The Supreme Court had so much fun
appointing George W. to the Presidency,
even though Dubya clearly lost the vote,
that they have decided to go into medicine.
Who--I say, Who--among us would not agree
that if you want to play God, it is better to be
a doctor than a politician? Life and death decisions,
opiates, circumcisions and procedures
that end in "ectomy" are closer to God than
writing laws about birth control, and vaginal scans,
and creating Death Panels for Aunt Mildred.
(Well, the differences were clearer
when I began than when I ended that paragraph.)
Everything hinges on the provision that
everyone has to buy into the health care system,
one way or another. "Foul!", cry the conservatives.
"Let 'em live with their decisions!", cry the Libertarians.
"Give me liberty or give me gout!", I cry. (I have gout.)
It is a rare bird, indeed, who never needs health care,
and it is a rarer bird, still, who can pay for a major operation.
So what happens is that people with no health insurance
go to the emergency room, and other people have to pay the bill.
Why don't we just face it:
appointing George W. to the Presidency,
even though Dubya clearly lost the vote,
that they have decided to go into medicine.
Who--I say, Who--among us would not agree
that if you want to play God, it is better to be
a doctor than a politician? Life and death decisions,
opiates, circumcisions and procedures
that end in "ectomy" are closer to God than
writing laws about birth control, and vaginal scans,
and creating Death Panels for Aunt Mildred.
(Well, the differences were clearer
when I began than when I ended that paragraph.)
Everything hinges on the provision that
everyone has to buy into the health care system,
one way or another. "Foul!", cry the conservatives.
"Let 'em live with their decisions!", cry the Libertarians.
"Give me liberty or give me gout!", I cry. (I have gout.)
It is a rare bird, indeed, who never needs health care,
and it is a rarer bird, still, who can pay for a major operation.
So what happens is that people with no health insurance
go to the emergency room, and other people have to pay the bill.
Why don't we just face it:
- We all need health care
- The wildly uneven costs are best insured
- We need a way for everyone to pay, if they can
Maybe the Supreme Court should stick to appointing Presidents.
Or getting Clarence Thomas to ask a question.
Then Congress might consider a single-payer system.
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