The Public Option

Some people say things a heck of a lot better than I can. Here are some of the dangers a "public option" solution can pose to the american public:

Saturday, September 19, 2009 (SF Chronicle) The Menace of the Public Option
M.C. Blakeman

Of all the current assaults on our noble
republic, perhaps none is more dangerous than the public option
- specifically, the public library option. For far too
long, this menace has undermined the very foundations of our
economy. While companies like Amazon and Barnes & Noble
struggle valiantly each day to sell books, these communistic
cabals known as libraries undercut
the hard work of good
corporate citizens by letting people read their books for free.
How is the private sector supposed to compete with free?

And just what does this public option
give us? People can spend hours and hours in these dens of
socialism without having to buy so much as a cappuccino.
Furthermore, not only can anyone read books for free in the
library, they can take them home, too. They get a simple card
th
at can be used at any library in town. No checking on the
previous condition of books they've read. No literacy test.
Nothing. Yet, do these libertines of literature let
you
choose any book you want, anytime you want it? No. Have you ever
tried to get the latest best-seller at a public library? They
put you on a waiting list for that, my friend. And if you do ask
these government apparatchiks a question about a book, they
start talking your ear off, and pretty soon they're telling you
what to read.

Of course, if you break one of their
petty rules and return a book late you have to pay fines that
mount grotesquely each day. Even if you die, your overdue fees
keep piling up. Is that not a death tax? How long must the
elderly live in fear of burdening their children with these
unfair sanctions on their estates?
Don't be fooled for a
minute. Somebody has to pay for these "free" libraries, and I'll
tell you who it is, pal. Those good ol' suckers, the American
taxpayers, that's who.

Have you ever wondered who's really
behind this public library option? And don't you think it's
fishy that they mask their nefarious activities with
benign-sounding names, like Friends of the Library? What's their
real agenda - and why do they have so many "volunteer" meetings,
anyway?

No, my fellow Americans. We cannot wait
until we're all goose-stepped into a massive book checkout line.
This assault on capitalism and our very way of life has got to
end. Be subversive ... burn your library card!

Go out and buy a book!