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MAKE IT SIMPLE
Well, let's trot out Clay Cosby and Dave Jenkins again. They
were working for the McCommons store back when that com
munist, socialist Franklin D. Roosevelt destroyed this country
forever through forced participation in Social Security. No
choice: if you worked, you were covered, and the money to pay
for it was taken out of your pay. Period. Rich and poor alike,
though of course the rich only paid on part of their pay, same
as today.
When he got the paperwork all set up and took that first
Social Security deduction our of their pay, Clay and Dave came
running to my father and complained mightily. Didn't want no
Social Security money taken out of their pay. Didn't want no
Social Security. Didn't need no Social Security. My father told
me that story many years later, and he concluded, "They're
both living off Social Security right now."
I think about Dave and Clay every time I hear somebody say
they don't want no government health insurance program. The
difference is that I can understand Dave and Clay not wanting
to sacrifice part of their small earnings for some far-off future
need they can't imagine ever needing. It's harder to under
stand somebody not wanting a new health insurance program
where the government guarantees coverage for those who need
it. That's not pie in the sky by and by: that's better health
right now for the most of
us who don't have insur
ance or have inadequate
insurance at killer prices
and those of us in busi
ness who are helping our
employees shoulder this
staggering load.
What we have here
is the proven formula
that enough.money
spent wisely can convince people to vote against their own
best interests. We see it all the time. We've seen it as far back
as the snake-oil salesmen in the circus and further back to
ancient Greece, where the Sophists, for a price, were trained to
make "the lesser appear the better cause."
Of course, it doesn't take a lot to hide the pea from our
American people, because most of the time we're not paying
attention. There were a few days last week when there was
actually some public discussion of the new health care plan.
That was right after the week-long preoccupation with Michael
Jackson's death and right before the uproar over President
Obama calling stupid police tactics stupid. Then in the midst of
that hubbub, it became apparent that Congress would put off
dealing with health care for now, giving us plenty of time to
get distracted by whatever other shiny new things pop up next
while being bombarded with all the clever, doubt-raising ads
that make us wonder why, gosh, anybody would want to mess
with this wonderful health insurance program we have now, the
same one enjoyed by Jesus.
They say the new health-care plan before Congress is 1,200
pages long, antf I haven't even read page one, so I don't know
anything about it. I trust the*President I helped elect to
know what he's trying to do. In my ignorance, though, I wish
two things. I wish he would quit trying to play ball with the
Republicans and with the sold-out Democrats. They have stated
and they have proven that they have absolutely no intention
of helping the President reform health care or trying to do
it themselves. They are merely fighting any kind of change
from the present status quo that funds their elections at the
expense of the American people.
I also believe the President erred further by not going
straight for a single-payer national health program like
Medicare. We can understand that simple, proven model.
The Republicans and special-interest Democrats are going to
oppose it anyway; quit trying to placate them. Make it real and
make it simple. Make them choose for or against the American
~ people.
Be boldl Congress has already signaled its intent to gut
the bill and then defeat it. Take advantage of the delay until
September; re-tool it into a simple, single-payer, Medicare-type
program and come out swinging. Go directly to the American
public with a plan that can be understood by everybody: by
people like Dave and Clay and me.
Pete McCommons editor@llagpole.com
What we have here is
the proven formula that
enough money spent
wisely can convince
people to vote against
their own best interests.
THIS WEEK’S ISSUE:
NEWS & FEATURES
City Dope 4
Athens News and Views
Baseball may send good omens for health care reform, but Georgia football will never end the water wars.
Athens Rising 6
Special Edition: The Eastside
It isn’t impossible for a conversion to walkability to happen there; here are some places to start...
ARTS & EVENTS
The Reader 7
Boys’ Own Adventures
Notes on a new handbook to heroism in the old-fashioned mode.
Film Notebook 10
News of Athens’ Cinema Scene
Olivier Aseeyas’ highly acclaimed Summer Hours is slated for July 31 at Cin6.
MUSI©
Torche 12
Heavy Metal Machine
Trio redefines heavy and metal for the masses, without trying.
Surrounded by Sound 13
Local Director Jason Miller Turns Audio Visual
From commercials to music videos and now a national tour documentary, this local videographer is a
star on the rise.
COVER DESIGN by Kelly Ruberto
featuring artwork by Lillian Blades
on display at the Madison-Morgan m
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Cultural Center
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TONY'S RES
CITY DOPE
CITY PAGES
CAPITOL IMPACT.
4 TORCHE 12
ATHENS RISING 6 BULLETIN BOARD
THE READER 7
MOVIE DOPE *. 8
MOVIE PICK 9
FILM NOTEBOOK 10
THREATS & PROMISES 11
RECORD REVIEWS 12
JASON MILLER 13
THE CALENDAR! 15
...20
ART AROUND TOWN 20
COMICS.... .22
REALITY CHECK . .23
CLASSIFIEDS 24'
ODE TO DOWNTOWN 27
EDITOR l PUBUSHER Pete McCommons
ADVERTISING 0IRECT0R & PUBUSHER Alicia Nickles
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Larry Tenner
MANAGING EDITOR Christina Cotter
ADVERTISING SALES Anita Aubrey, Melinda Edwards, Jessica Pritchard
MUSIC EDITOR Michelle Gilzenrat
CITY EDITOR Ben Emanuel
CLASSIFIEDS, DISTRIBUTION l OFFICE MANAGER Paul Karjian
AD DESIGNERS Ian Rickert, Kelly Ruberto
CARTOONISTS James Allen, Cameron Bogue, Jacob Hunt, Missy Kulik, Jeremy Long, Clint McElroy, Matthew Ziemer
ADOPT ME Special Agent Cindy Jerrell r
CONTRIBUTORS Christopher Benton, Tom Crawford, Leon Galis, Chris Hassiotis, John Huie, Charley Lee, Dave Marr,
Jim McHugh, John G. Nettles. John Seay, Jeff Tobias, Drew Wheeler, Kevan Williams
CIRCULATION Charles Greenleaf. Jimmy Courson, Swen Froemke. Anthony Gentilles, Eric Mullins
WEB DESIGNER Ian Rickert
ADVERTISING ASSISTANT Maggie Summers
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Jennifer Bryant
MUSIC INTERN Charlie Stafford
ADVERTISING INTERN Brent Ducote
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VOLUME 23
ISSUE NUMBER 30
Flagpole, Inc. publishes Flagpole Magazine weekly and distributes 17,000 copies
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JULY 29,2009 -FLAGP0LE.COM- 3