Category: Healthcare

Because You Can Stop For Death!

6/28/2017

From our political correspondent Dorothy "Lottie" Dawe:

Donald Trump surprised the press today by announcing that he'd have a big surprise announcement soon about healthcare. Seems that the great deal maker can't make any sort of deal, so he's busy behind the scenes giving away the store trying to salvage any sort of deal with the GOP.

What could his big announcement be?

Well there's no need to wait any longer. We have the scoop on what Trump's big surprise is: he, Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan plan to open a chain of affordable funeral parlors around the country. Can't afford healthcare? Trump, McConnell and Ryan Funeral Homes will offer funerals at very affordable rates.

Is it possible that Emmett Lee Dickinson's now-classic poem "Upon Concluded Lives" (below on the left) inspired the three of them to establish this chain of funeral parlors? We're not sure. However, the poem did inspire third cousin Emily to pen her poem with the same opening line (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

Upon Concluded Lives
There’s nothing cooler calls –
Than Profit’s Calculations –
When mixing Bells and Palls –

Make Elegiac Tunes –
That’s music to my Ears –
‘Tis Lucrative – these Funerals –
Collecting – on the Tears –

By Emily Dickinson:

Upon Concluded Lives
There's nothing cooler falls –
Than Life's sweet Calculations –
The mixing Bells and Palls –

Make Lacerating Tune –
To Ears the Dying Side –
'Tis Coronal – and Funeral –
Saluting – in the Road –

Below: An advertisement for Trump, McConnell, and Ryan Funeral Homes,
soon to offer affordable funerals in all fifty-states.

Weather or Not

6/3/2017

From our current affairs editor Lemuel Stuart III:

“We’re getting out,” barked climate conspiracy theorist and so-called President Donald Trump about the US commitment to the Paris Climate Accord, a pact signed by 196 nations to adopt green energy sources, cut down on climate change emissions and attempt to limit the rise of global temperatures.

“I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris,” he scoffed. Really? Does he think the agreement has something to do with maintaining the ambience of the City of Lights? The Mayor of Pittsburgh – where Hillary Clinton receive 80% of the vote – responded, “Pittsburgh stands with the world and will follow the Paris Agreement.”

The most absurd notion in Trump's sanctimonious sermon was that he would somehow negotiate a better deal. This from the great deal-maker who has accomplished little to nothing with his muddled and befuddled administration. Some examples:

Healthcare: Round-one ended up DOA. Round-two is a change from Healthcare to Deathcare. [ROUND 3 UPDATE: As of June 2017, it is evident that the Senate has crafted a Wealthcare Bill -- to hell with most Americans!]

Tax Bill: “Our tax bill is moving along in Congress, and I believe it’s doing very well.” One problem: There is no tax bill.

ISIS: His 30-day plan to destroy ISIS was revealed on about day 142: “Call them losers.”

Climate Change: US leadership is now rudderless, and Captain Queeg is at the helm.

Folks, we’re being led by a buffoon, and I think he truly believes, “I alone can fix it.”

Interestingly enough, he lifted that line from a poem by Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) which Dickinson wrote about Drittereich Drümpf, a distant relative of Trump’s (information about Drümpf is HERE).

Not only did Dickinson’s satirical poem “I alone can fix it” (below on the left) inspire Trump (I’m sure the mocking tone of the poem flew straight over Trump’s head); it also inspired his third cousin Emily to pen her poem “Alone I cannot be” (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

I alone can fix it –
For Most – it’s only me –
Regardless what does Come –
I hold the Key –

They have no Plots, nor Plans –
No Documents – nor Schemes –
But General Hopes
(And Memes) –

I’m Stunning, it is known
Tho’ Worriers will fret –
I’m bluffing – because –
I’ve done nothing yet –

By Emily Dickinson:

Alone, I cannot be –
For Hosts – do visit me –
Recordless Company –
Who baffle Key –

