God
They wear slacks or jeans
History
Won’t be fond
Hope this is
Their seat swan song.

Healthcare Rant

Profit is a good thing, and we should certainly respect the right of anyone to make a profit. But the issue is far more problematic in healthcare because for-profit companies, who have been touted as being the solution to many of the nation's ills, have not been part of the solution to healthcare accessibility and lowering healthcare costs. When companies who rely on bottom lines see those lines and not the people affected by those lines, that's when capitalism takes a nose dive. And deregulation carries that nosedive to a whole new level of greed. 

I'm not a Marxist (although I have been mistaken for Harpo on occassion) or Socialist or any -ist.
There are fundamental flaws in our healthcare system. Making health a for-profit business invariably disenfranchises and can eventually kill those who cannot afford healthcare and, therefore, can't add to the insurance company's bottom line. People get sick, go in debt...have pre-existing conditions, go in debt...have terminal illnesses, go in debt, die, and then leave the debt to their families. It's a horrible cycle that few can afford unless you have the comfortable job that allows you the luxury. And even if you are comfortable in your current health care paying scheme, the debt may get you in the end via a catastrophic illness (God forbid).
Granted, the government has been known to botch many things in our lifetime, but I truly believe that the only lucid and rational answer is a strong government role. The government, whether we like it or not, is not a a business. It is a government. And being a government, it is not a business that relies on making profits in order to keep stockholders wealthy by maximizing profits and reducing risks. The government should work for the people it governs and be concerned with the well being of the populace and not profit margins. And the government should pay its bills, which is what the individual mandate (tax, whatever) allows the healthcare plan to do. Only collectively can the nation make it work. And frankly, if our nation is so self-centered as to not be aware or assist people in distress from healthcare costs and liabilities, then our nation has become foreign to me.
To me, that's a nation that is not a great nation.
That nation is screwed up and screwed.

Wisconsin to School Children: Suck it Up

(from the K. Letterman News Agency)
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker announced today that school children all across Wisconsin need to ‘suck it up’ when the legislature passes his current budget proposal.

“We are raising a generation of children who don't know how good they've got it,” Walker said in his address to the Wisconsin senate. “They need to know that many people never had a school bus to ride in, never had paper to write on, and never had a building to learn in. The time has come to be brave and learn under less than ideal circumstances.”

Walker went on to describe the future of Wisconsin education.

“Sure, class sizes will increase,” Walker said. “There’ll be less technology to help you prepare for a technologically savvy world. And maybe the days may seem longer in the classroom because school won’t let out till 9pm. But we can’t have adults shoulder all the burden of providing an easy way for you to learn. Those days are over. It’s time to pay the piper. You’ll thank me for it when you get older and have to work for minimum wage at a multinational corporation.”

Walker submitted his budget proposal today in hopes of not only garnering support from the public, but for encouraging children to be brave. Walker is calling his plan the “Fix Laziness Unilaterally for Neighborhood Kids” plan.

Among the budget recommendations:

1. All new school construction and maintenance will cease. Low cost tents will be purchased instead.
2. Teachers will be responsible for providing their own AV equipment (i.e. projectors, computers, and chalk). (Walker: “I think they can afford it. If not, they can have a bake sale.”)
3. Fire codes will be suspended so candles can be used to provide inexpensive light and heat for school classrooms and restrooms during the day.
4. All children whose parents earn more than $250,000 per year will be exempt from going to school, a plan Walker says will shrink class sizes “considerably” by 0.0125 percent.
5. Ketchup will be reinstituted as a vegetable.
6. Child labor laws will be lifted temporarily so children will be able to work to help support their unemployed parents.
7. Computers will be replaced with abacuses, crayons, and small rocks.

Many who have criticized the governor for his steadfast earnestness in taming the budget are flooding the streets and cheering and singing songs and drinking immense quantities of sangria.

“It is our lower wage duty to pitch in and help out our great state in this dire crisis caused by a severe cut in taxes and a whiny lower middle class that can’t afford campaign contributions to people in high office,” said one teacher. "I can't be more proud of my governor."

Another jubilant celebrant said, “It’s so great to see that we can work this out for the benefit of those rich enough to enjoy the benefits.”