IMHO, it's a far greater crime than terrorism, I'd prefer to call it crimes against humanity, committed here & abroad. I'm terrified & in fear of dying needlessly & leaving my wife & kids holding a bag that they'll never fill. I fear that someday I'll end up having to make the choice between food or medication like a lot of our elderly do after working their life away only to find that's there's no coverage for them. I'm terrified of 1st of not having a job which in most cases means not having medical coverage, 2nd having/taking a job only for its coverage & 3rd knowing that I have become a slave to medical insurance. The 1st time I went to fill one of my many prescriptions I was told the insurance company hadn't ok'd the meds yet. I figured, no sweat, I'll pay out of pocket & get reimbursed later. A one month supply would cost me $1250.00. My next thought was I've got another 6 or so other prescriptions to be filled. My last thought was without my medications there's a good chance I'm dead within a month or two & how the hell will my family be able to pay for my burial costs & eat at the same time. Without coverage, the hospital would've taken my home to pay off my bills & left my kids out on the street. I've spent over 30 yrs working at the same trade & I'm what Kendall says, 1 step away from disaster. I also know I'm better off than many. I think that a very large part of the population hasn't got a clue of how close many of them are to that same disaster.

When CEO's of large corporations are in bed with politicians who turn a blind eye while lending a helping hand in seeing that your life's savings are blown away like dust, it doesn't strike up a little fear in you? If not then maybe it's not fear that you're feeling, maybe it's terror. When you find out that buying medications across national borders costs 1/3 of what you pay around the corner for the same thing, what's your 1st thought. Tell me you're not in a rage when some fancy fast talking legislator gets up to say that buying American is the American way & it should be illegal to spend your hard earned cash where the drug companies don't want you to spend it (free trade?). It should be illegal to stand up & propose a cap on the responsibility & liability of those industry giants that would 1st suck you dry & then tell you to bugger off when their screw up cost you an arm or a leg or your life or your child's. I would like to thank Bush though for the $300 or so back on my taxes, I would've preferred keeping my job, thank you very much. How many of the poor & unhealthy & homeless people would 87 billion have helped or saved? How many kids wouldn't have got left behind? Crimes against humanity, could this be a reason for not wanting to be a part of a world court?
   

LEGAL-ILLEGAL
(by either Ewan MacColl or Peggy Seeger or both)

Every time you pick up the newspaper
Every time you switch on the TV
You can bet your old boots that at some point you'll see
A high-ranking copper or Tory MP
Calling on all who are British & free
To stand up & defend law & order


It's illegal to rip off a payroll
It's illegal to hold up a train
But it's legal to rip off a million or two
That comes from the labour that other folk do
To plunder the many on behalf of the few
Is a thing that is perfectly legal


It's illegal to kill off a landlord
Or to trespass upon his estate
But to change a high rent for a slum is ok
You condemn 2 adults & 3 children to stay
In a hovel that's rotten with damp & decay
Is a thing that is perfectly legal


If your job turns you into a zombie
It's legal to feel some despair
But don't be aggressive that is if you're smart
And for Christ's sake don't upset the old apple cart
Remember the boss has your interests at heart
And it grieves him to see you unhappy


If you fashion a bomb in the kitchen
You're guilty of breaking the law
But a bloody great nuclear plant is ok
Though plutonium processing hastens the day
When this tight little isle may be blasted away
Nonetheless, it is perfectly legal


It's illegal if you are a gypsy
To camp by the side of the road
But it's proper & right for the rich & the great
To live in a mansion and own an estate
That was got from the people by pillage & rape
That's what they call a tradition


It's illegal to carve up your missus
Or put poison in your old man's tea
But poison the rivers, the seas & the skies
And poison the mind of a nation with lies
If it's done in the interest of free enterprise
Then it's proper & perfectly legal


It's legal to join a trade union
And to picket is one of your rights
But don't be offensive when scabs cross the line
Be nice to the coppers & keep this in mind
To picket effectively that is a crime
Worst than if you had murdered your mother


It's legal to sing on the telly
But they make bloody sure that you don't
If you sing about racists & fascists & creeps
And thieves in high places who live off the weak
And those who are selling us right up the creek
The twisters, the takers, the con men, the fakers
The whole bloody gang of exploiters

Goodnight all, I'm gonna try & sleep off this nightmare.

Barry