They have no Robes, nor Names –
No Almanacs – nor Climes –
But general Homes
Like Gnomes –

Their Coming, may be known
By Couriers within –
Their going – is not –
For they've never gone –

Time will tell "weather or not" we will have to put up with Trump until 2020, but if he makes it to that time and he runs for office again, here’s the bumper sticker you’ll see on my car:

A Fly on the Wall

3/27/2017

From our 19th century historian Eudora Dickinson:

Strange. The GOP voted for years to repeal the ACA. They voted over 50 times to revoke the law. They wasted time, money, energy and effort in wasted attempts to rescind Obamacare. Trump put the repeal of the ACA front and center in his campaign.

Then, with control of the White House, the House and the Senate, the GOP spent just days throwing together a piece-meal (and very mean spirited) replacement – which Trump didn’t even read – and ultimately there was no vote. They pulled the bill when they realized they didn’t have the votes.

Say Whaaaa???? They spend seven-plus years trying to dismantle the ACA, and then without a vote, they decide to move on to other things.

Oddly enough, in the late 1800s, Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson’s third-cousin, twice removed – at her request) wrote a poem that seemed to predict the entire debacle. An early version of the poem was one of third cousin Emily’s inspirations to write “I heard a Fly buzz – when I died.”

Dickinson’s poem, “I heard the News buzz – when the ACHA died,” is below on the left. Emily’s poem, “I heard a Fly buzz – when I died,” is on the right.

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

I heard the News buzz – when the ACHA died –
The Stillness in the White House
Was like the Silence in the Air –
Of a Separated Spouse –

The “Ayes” around – had all run dry –
And Breaths were gathering firm
For that last Onset – when the King
Was witnessed – in the Room –

They’d killed their Party – Signed away
What portion of their dignity
That they had left – and then it was
There interposed this News –

With Red – uncertain stumbling Buzz –
Between the GOP – and voters –
And then the Legislation failed – and then
They moved on to tax reform –

By Emily Dickinson:

I heard a Fly buzz – when I died –
The Stillness in the Room
Was like the Stillness in the Air –
Between the Heaves of Storm –

The Eyes around – had wrung them dry –
And Breaths were gathering firm
For that last Onset – when the King
Be witnessed – in the Room –

I willed my Keepsakes – Signed away
What portion of me be
Assignable – and then it was
There interposed a Fly –

With Blue – uncertain stumbling Buzz –
Between the light – and me –
And then the Windows failed – and then
I could not see to see –

"TrumpCare" = "Don't Care"

3/14/2017

From our current events editor Lemuel Stuart III:

What do Stepehn Colbert, Emily Dickinson, and "TrumpCare" have in common? The answer:

Yep, the GOP is attempting to "repeal and replace" the Affordable Care Act, and their laughable (and sad) first attempts at "coverage" will hurt millions of those who voted for Trump and didn't realize that "Obamare" and the ACA were the same thing -- even though Trump promised "insurance for everybody" (by the way, Trump has now changed that empty promise to "everyone will have access to healthcare").

This rush to repeal and ravage healthcare for those who really need it (while at the same time lining the pockets of the wealthy) calls to mind Emmett Lee Dickinson's now-classic poem "As they do Healthcare over" (below on the left). Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem "As one does Sickness over" (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

As They do Healthcare over
With untransparent Mind,
Their scarcity of Choices
Of Healthcare plans obscured –

As They rework the Pricing Plans
And whittle at the Care
They tell Us that Provisions
Will for everyone be Fair

But Coverage for each Soul
And those suffering
Is likely to be questioned
For proof of evidence –

By Emily Dickinson:

As One does Sickness over
In convalescent Mind,
His scrutiny of Chances
By blessed Health obscured –

As One rewalks a Precipice
And whittles at the Twig
That held Him from Perdition
Sown sidewise in the Crag

A Custom of the Soul
Far after suffering
Identity to question
For evidence't has been –

