The Savage Republican

Garrison Keillor has been called a Minnesota treasure, an iconic comedian whose creation "A Prairie Home Companion" is a throw back to a kinder, gentler time. To bad the creator is not as kind as his creation.

"Hard choices need to be made, and given the situation we're in, I think we must bite the bullet and say no more health care for card-carrying Republicans. It just doesn't make sense to invest in longevity for people who don't believe in the future. Let them try faith-based medicine, let them pray for their arteries to be reamed and their hips to be restored, and leave science to the rest of us. Cutting out health care to one-third of the population - the folks with Bush-Cheney bumper stickers, who still believe the man is doing a heckuva job - will save enough money to pay off the national debt, not a bad legacy for Republicans. As Scrooge said, let them die and reduce the surplus population. "

A prime example of "Minnesota Nice" doncha think?

Now in all fairness to Mr. Keillor, he does find one salient point, but he dances around and away from it so fast, you swear he must have gotten whiplash in the process.

"A society that pays for MRIs for headaches and can't pay teachers a decent wage has made a dreadful choice. But health care costs are ballooning, eating away at the economy. The boomers are getting to an age where their knees need replacing and their hearts need a quadruple bypass - which they feel entitled to - but our children aren't entitled to a damn thing."

Here he is correct - our politicians decry the "health care crisis" but ignore the education crisis. We do spend more money on health care (as a country) than we do on education, but the money spent is only PART of the equation. Until such time as we get away from indoctrinating children in acceptance of "alternative lifestyles" and we get back to teaching math and science and english (and not as a second language either!) will we get better educated children. However, Garrison didn't bother to touch on that.

At least Mr. Keillor is honest when he makes this statement:

"And we're stealing from them so that old gaffers like me, who want to live forever, can go in for an MRI if we have a headache."

Now I could stoop to his level and say that if he was all that concerned about the kids then he should quit being so selfish and just die, but I won't. For you see, unlike Mr. Keillor, I don't wish death on those that have the audacity to have an opinion different than my own. I thank them for their input and I wish them well. And THAT dear reader is what Minnesota Nice is all about.