Fuck the sandbags...

At the start of a Senate Finance Committee hearing on health care reform a protester shouted questions at committee members as they tried to begin their business....

Rich Cleland: Sen Baucus (D-MT) wants us to know that he respects all views on the health-care debate, but, unless the protests from these people who want single-payer models included in the discussion cease, his committee won't be able to hear from the 16 experts he assembled to inform it on health care reform options (none of whom advocate single-payer).

Clearly he wants to keep "single-payer options in mind" and not at the table.

That Iowan stalwart of democracy, Chuck Grassley, asks, "Isn't there some place they can watch it on television?" Baucus says, to laughter all around, "We need more police."

Fuck the police, we need more chairs!

Court Cleland: ok, that's uncalled for!!!

Rich Cleland: Yes. Very likely. Though, in my defense it was not meant to be taken literally. Take, for example, the wife who comes home to find her husband frantically filling sandbags. When she asks him what happened, he says, "It's terrible! See the bathroom is flooding and I have to keep piling up these sandbags so the rest of the house doesn't flood." Disgusted, she pushes past him and says, "Fuck the sandbags, turn off the faucet!"

It's not about cops, it's about Senators who refuse to address the problem and instead have to try and manage the symptoms. If they would host an honest discussion that truly included a diverse opinion set, not only would they have more data to inform their decision but they wouldn't force a confrontation between citizens and law enforcement. That type of interaction is not the kind of relations we want to foster between those two groups. Nobody wins there.

By the way, I assume it was "police" you had a problem with and not "fuck."

Court Cleland: WOW, I was just giving you a hard time. I agree with you by the way (and about F#Ck the sandbags,too). : )

Rich Cleland: well...i thought so (especially with the three !!! at the end), but i wanted to be sure. :) plus, it gave me a reason to come up with an appropriate analogy.