You’ve got to hand it to Nancy Pelosi. At the end of a week so bad — Massachusetts goes for Brown the obstructionist, the Supreme Court rules corporations can rule from now on, the market dives for cover — some were predicting she won’t even survive another election herself, House Speaker Pelosi whipped out a resolutely upbeat e-mail:
Across America, people are demanding health care reform and fiscal responsibility. My colleagues in the House and I are listening to the concerns of all Americans as we discuss how to move forward with health care reform. While we are working to resolve our differences, everyone agrees that we must pass health insurance reform legislation that lowers cost, holds insurance companies accountable, and expands access to quality, affordable health care.
The Massachusetts special election may have decreased the number of Democrats in the Senate, but it has not diminished the need for health insurance reform. There are still 46 million men, women and children in our country without health insurance. There is still an unsustainable upward spiral of health care costs that American families, workers and businesses simply cannot afford. We are discussing the best way to move forward, but we will move forward.
Moving forward hasn’t looked this grim since the Donner Pass snowed over. Perhaps Pelosi should call in Romanian President Traian Basescu’s friend Aliodor. The Associated Press reports today that according to Mircea Geoana, who just lost a close race to Basescu, it was negative energy zapped at him by Basescu’s buddy, parapsychologist Aliodor Manolea that cost him the election. Unless Manolea is already in the employ of the forces of evil (above), perhaps he could reverse a little of the negative energy currently making us all — well, a lot of us — want to dig a hole and crawl in.
And then maybe the forward move could begin. Right now it feels stuck in reverse.
I’ve been under the influence of the Romanian parapsychologist for the past week, as I try to imagine what “moving forward” will look like. Under this black cloud, I realize that human kind has so far stopped growing things (the move from agriculture to the cities), then stopped building things (the end of manufacturing and the rise of information technology), and has now actually stopped thinking things of any note(hence we are unable to respond rationally to the serious problems from healthcare to global warming.
After we stop thinking, there’s only one thing left. Stop breathing. Some people seem to think that this will lead us to The Rapture and are pretty excited about this possibility.
Would somebody please get this Romanian parapscyhologist off my back?
Thanks, Fran, for the Blog of Sanity.
Maybe we should all just inhale deeply and then go, in unison: GROW! BUILD! THINK! ….. I wanted to throw in Give Everybody Decent Health Care, but if we had a little thinking we would get health care for all. I’m afraid you’re not alone under that black cloud, Valerie.
I made the mistake of clicking on the AP link embedded in your next-to-last paragraph. Could hardly believe my eyes. Is it contagious, I wonder? I’d hate to see what some groups we’ve all lately seen on TV and heard from on blogs would do if they unleashed their own superstitions … holy mackeral.
Well, I thought I could kid about it because surely we don’t have people running around putting hexes on people in the U.S., do we? I know two avowed witches, but neither practices witchcraft. I have to admit, though, that Romanian name-dropping — Traian Basescu-Mircea Geoana-Aliodor Manolea — is so like reciting poetry it’s easy to lose one’s train of thought. But as to your very valid question: No, I hope Romanian parapsychology is not contagious.
Nancy please I beg of you, don’t now create a way to feel shaken by your out of touch words. I am such a fan of you why why R U seeming so lost in the ‘before this’?
I started to parse those phrases — such as, it’s “health INSURANCE reform” now — but decided I’d be over my head in a hurry. So I’m just keeping the faith. That is, unless we can put the hex on the opposition.