The Law of the Land

“Historic,” it’s called. This new Dictate of Reform has now become the law of the land. Relief from years of inability to gain access to paid medical attention, millions now have the opportunity to have subsidized health care, lavishly doled out, courtesy of 219 “progressive” politicians somebody elected.

The early-morning lines for Wal-Mart bargains are shifting to the local hospitals, and numbers for entrance are being taken. People are now camping in make-shift tents and hovels at major hospitals, anticipating another form of emancipation. Democracy has been redefined!

Nomenclature, clocked by arcana, can change the meaning of all things. The 2,600- page “law of the land” is chiseled now in stone, rock-solid, and posted in paper and digits for all to read and obey. Nobody read it … gives new meaning to “land of the free.”

All laws have loopholes. It can be many things, often all at once. Take, for example, a former Georgia governor, Eugene Talmadge. His elections were due to the archaic “county unit rule vote,” a system whereby each county, regardless of population, had an equal vote. Schooled in the politics of Telfair County (McRae, GA), he was elected trice as governor. You remember Telfair County, right? Its mantra was, may still be, “Vote early and often.” Even its graves voted.

Loopholing such elections laws led to the “controversy of 3 governors.” Later his son, Herman E. Talmadge, and M. E. Thompson, both claiming to be governor, took strongholds in the state capitol. Each camp had thugs, armed to the teeth, and Talmadge succeeded by having the locks of the capitol changed. Ah, the good–old-days of politics.

Recently we toured Turkey and the Greek Isles and landed in Ephesus. Once a wealthy sea port, it had silted in and was now miles from the coast. Prosperity moved on. An earthquake had decimated the place, and about ten percent had been recovered and reconstructed from the rubble. Still, its presence was stunning, awe-inspiring. But dead history.

Walking the marble streets, one could imagine life in that age. Caesars, citizens and commerce all met there. Located at the intersection of the main Via stood a solid slab of flat marble. In it was chiseled “the law of the land.” It was conspicuously located, so none could claim ignorance.

Nearby were the ruins of the Temple of Diana (Artemis), the revered Greek goddess. It was in its shadow that a conflict occurred between Christianity and money, a controversy that continues to this day. It is documented in Biblical scriptures, Acts 19.

Also located at this main crossroads was a stunning edifice, the Bibliotheca, the institution and academic center of the region. Directly across were the public baths and toilets. The toilets were round holes, carved into solid white marble slabs, situate elbow to elbow. Stalls? Forget it. There were no secrets there, what you see is what you get! We sat on some, wondering…..

Adjacent to the baths, and directly across from the Bibliotheca, stood the remains of The Brothel, home to an institution older than the law itself. In fact, it was Moses’ Achilles heel…it had to remain in the Ten C’s to the Tribe’s chagrin. An underground tunnel extended from the Bibliotheca to the Brothel. “Honey, I’m going to the library today. Back for dinner.” Smiling men in robes always emerged from the Bibliotheca late in the afternoon.

Signposts did not mar the beauty of the Vias. But the Brothel needed directions for strangers with fresh money, starved from long caravans with camels. So, a few blocks away, chiseled into the marble street, was a replica of a heart. Just beyond were the imprints of two bare feet, facing forward. Above that was a right angle directional arrow, pointing left, indicating the Brothel. Hey, doesn’t take a genius here to figure this out.

Washington, DC is the new Ephesus. All signs point there. From stately marble buildings in the ancient Greek styles a continuous flow of legal effluvia flows forth. A few blocks west of the Capitol stands the Smithsonian Institute. In its construction, archaeological digs discovered the 1840 brothel of Mary Ann Hall, Madam on the Mall. Nearby is K Street, home to think tanks, advocacy groups and lobbyists. There is no shortage of pimps still in DC.

The Law of the Land... the noose gets tighter. Looks like the only thing omitted was a “breath tax.” Don’t hold your breath…it’s coming!

Bud Hearn
March 25, 2010