David Embury’s The
Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, a 1948 recipe book and glimpse into privilege,
has this to say about an after-dinner cordial called the Widow’s Dream:
"This is a Benedictine Flip (see Flips), topped off in the glass with sweet cream. And may heaven help the poor widows if that is what their dreams are like!"
Tee hee. But now, poor widows don’t need heaven. They have the GOP! A Republican minority is blocking resolution on a national budget unless they get their pet ideas, defeated in the last election, put into action. These include getting rid of reforms to a health care system that works for insurance companies, hospitals and certain pricey specialists, but not for sick people. There was a reason Obama ran on health care reform back in 2008. It was among the reasons he won.
Another wonderful idea brought to us by a Republican minority is to cut back on feeding hungry people. Why should all those old people and children get to cuddle up to their free cans of soup? They should cuddle up to our free market system instead. Same as the freeloaders in this photo, from 1939, when our nation started a food stamp program to feed its citizens:
See that kid in the used, doesn’t-fit-him jacket with what looks like a bandage on his head? Get a job! And stop looking to government to help you with your festering wound! Good grief, those liberals just don’t get it.
If we are heading to a shutdown, I’m thinking Democrats in the Senate should top off all those Iraq and Afghanistan war widows’ dreams with sweet cream and serve them up. To wit:
Sure, we’ll delay Obamacare for one year, provided that any citizen in the country regardless of age can sign up for Medicare. Just to tide them over while we work things out with your tiny but vocal group of Tea Party hostage takers. We’ll make it effective immediately, as if everyone has turned 65. Don’t worry, we’re sure that the free market will have no trouble luring them back off Medicare once that year is up. After all, the free market has done such an incredible, crackerjack job of delivering health care in the past! Who wouldn’t want to fall back into its soft embrace?
Oh, totally understand how we can’t afford the $78 billion it
costs to feed our citizens for a year while they endure a jobless recovery
caused by gazillionaires. Hey, I just found out the Defense
budget spends $128 billion per year for weapons and $74 billion for
research and development. How about we put our military in charge of Nation
Building here at home? They use half that money—just half—to buy food for poor
people instead of drones, and suddenly the hungry would get to eat on more than
their average budget of $134/month. And given the $161 billion Defense spends
on its employees, it must have a few extra folks who’d no longer be so busy
weapon shopping. Send those personnel out across the country to deliver the
food! Fresh direct for the hungry!
While we’re at it, let’s tack immigration reform onto our Continuing Resolution. And ban assault weapons and high-capacity clips. And require universal background checks on gun buyers.
And low-interest loans for college students, guaranteed, with their debt forgiven if they do something useful for the country with their education.
And low-interest loans to homeowners who are under water on their mortgages.
And an end to Guantanamo. And some sunshine in the NSA. And, and, and.
Those poor widows don’t lack for dreams.
Thank you for the benedictine flip, which is worth a sip -- and the smart and socially responsible ideas you advance. -- DL
Posted by: DL | October 04, 2013 at 05:21 PM