Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in the sands of the desert.
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Harrisburg to be born?
A twisted, disfigured privatization bill is limping toward the finish line in the Senate as I write this, at 1:30 AM on Saturday morning. I'm listening to the Democrats' last-ditch efforts as amendments are offered. Senator Teplitz is admitting that the PLCB is corrupt and stupid, but thinks it should be retained. I believe he undercuts his argument...but it's futile. He's speaking in favor of "The Ferlo Amendment." That's the Democrats' "modernization" scheme, which really stands for more of the same...only now open on Sundays (although Ferlo's amendment DID have better "package reform;" the Republicans have ludicrously made The Case Law even MORE complicated).
This bill is ridiculous in its pointless compromise. If it passes, we will still be a laughingstock among civilized states. Unnecessarily arbitrary compromises stud it like chunks of coal in a pudding. This has become a coddling of Big Beer, and a crusade against Corbett. It will be decided on party lines, for reasons having very little to do with the merits of the bill.
And you know what? I'll take this Second Coming of private alcohol sales in the Commonwealth. Because once the wall is broken, it cannot be repaired. It can only be further torn down as people realize how stupid it was to begin with. The predictions of disaster will come to naught.
Ferlo's amendment was defeated, narrowly, with one Republican -- Greenleaf, of Montgomery County -- voting for it. The bill has been amended, with a vote of 27 Republicans in favor of the Pileggi amendment, an augury of success in the Appropriations Committee, after which it will return to the Senate for final passage and reconciliation with the House...which could be tricky. But another step goes forward; the slouching continues. The senators are calling it a night, and so am I.
Hey Lew what did the plcb do to piss you off so much not want you to write a column or not think you walk on water do something better with your time
ReplyDeleteLew why so pissed at plcb wouldn't they hire you to write a column its liquor put all of your energy into something else.
ReplyDeleteSimple, Erin: it exists, and by existing, robs me of the choices an American adult expects. I don't think I walk on water; that's something reserved for One much greater than me or you. And...I think I am doing something great with my time; I'm getting involved in government and having a small effect. That's a good thing for citizens of a democracy to do.
ReplyDeleteNow that the pointless flaming of Lew is over, I have a question for him: what do you think the odds are of this passing? Though I'll be unemployed if it passes, this bill gives more of a cushion for us to find new jobs. Beggars can't be choosers, so I'll take it.
ReplyDeleteOdds of passage? Really?! The legislators themselves couldn't answer that one accurately! I will say that the indications of a willingness to stay at it past tonight's deadline are encouraging...but we'll just have to wait and see. This is no longer about policy or the common good, on either side, it's about party advantage in the next two election cycles.
DeleteMost Americans who aren't drunks don't care and you are freaking obsessed. Do you have a family? They must be thinking of excuses to tell their friends on your behalf all day long.
ReplyDeleteMy family is truly none of your concern. And you're hardly the first genius to think of tagging a person who cares about alcohol policy as a drunk to slay their positions. Only thing is, that's a logical flaw, attacking the person instead of their arguments...and everyone knows it. Try again, and while you're at it, think about how obsessed you are, commenting on this blog.
DeleteWrapping your self in a flag doesn't change what you are.
ReplyDeleteKeep it coming, I love my fans! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteLooks like you will be ranting and raving for years to come. Privatization will not happen. The consumers won!! Not as many of us want privatization as you may think.
ReplyDelete"The consumers won!" may be the most bizarre judgment of what happened that we will ever see.
ReplyDeleteTrust me. We'll still be around.
It's not happening Lew. And I'm happy for all those employees in the stores that work hard and care about their jobs.
ReplyDeleteNow, when you say that they "care" about their jobs...do you mean about KEEPING them? Or about doing a great job of customer service? There's a world of difference, apparently.
ReplyDeleteYou have no right to say that all of the employees of the PLCB do not provide good customer service. At my store we strive to provide every customer with a good shopping experience. I take 2-3 hours out of my week on a regular basis to pick up products for customers that we don't have in our store. Don't make gross generalizations that every store is bad and every employee is bad, it is insulting. Many stores have employees that care greatly about customer service and their jobs.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, Eric. Thing is, I didn't say that. In fact, just today on the comments on my latest post I said this: "I never said EVERY clerk was weak on it; I said that the system in general was weak on product knowledge. I stand by that, and I'm hardly alone. The system does very little to encourage clerks to expand their product knowledge; some are very much self-motivated."
ReplyDeleteService IS a problem. That's the reason for the courtesy training, but customer complaints actually went UP after the training. There's an issue. It's not everyone, but it's too many; it's the system that's a problem.