The Picture of Poor Health

1/18/2017

From our political correspondent Dorothy "Lottie" Dawe:

The swamp is filling up -- and Donald Trump and the GOP are stocking the swamp with some of the most frightening creatures ever seen in Washington. A senate panel’s been grilling Tom Price, the nominee to head Health and Human Services under the Swamp King. Known as a “one man death panel,” Price even voted “NO” on expanding the Children's Health Insurance Program.
The terrors of “Mr. Trump’s Asylum of Horrors” at the Capitol, reminded us of Emmett Lee Dickinson’s poem “To know just how you suffer would be dear” (below on the left). His poem also inspired Emily Dickinson to write “To know just how he suffered would be dear” (below on the right).

The sarcasm in Emmett Lee Dickinson’s poem certainly mirrors the GOP’s position and their disgusting rush to pull the plug on health care for millions of Americans – and it certainly fits right in with Mitch McConnell’s sentiments (“If the uninsured are going to die then they had better do it and decrease the surplus population”).

Pictured at the right: "On Stage at Mr. Trump's ASYLUM OF HORRORS, Tom Price, the One Man Death Panel." Click the image to enlarge.

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

To know just how you suffer would be dear;
To know we pulled the plug would be so nice
To know we’ve flourished with our
wayward ways
Until you settle firm in Paradise.

To know you were a patient we’re content
And that you’re dying we’re indifferent
It is a pleasant day to die
And in the sunshine go your way.

You’re furthest from our minds we must admit,
In such a distant way
The news says we’ve ceased human caring
On such a day.
And you wish you had coverage
But just sigh, accented,
You’re expendable to us.
And we are confident but still
We hope you wrote an everlasting will!

And when we vote, the ACA’s lost
At last
You’ll be broke off from
All coverage you had!

Don’t be afraid, be tranquil.
We all know
How your unconsciousness will grow,
No need for coverage when you’re blest to be
Met – at the junction of Eternity!

By Emily Dickinson:

To know just how he suffered would be dear;
To know if any human eyes were near
To whom he could entrust his wavering gaze,
Until it settled firm on Paradise.

To know if he was patient, part content,
Was dying as he thought, or different;
Was it a pleasant day to die,
And did the sunshine face his way?

What was his furthest mind, of home, of God,
Or what the distant say
At news that he ceased human nature
On such a day?
And wishes, had he any?
Just his sigh, accented,
Had been legible to me.
And was he confident until
Ill fluttered out in everlasting well?

And if he spoke, what name was best,
What first,
What one broke off with
At the drowsiest?

Was he afraid, or tranquil?
Might he know
How conscious consciousness could grow,
Till love that was, and love too blest to be,
Meet—and the junction be Eternity?

This Is Going to Hurt Like the Dickens!

1/12/2017

From our 19th century historian Eudora Dickinson:

Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson’s third cousin, twice removed – at her request) and Charles Dickens met several times in the late 1800s, and Dickens was admittedly an avid reader of Dickinson’s poems. Dickens, in fact, made it no secret that he conceived the character of Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol after reading Dickinson’s now classic poem “The right to perish is their thought” (below on the left). Dickinson’s poem also inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem “The right to perish might be thought” (below on the right).

Of course, Emmett Lee Dickinson was quite a visionary, and the subjects and themes of much of his poetry ring true to this day. For example, the poem below, “The right to perish is their thought,” seems to depict the current despicable moves on the part of the GOP to deprive health insurance to millions of Americans.

“If the uninsured are going to die then they had better do it and decrease the surplus population,” growled Mitch McConnell as he took the first steps in the Senate to pull the plug on the health care needs of Americans.

“If I could work my will,” echoed Paul Ryan in the House, “every idiot who tweets #SaveACA should be boiled in his own chicken soup and buried with a hypodermic needle through his heart.”

Are their shameful actions straight out of Dickinson – or Dickens – or both?

