Fast Eddie Friday...........Lighten up already.

Not for nothin, but it's been a gloomy week on this blog. Humor caught a Greyhound bus and like Elvis it left the building. Then again considering the subject matter, cracking jokes and making wise ass remarks probably would have been more than a little tacky. So consider this edition of Fast Eddie Friday, M M lite. Here we go, fast and loose.

The health care debate is growing heated. Folks are so passionate about the subject they are prepared to beat the cowboy shit out of each other to prove it. At a town meeting in Tampa people were pushing, shoving, and generally making total spectacles of themselves. Some highlights :

Members of crowd shout "tyranny" during discussion of proposed health care reform.

At times outside the meeting, people tried to drown out pro-Obama chants of "Yes we can" with chants of "Just say no.

Punches were thrown, brief skirmishes ensued, and one guy reportedly was hit so hard it knocked the taste out of his mouth. Okay, I made up that last part. As best I can tell people who are lucky enough to have health insurance, are against reform, while those who don't have it are all for it. I'm on the fence. On the one hand I think everyone should be able to afford to get sick, especially the very young and the very old. Then i start thinking about the government running health care. I go to the Veterans Administration hospital, so I have access to health care. Of course I only go if I'm about to drop dead. Broken bones, ebola virus, bleeding from my pores, and any type of goiter or growth protruding from the side of my head like a parasitic twin, will merit a visit to the VA. Short of those symptoms, I take my chances and stay home. One VA hospital recently infected a bunch of Vets with Hepatitis C and HIV. It wasn't an experiment or some kind of case study. They infected these people while doing colonoscopy. We are all accustomed to the gubmint sticking it up our ass, but when it gives you a deadly virus in the process, that's a whole different deal. If they can't get it right at the VA, what does that say about a proposal to take over health care for the entire nation?

Note to self: Pick your nickname wisely. Let's say you get in a gun battle outside of a hip hop club. Now let's assume someone gets killed, and you are charged to stand trial in that murder case. Prosecutors are notorious for dredging up unflattering info about defendants. Your past crimes, associations, trivial shit like that. Even something as innocent as a nick name can get thrown in your face, or as they say in street vernacular "All up in yo grill". There are some nicknames that might help sway a jury in the defendants favor. Snuggie Bear, Little Richard, Erkle, and any nickname that includes the word Baby in it. What you don't want for a nickname ,the initials OJ, or anything that contains the word Killer, Killa, or Murder. So it doesn't bode well for a New Orleans rapper currently standing trial for second degree murder. His rap name, C Murder. The guy already has a conviction on an unrelated case for attempted murder that happened shortly before he allegedly gunned down a 16 year old fan, which is why he is currently on trial. Look, you don't want to find yourself standing tall before the bench about to be sentenced on a murder beef with a fucked up nickname. If the judge's opening line is "Mr. Murder a jury has found you guilty of second degree murder....." You are as fucked up as a soup sandwich. Be prepared to get more time than you could ever possibly do. C Murder should have gone with something like Lil Baby Sugar Bear, then again that might not be the name to carry to the joint.

So a blogger walks into a vegan restaurant known for its raw, vegan “cheesecake” and vegan “milkshakes” during a gay pride festival and goes apeshit over a tips jar that says "Palin Retirement Fund," ....Sounds like the opening line of a joke, huh? You know the ones, "a man walks into a bar with a pig under his arm......." Anyway this blogger apparently got all in a huff and started grilling the manager about making fun of Palin by using this slogan on a tip jar. In a long rambling post, the blogger compares it to making fun of children who are burn victims or have some debilitating disease. The offended right wing blogger is apparently kicking it up a notch.......like Emiril......BAM!!!!!, and going after the restaurants business license. If you can stand to suffer through the entire post you will find the now tired tag line "liberals are terrified of Palin". It was clearly meant in a humorous vein, it's not like the jar said Sarah Palins illegit grand baby college fund, or something equally tasteless. Palin supporters need to lighten the fuck up already, and before you equally ardent Obama fans start nodding your heads in agreement, the same goes for you. This country has a long standing tradition of making fun of it's political figures. It's what we do. Palin isn't exempt from it, nor is Obama, Pelosi, or Barney Frank. Palin ain't Mother Theresa and Obama didn't just float down from the heavens on a fiery chariot. These people put their pants and snow shoes on one leg at a time, just like everyone else. And really, who didn't appreciate a good Dick Cheney joke?

That's it for this week. Stay safe, have a good weekend, and stay clear of the raw cheese cake.