2003-03-16 - 8:31 p.m.
My mom said this weekend that my grandfather/her dad is losing his health coverage ��the coverage that he paid into as a loyal, hard-working steel mill employee. Apparently it will cost $1,000 a month for him to regain coverage privately, which is why my mother's advising him to enroll in a group plan. Nevertheless, insurance will cost him more than it had, and whatever plan he invested in is gone. Of course, this is the type of travesty that occurs every day thanks to the stupid bullshit capitalist greed that runs rampant in America. In other health care news, just today I read a Reuters report that industry heads want employees to pay even more of their share for health care. "If people had a clue about what these things are costing, they might make different decisions or they might be more grateful," said one industry mouthpiece. Yeah, I guess all those people who just "decide" to become chronically ill should just stop it right now!No Benefits
Wavy Gravy, Supergrass, and a Congresswoman named Sheila
This weekend was fun. Saturday Austin held a pro-peace rally that attracted 7,000 or more protesters, and I got to sit on the Capitol steps and hang out with the entertainment. Speakers included Wavy Gravy, whose autograph I got for my parents (they wanted to go to Woodstock but didn't make it). Wavy signs his autograph very slowly, using large capital letters. He wore a clown nose and walked a plastic fish on a leash and didn't really seem too interested in talking to me or anyone else, but remained cordial nonetheless.
Unless you live in Austin, you won't know many of the other speakers. But you might know Sheila Jackson Lee, the Democratic Congresswoman from Houston and sponsor of a U.S. House resolution to repeal the war with Iraq. Sheila and I did a little Q & A in the back of an Acura, on the way to the airport. I gave her a copy of my friend Neal Pollack's book, Beneath the Axis of Evil: One Man's Journey Into the Horrors of War. "I think you're the perfect person to receive this book," I told the Congresswoman. "You'll probably get the satire." She seemed appreciative.
Too bad the CWoman didn't actually get to watch Neal play with his band, the Neal Pollack Invasion, later that night. She would have enjoyed that, too, I'm sure � particularly the moments when our punk-rock protagonist spat water Johnny Rotten-style all over the inhouse equipment; stage-dove into a crowd that promptly parted; and encouraged the audience to rip up authentic copies of his own book, which they did. The Invasion really rocked the house, and surprised those of us who doubted that a band whose members live in at least two different cities could establish impervious band tightness. You can catch them on tour later this year.
Or maybe the Congresswoman would have preferred the wild rock stylings of Supergrass, which I saw as part of the South by Southwest Global Unity Summit and Retreat ... er, Conference. The 'Grass rocked, but I was so tired from spending the day walking and talking that I yawned through much of the show. Coming before Supergrass was the Polyphonic Spree, who made me remember how I had wanted to appear in my high school's production of Godspell. The Spree is a cult-like collective of Dallasians that wears white robes and jumps around a lot as they sing about peace and love. It's Up With People for Indie Rockers. Oh well, it's a shitload better than nerds standing still.
�
�
Things are going to get a lot worse before they get worse. � Lily Tomlin |
