Black Intel

Being obsessed with ice cream can be a very demanding and expensive addiction and can be terribly difficult to kick no matter who intervenes or what high priced rehab center I decided to check myself into. At 4pm (last hour of my workday) on a Wednesday afternoon a few weeks back the craving kicked in at full strength, the countdown began. As the hour clock moved at the slowest pace known to man, I began daydreaming of some of that diary goodness cascading from tooth to tooth. Finally at 5 o’clock, I ran out of that office like a mad man and drove towards the grocery store. Running full speed, I notice an older woman who whispers to her husband

” Watch out honey, that young man is running like a crazy man”. Crazy I was! And finally, I reached the gates of glory, the aisle of ice cream paradise and saw the difficult selections to choose from. I narrowed it down to  marble fudge and to my disgust, utter disgust, I found a Dreyers Slow Churned Half a gallon of ice cream for $6.99, $6.99 people! Like a rejected high school-er, I sat devastated at the exaggerated prices, in shock I ran over to the Breyers and saw a price tag of $5.99, Ben & Jerry’s and Haagan Daz both at $4.99.What is the world coming too I yelled fanatically with my inside voice. These prices! Oh the humanity!

What evilness had ok’d the pricing of these savory  delights and committed such an act of violence against the consumer. This isn’t right I repeated in me head. I felt my eyes swell and sweat  coming down my forehead, when all the sudden out the corner of my eye, I notice the magical Safeway select (store brand) marble fudge for $2.99. I begin screaming with great excitement and joy holding that half-gallon of store brand goodness in my arms. That  fair and balanced price that allowed the everyday American to be able to share in the dream of shared ice-cream prosperity brought tears to my eyes. The fact that this store brand Ice cream allowed me the oppruniunty to ice cream in my two-bed room apartment while watching Blackbuster movies on Bet was mind-blowing.

It was in that moment of glee that I realized something profound, something amazing, something earth-shattering, store-brand food is the public option. See, store brand food is the public option. I could have gotten the Dreyers or the Ben & Jerry’s, which admittedly might have tasted a bit better but it was the Safeway Select store brand ice cream that offered me the same adequate goodness that I needed and at half the price. I was turned away from having access to quality ice-cream. When all else failed, it was that store-brand marble fudge goodness that provided me access to ice cream, the ice cream that I need, cherish, and rightfully deserve.

Isn’t that all we are asking with regards to health-care. If I am struggling and falling on hard times, should I be denied the right to adequate ice cream? Store-brand food didn’t put private ice-cram dealers out of business it simply leveled the playing field. Imagine if there wasn’t the store brand Dr Fizzs or Mountain Lightenings of the world, who would be keeping the money hungry big businesses of the food industry in check. The Public Option is needed, demanded and necessary for real Health care reform.

Health-care costs have run a mock and continue to run a mock and without some kind of regulation and competition in the form of a government backed option Health care it will  continue to be the evil big business that it is. For those who don’t get it, a government option is about the only thing that could combat the cruel, stupid, greedy, and dysfunctional big business of health-care. If you ask me, honestly the only option is single-payer but our soft elected officials of the democratic party in Washington (Obama administration included) balked on that before it even had a chance so we have to settle for the public option.

Look people, as I sit here drinking my store-brand citrus delight, I realize that government is needed for things like healthcare and education. Don’t let stupid, igornant people who are consumed with fear tell you other-wise. Those people are walking robots of the right who can only scream talking points day in and day out. Demand your public option because you love your store-brand option!

Need more info? Click the link below for an amazing article on health-care in Rolling Stone.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/29988909/sick_and_wrong/4

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Blessings…
-Abel Habtegeorgis

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