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Isn’t it Ironic? Well yes, actually…

March 10, 2009 in government funding,irony,stimulus package with 22 Comments

Awhile back, I wrote a post called Isn’t it Ironic? Not particularly. If you haven’t read it, check it out. It’s mildly amusing.

Anyway, my friend, fellow blogger and fellow C3 member was telling me about a situation at work that actually IS ironic. Jude works for a non-profit clinic. They have recently started serving other members of the community, but it began as, and still is primarily a clinic that provides services for those infected with HIV and AIDS. As a Christian surrounded mostly by non-Christians (some of them fairly outspoken opponents), she has been a great example of what it means to be in the world but not of the world. Because she has witnessed through her actions and how she has treated others in the workplace, she actually had the opportunity to witness to a room full on non-believers. To her surprise, they were actually quite a captive audience. Vince Antonucci says in his book, “I became a Christian and all I got was this lousy t-shirt” that we have to be the good news before sharing the good news for our words to have any integrity. I dig that.

What does any of this have to do with irony? Nothing really. Just wanted to give you some background. Here’s the irony: Because our elected officials are scrambling to pass the stimulus package, they are letting other things go on the back burner. Things like approving funding already in place. Like funding that allows government funded clinics to continue to provide life saving treatment to people who cannot afford private care. People who may die without said treatment. To me, that’s ironic. Check it out here: And Jude Wonders

If you’d like to drop your local representative a little note of encouragment (insert voice dripping with sarcasm here), here’s one of many websites where you can find out where to send it: writerep.house.gov . I’m sure they would happy to hear from you.

A Civics Lesson

February 5, 2009 in ghostbusters,government,schoolhouse rock,stimulus package,taxes,the stay puft marshmellow man with 21 Comments

I’m sure many of you must wonder, “How did katdish get so darned smart?” Okay, so maybe not, but cut me some slack, I’m trying to introduce a blog post, here. I don’t know what kind of learner I am, but I know that if you put something in the form of a catchy song, I’m very likely to remember it. I owe much to Schoolhouse Rock, including acing my 12th grade government exam where we had to write out the preamble to the Constitution. Does anyone remember that one? Very catchy indeed.

So anyway, I make a concerted effort not to discuss politics on this blog. I have already broken one of two of the rules about never discussing religion and politics. But this stimulus package is really astounding me. How can you spend your way out of debt? Why do I have to be fiscally responsible, but Washington wants to act like Amelda Marcos on a shoe shopping spree? Here’s my basic understanding of how a bill becomes a law:

Well, comparatively speaking, judging by the size of that little bill sitting on the steps on the capitol building, I imagine the president’s stimulus bill would equate to something like this:

Or maybe that’s just representative of the collective egos of our elected officials. (Sorry about the s-bomb in there, btw.)