Leave It To Peever



­­ Bumper sticker of the week: I'm hung like Einstein and as smart as a horse.

­­ Quote of the week: ''What we call man's power over nature turns out to be a power exercised by some men over other men with nature as its instrument.'' C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man.

­­ Shorts:--

I've been crawling my way towards sanity an inch at a time. It's a slow trip.--

I've seen the light. I know, big deal.--

If you've crossed this path before, you're hopelessly lost.--

I've finally found a way to change lead to gold. Start with gold.--

Natural gas prices go up in direct proportion to the number of people who bitch to Illinois Power about natural gas prices going up.--

New church opens: Weik's Happy Hour. No down-and-out, sorry-assed, moaning and groaning sermons. Sinning will be discouraged but not condemned. Praying will be a state of life, not an event. There will be plenty of cheap advice. At Weik's Happy Hour, you'll get what you pay for. Our motto, ''Give a lot, but expect little.'' With that in mind, you won't be disappointed.

­­ I hate testifying in court. The legal system likes black and white answers. When it involves counseling, there are not a lot of yes or no answers. There are a lot of maybes, I-hope-sos, and kind-ofs. A good counselor will try to get you to live in the gray areas of life, in between the yeses and nos, rights and wrongs, the goods and bads. It's in between the extremes where life is meant to be lived, where you'll find most of your options. There are, however, some subjects, some issues, some causes, that push us to the extremes. When you find yourself in these places, pause for reflection. You have entered The Danger Zone. You're about to swear that you know what is best for everyone, that you have ''The Answer.'' Now, I hate to be the one to burst your bubble, but about 6 billion people in the world also think that they have ''The Answer.'' And at least one of them is bound to be smarter than you. The moral of this story: There are not many smart attorneys.

­­ The Art of Compromise requires that one attempt to live in life's gray areas.

­­ Why I know capital punishment is wrong? Because we make mistakes.

­­ Native Americans don't trust whites. African-Americans don't trust whites. Hell, I'm not so sure I trust whites. You get a white man making a promise to a minority, or someone poor, or someone disabled, or someone hurting, or someone of a different religion or culture, or someone who doesn't live on the right side of town, and you'd better get it in writing. And as most of you are well aware, that doesn't much matter either.

­­ One final note this week. I have talked to a lot of people who have been fired from work after they became ill. This is not due to the fact that the boss is worried about catching whatever illness you may have, since most bosses are seldom around anymore, or that your ability to do the work is in any way diminished. It is, however, directly related to the company's health insurance costs and the fact that you are now a liability. And they all seem to have attorneys on board willing to make up some type of mumbo-jumbo excuse that sounds legal. This practice is clearly illegal and a violation of your civil rights, your employment rights, and your human rights. Screw the lawyers. Walk in front of a judge and tell him what happened. Force him to take sides. Than send me your story. I'll be glad to publish it in the name of justice and, if nothing else, a blatant attempt to embarrass the company and the legal system that protects them. Fighting these things alone is difficult and costly. People need to come together to strengthen their position against selfish, cruel, and money-driven business owners. Being profit driven has clouded their humanity. It is time for us to fight back. Unionize, editorialize, and support universal health-care. Why else do you think people with all the money are against these things?



Uploaded to The Zephyr Online March 6, 2001

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