Pictured at the right: Mitch McConnell is delighted at the passing of another American on whom he pulled the plug.

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

The right to perish is their thought
The undisputed Right –
Accept it, all the Uninsured
And don’t put up a fight
With outright glee the GOP –
Elects to pull the plug
By nature all mankind does pause
To hear their, “Bah! Humbug!”

By Emily Dickinson:

The right to perish might be thought
An undisputed right –
Attempt it, and the Universe
Upon the opposite
Will concentrate its officers –
You cannot even die
But nature and mankind must pause
To pay you scrutiny.

As I Lay Dying

1/4/2017

From our 19th century historian Eudora Dickinson:

Emmett Lee Dickinson’s mother, Emalee Incross Dickinson, was a cosmetician at the Perish & Begone Funeral Parlor, owned by brothers Eberhard and Egan Perish and Caldwell Begone. For a short time, Emmett Lee worked there as a cadaver model for his mother, so he saw firsthand what lack of health insurance meant for the citizens of his hometown, Washerst, PA.

Later in life, he wrote a poem about his experience called “Health insurance is counted sweetest” (below on the left), and it is very germane in a day and age when the GOP is currently working to deny health insurance to millions of Americans.

Dickinson’s poem also inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem “Success is counted sweetest” (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

Health insurance is counted sweetest
By those who have health insurance.
To comprehend full coverage
Requires sorest need.

Not one of all the GOP
Who took Health Insurance away
Can tell the definition
So clear of coverage,

As he, defeated, dying,
On whose forbidden ear
The distant strains of debt collectors
Break, agonized and clear.

By Emily Dickinson:

Success is counted sweetest
By those who ne'er succeed.
To comprehend a nectar
Requires sorest need.

Not one of all the purple host
Who took the flag to-day
Can tell the definition,
So clear, of victory,

As he, defeated, dying,
On whose forbidden ear
The distant strains of triumph
Break, agonized and clear.

Above: Pence and Ryan prepare to pull the plug on another American who doesn't deserve health care.

Pure Applesauce

2/14/2016

With the passing of Justice Antonin Scalia, we thought we would share a poem by Emmett Lee Dickinson's which influenced Scalia.

Scalia attended the Emmett Lee Dickinson School for Boys in Queens, NY, and he was a great fan of America's greatest poet. He often used the language of Dickinson -- including "pure applesauce," "jiggery pokery," and more -- in many of his rulings.

In the mid-1800s, Emmett Lee Dickinson served one term in congress. At that time, President Lincoln tried to push through the Reasonable Care Act (also known as “Lincoln-care”) for reasonably priced health care for American citizens. However, the legislation was found to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney.

Pictured at the right: Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, who struck down the Reasonable Care Act (known as "Lincoln-Care")

Emmett Lee Dickinson was furious with this decision, and he wrote his now classic poem, "'Healthcare' -- is what they shall not reach," about the Chief Justice. Dickinson's poem is below on the left. His poem then inspired third cousin Emily to write "'Heaven' -- is what I cannot reach!" (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

"Healthcare" – is what they shall not reach!
Applesauce if you ask Me –
Provide it? That's hopeless – jigger-pokery –
That – "Heathcare" is – to Me!

The Concept, of the RCA –
Across the entire Land?
Up on the Hill – the House inside –
Where – Paradox – is found!

The teasing somersaults – Afternoons –
Incredulous – interpretations –
Enamored – of the Conjurer-in-Chief –
I spurn him – Everyday!

By Emily Dickinson:

"Heaven" – is what I cannot reach!
The Apple on the Tree –
Provided it do hopeless – hang –
That – "Heaven" is – to Me!

The Color, on the Cruising Cloud –
The interdicted Land –
Behind the Hill – the House behind –
There – Paradise – is found!

Her teasing Purples – Afternoons –
The credulous – decoy –
Enamored – of the Conjurer –
That spurned us – Yesterday!