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Fiddle Away
Now that the Senate has passed its version of healthcare reform, the real work to craft a bill for President Obama's signature begins, and the voices of opposition to anything this administration wants to do are renewed -- Nero is fiddling while Rome is burning. Those kinds of comments.
The person two customers ahead in the line at Walmart is trying to purchase one item: a large package of disposable diapers. She looks to be in her mid to late 50s, so she's probably the grandmother of whoever's going to be wearing those diapers. Her clothes are best described as neat and clean, but far from stylish. That's not her problem though. Her problem is that she just had her credit card rejected when she tried to pay for the diapers.
The customers behind her visibly and audibly react. Loudly. She looks back at everyone in line, and she's absolutely mortified. She's not the kind of person to whom these things happen. Her earlier demeanor suggested a person of dignity, someone responsible, someone living within means -- in short, not a drain on the economy like those welfare-abusing, foodstamp-using moochers. But right now she's got one thing in common with those people: desperation. The grandbaby needs diapers, and what used to be so easy is suddenly impossible.
Gas went up last week, but she still has to drive to work. Her hours were cut (sales are down), meaning she's on part-time status. Meaning her health benefits were reduced. Meaning she had to pay full price, no co-pay, on her prescription meds. The fewer hours do leave her with more time to watch the grandbaby, which is good because her daughter can't afford day care, not after her husband was laid off. There's just one thing, though -- she really, really needs those diapers.
Let the music play.
posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 12/31/09 at 07:57 PM. [printer version] Share |
COMMENTS
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May 24, 2012 | 07:14 PMBryant Signs Voter ID Bill
notmuch: Oh, I have hundreds of those right-wing sites, and I couldn't say which ones are more "partisan"--they all include those pesky facts. Yes, when dead voters and multiple voters under ...
May 24, 2012 | 07:11 PM
Bryant Signs Voter ID Bill
justjess: @ golden eagle. Thanks for the spell check. I didn't just spell assassination wrong ONE time, I did it over and over. LOL! You are right on the mark; I was trying to use the word ...
May 24, 2012 | 06:46 PM
Bryant Signs Voter ID Bill
golden eagle: I don't think you could've found a more partisan right-wing site than the Daily Caller. The fact of the matter is that the right is using this issue not as a means of improving ...
May 24, 2012 | 06:10 PM
[Dish] Cobby Williams, Young Gun
trusip: WOW! was this a real interview or a joke?
May 24, 2012 | 05:00 PM
Bryant Signs Voter ID Bill
notmuch: I don't think you could have found a more liberal example of a "non-partisan" site, but even so, their evidence seems to consist of 250 carefully chosen instances in one area of ...
May 24, 2012 | 04:48 PM
Bryant Signs Voter ID Bill
golden eagle: Rather than using ideological websites to support your argument, I'll use the non-partisan Brennan Center for Justice. Really good site.
May 24, 2012 | 04:30 PM
Bryant Signs Voter ID Bill
notmuch: I might be missing something here, but I am a little confused by Golden Eagle's points: "the fact is that voter fraud is extremely rare"--so it is of no consequence that some ...
May 24, 2012 | 11:26 AM
Nick Hanauer's 'Controversial' TED Talk -- Tax the Rich?
RobbieR: TED is an elite academic conference.
May 24, 2012 | 10:18 AM
Bryant Signs Voter ID Bill
DonnaLadd: No, Darryl, no one blocked you. Stop being paranoid. We just typically open comments in moderation during non-office hours. To me, a bozo isn't someone who disagrees with me. It's ...
May 24, 2012 | 06:18 AM
Bryant Signs Voter ID Bill
Darryl: That's funny that you blocked my last comment...
May 24, 2012 | 05:31 AM
Nick Hanauer's 'Controversial' TED Talk -- Tax the Rich?
Renaldo Bryant: So true. This is why critical and analytical thinking are so important to citizens in a democracy. The rich have the power to shape perception ...
May 23, 2012 | 05:24 PM
Bryant Signs Voter ID Bill
Darryl: justjess, you stated "Racism and discriminatory practices continue." What objective data do you have to support this? Calling someone unqualified is a subjective interpretation of ...
May 23, 2012 | 01:37 PM
Bryant Signs Voter ID Bill
golden eagle: Wow, my English was bad on the previous post. You know how it is on these iPhones.
May 23, 2012 | 12:30 PM
Bryant Signs Voter ID Bill
golden eagle: @Jess, I think the word you're looking for is "assassination". @Darryl, do we really know that the majority of MS'ians wanted this, when you consider that this was a ...
May 23, 2012 | 12:18 PM
Bryant Signs Voter ID Bill
DonnaLadd: I can only hope that the reason that this bill passed is that, for once, our lawmakers listened to the majority of Mississippians and crafted this bill. Considering that the ...
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