The BBC reported today that each of the five members of Sam Walton's family (i.e. the same Sam Walton who founded Wal•Mart) are worth an estimated TWENTY BILLION dollars each. That's one family worth ONE HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS. Meanwhile, government welfare agencies and healthcare providers are complaining because Wal•Mart employees are disproportionally using medicaid to pay their doctor bills. It seems those price-conscious employees figured out that if they wanted to eat and pay rent too, that it was cheaper to go on welfare than to pay for Wal•Mart's health insurance - assuming they qualify for health insurance with all that "working off the clock " shenanigans I've heard reported.
In the '80s, the dimwitted political will was swayed by the idea that welfare is BAAAAAD, and those lazy welfare slobs had better get a damn job if they want government hand-outs like the pharmaceutical corporations get (free taxpayer-funded goveernment research) or the national sports franchises get (free public stadiums to perpetuate their muti-billion dollar pastimes). Well, after twenty years of "welfare reform" (i.e. reductions) the slobs have jobs now. Some have two full-time jobs (or nearly - 39.75 hours a week will keep those pesky benefits away) and no health insurance.
Welfare fraud by the poorest among us is not the problem here, folks. Greed by the wealthiest of those among us is the problem. Who do you know that needs twenty billion dollars? I mean, besides an entire country?
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Boobs, Guns, Jesus and John
Been a while since I've bothered to post anything. I've been deliberately avoiding the news because I've become so agitated and depressed about the state of our union. When I haven't been able to avoid politics on TV, CSPAN's morning call-in show for instance, I've noticed the boobs from right wing have gotten even more cruel and stupid, even more arrogant and self-righteous in their comments.
One elderly woman who called in from Mississippi yesterday had the audacity to blame our present situation in Iraq on eight years of Bill Clinton. I had to turn off the t.v. before I threw it out the fucking window. The Republicans control the entire country, have for four years, will for four more and in the minds of their true believers it's still Bill Clinton's fault? How can people be so extraordinarily stupid? How can you stick your head in the sand and continue to wave the flag with both hands and chant "Hail to the Chief" ? Where do these people come from? What are they on? Unbelievable.
I don't want to play anymore. Really. Count me out.
Anyway, my equally self-righteous co-worker, who also happens to be a born-again Christian, has become similarly deluded since the election. I happen to know through our many conversations that he doesn't agree with a lot of what this administration has pulled since 9/11. I also see doubt in his eyes and hear it in his voice when he talks about the young member of his parish who was recently killed in Iraq. Yet he says to me yesterday that the bible teaches that we're obligated to stand behind our leaders in times of war - without question and without complaint. Knowing that my co-worker is a gun-toting Christian, I asked him if he'd still feel the same way if Bush temporarily suspended the second amendment and fourth amendments (you know, for patriotic reasons), searched his home and seized his property. "Well, uh, uh, that's different," he stammered. He assured me that much of his parrish is armed to the teeth and ready to blast the face off ANYBODY who tried to take their guns.
Sigh.
All I could think about after this exchange was John Lennon's "Imagine" .....
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine ALL the people
Living life in peace....
If only we were all that evolved.
One elderly woman who called in from Mississippi yesterday had the audacity to blame our present situation in Iraq on eight years of Bill Clinton. I had to turn off the t.v. before I threw it out the fucking window. The Republicans control the entire country, have for four years, will for four more and in the minds of their true believers it's still Bill Clinton's fault? How can people be so extraordinarily stupid? How can you stick your head in the sand and continue to wave the flag with both hands and chant "Hail to the Chief" ? Where do these people come from? What are they on? Unbelievable.
I don't want to play anymore. Really. Count me out.
Anyway, my equally self-righteous co-worker, who also happens to be a born-again Christian, has become similarly deluded since the election. I happen to know through our many conversations that he doesn't agree with a lot of what this administration has pulled since 9/11. I also see doubt in his eyes and hear it in his voice when he talks about the young member of his parish who was recently killed in Iraq. Yet he says to me yesterday that the bible teaches that we're obligated to stand behind our leaders in times of war - without question and without complaint. Knowing that my co-worker is a gun-toting Christian, I asked him if he'd still feel the same way if Bush temporarily suspended the second amendment and fourth amendments (you know, for patriotic reasons), searched his home and seized his property. "Well, uh, uh, that's different," he stammered. He assured me that much of his parrish is armed to the teeth and ready to blast the face off ANYBODY who tried to take their guns.
Sigh.
All I could think about after this exchange was John Lennon's "Imagine" .....
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine ALL the people
Living life in peace....
If only we were all that evolved.
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