So I popped over to look at upcoming concerts in my city tonight. I saw that Modest Mouse were coming to a rather nice venue near me. They’re a group that I’m intrigued by;  I’d love to see live;  I’d enjoy giving you a review of what it would be like to experience the hype, you know, the whole thing of it all. And there’s a few tracks on their latest record that turn me on quite a bit. I click on the “buy now” button and my heart sank…. it directed me, immediately to TicketBastard. I knew then that I wasn’t going. Now way, no how. But just to quell my evil curiosity, I clicked on through and looked to see how bad it would be if I were. Sure enough, a $29.25 ticket ends up being $45.48 after all the service charges and fees. And that’s after I choose the $0 option of having it mailed to me!

People!!! Come on!!! How can we continue to allow this corporation of money-hungry, soul-raping bastards do this to us? Fuck that, I’m not going. Johnny Depp could invite me to the front of the stage, between sets, and offer himself up naked for a blowjob, and I’d not pay TicketBastard for the privilege of it! (I’d give him cold, hard cash, of course, just in case he’s reading this.) It’s just unbelievable how these venues are connected to these shysters; and musicians either say or know nothing. Darling readers, do you pay like this where you are? I mean for the concerts, not the blowjobs, of course.  But really, TicketBastard should get in the sex business because they’re already exploiting us, don’t you agree? It must be getting late, I’m hyperfocused on that again, oi!

Well, that wasn’t the end of my evening. I’ve been avoiding the current news as much as possible because this healthcare debate just makes me rant at the TV and it upsets the new puppy. If you’ve been reading these pages for any length of time you know what side I’m on. I’ll make it short and sweet. If you’re worried about the US turning into some socialist hegemonic State then I suggest you do a little reading up on what exactly that might mean in light of the following facts:

• you drive to work on roads funded by Federal tax dollars
• you expect a Federally tax assisted fire truck to show up if your house goes up in flames
• you  have contributed all of your working life to the care of our elderly via Medicare and Social Security (which are Federally funded programs)
• you expect Federal dollars to assist in the education of your children
• you expect the Federal government to fund your State university’s research toward everything from local agriculture to international economic strategies in order to keep tuition low enough to send your kid to school there
• you expect the National Guard to show up when there’s a natural disaster to keep people from looting your private property and protect your family from violence when those made homeless become desperate due to lack of food, water, and adequate healthcare. Oh and when volunteers arrive to help give them those things they should be aided by National Disaster Relief funds which are Federally funded and distributed as well.

That has been the status quo for the past 70 or so years of our lives in this country. Adding to that a Federally funded, universal plan to provide adequate health care doesn’t seem like a big deal to me. But you can go ahead and make a huge fuss if you want. You can also go fuck yourself for being a hypocrite.

This vocal minority who are foaming at the mouth about the horrors that will befall us if we  allow everyone access to medical care regardless of employment status actually don’t read much and are ridiculously ill informed on the realities of the healthcare systems of Europe. A friend asked me today what I’d write on walls if I could. I replied, “Read a fucking book and stop sniveling!” The actual problems found in the UK with their NHS (which these critics are so eager to compare us to) are the result of the de-regulation that has occurred since Thatcher began her attempts to dismantle and privatize it.

But the idiocy rises, these are all quotes from the last few days:

“The latest development came on Fox News, a right-wing channel, which discussed whether the acceptance of foreign doctors and nurses into the NHS was a gateway for Muslim terrorists” The Herald If you think this is a sensible argument then NOFX is singing about you. Idiots Are Taking Over (lyrics here)

“US critics have accused the service of putting an “Orwellian” financial cap on the value on human life, of allowing elderly people to die untreated and, in one case, for driving a despairing dental patient to mend his teeth with superglue.” The Guardian Total nonsense, as shown in that article, and by the way, dentistry has been increasingly privatized in the UK since the early 1990s.

“Last week, the most senior Republican on the Senate finance committee, Chuck Grassley, took NHS-baiting to a newly emotive level by claiming that his ailing Democratic colleague, Edward Kennedy, would be left to die untreated from a brain tumour in Britain on the grounds that he would be considered too old to deserve treatment. “I don’t know for sure,” said Grassley. “But I’ve heard several senators say that Ted Kennedy with a brain tumour, being 77 years old as opposed to being 37 years old, if he were in England, would not be treated for his disease, because end of life – when you get to be 77, your life is considered less valuable under those systems.”" The Guardian That’s just crazy-talk, and from an elected official, folks.

Oh, and you might be a little interested in boycotting Whole Foods for a while. Apparently their CEO thinks his plan for fixing our problem of the uninsured masses is better than anything the Democrats have come up with. You can find it here. And please let me know if you think tax reform, tort reform and transparency in patient billing will clear this mess up, ok? Honestly, reforming the tax laws will provide incentive for people to donate money to help insure our indigent population??? The comments over there are kinda fun!

Is there a clear connection between TicketBastard ripping us off and idiots fighting to keep something they don’t understand (that is literally cutting short their lives and the lives of their children)? Perspective, people! But of course, evil Capitalism hopes to distract us from the real issues with these pesky ticket fees and Johnny Depp fantasies. Don’t take the bait, darlings! Get out there and talk to people, read something intelligent, or at the very least post a smart comment somewhere online, xoxo