The Bum on the Rods recited by Utah Phillips

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JakobVirgil
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14 Apr 2011, 8:10 pm

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOscaTfHLFs[/youtube]

Quote:

The Bum of the Rods and the Bum of the Plush
by Fry Pan Jack

The bum on the rods is hunted down
As the enemy of mankind
The other is driven around to his club
Is feted, wined and dined.
And they who curse the bum on the rods
As the essence of all that is bad,
Will greet the other with a winning smile,
And extend the hand so glad.

The bum on the rods is a social flea
Who gets an occasional bite,
The bum on the plush is a social leech,
blood sucking day and night.
The bum on the rod is a load so light
That his weight we scarcely feel,
But it takes the labor of dozen of men
To furnish the other a meal.

As long as you sanction the bum on the plush
The other will always be there,
But rid yourself of the bum on the plush
And the other will disappear.
Then make an intelligent, organized kick
Get rid of the weights that crush.
Don't worry about the bum on the rods,
Get rid of the bum on the flush.

this pretty much sums up my politics.

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Their hungry thirsty roots??

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John_Browning
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14 Apr 2011, 8:18 pm

I have lots of trouble with understanding poetry. Who is "the other", "the bum on the plush", and the bum on the flush"?

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JakobVirgil
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14 Apr 2011, 8:23 pm

John_Browning wrote:

I have lots of trouble with understanding poetry. Who is "the other", "the bum on the plush", and the bum on the flush"?

there are two kinds of folks that don't work for a living.
the bum on the rods (homeless folks, folks on the dole, etc)
the bum on the Plush (the ultra-wealthy, trust fund babies etc)

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We must not buy their fruits:
Who knows upon what soil they fed
Their hungry thirsty roots??

http://jakobvirgil.blogspot.com/

John_Browning
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14 Apr 2011, 8:53 pm

There really aren't that many "rich bums" or idle rich. Yeah there's Paris Hilton and the Kardashian sisters, and some reality TV stars who won't be able to be idle forever unless they make some real good investments (most of them don't appear to) or marry someone richer. Staying rich usually requires time and effort to maintain their fiances either through a business, an extremely good paying job, or tending to their investments. Some people who worked smart as well as hard and struck it rich and can afford to live off of what they've made for the rest of their lives, and that needs to be left alone because it encourages others to try to do something innovative as well. There are some rich kids, but most of the time their parents make them go to college or do something productive if they want to keep receiving a cut of the family fortune. About the only idle rich out there are married to someone who is rich because they are hard working.

cdfox7
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14 Apr 2011, 11:39 pm

John_Browning wrote:

There really aren't that many "rich bums" or idle rich.

Palace of Westminster is full of "rich bums" & idle rich. Idle in the case that they running my country into the ground.

Last edited by cdfox7 on 15 Apr 2011, 12:57 am, edited 1 time in total.

ruveyn
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15 Apr 2011, 12:21 am

JakobVirgil wrote:

this pretty much sums up my politics.

In short, anyone who has a pot to p*ss in must be a bad guy. Only the destitute are virtuous. Right:?

ruveyn

John_Browning
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15 Apr 2011, 1:36 am

cdfox7 wrote:

John_Browning wrote:

There really aren't that many "rich bums" or idle rich.

Palace of Westminster is full of "rich bums" & idle rich. Idle in the case that they running my country into the ground.

There still aren't that many idle rich, but the royal family is one example and they have it down to a science and make no attempt to hide it. With the exception of the ones who served in the military, they have a job resume about as long as those of the cast of "Jersey Shore".

cdfox7
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15 Apr 2011, 1:44 am

John_Browning wrote:

cdfox7 wrote:

John_Browning wrote:

There really aren't that many "rich bums" or idle rich.

Palace of Westminster is full of "rich bums" & idle rich. Idle in the case that they running my country into the ground.

Yes that family getting two publicly funded parties this year & next year. Tho I was referring to cash for questions, cash for honours & the Parliamentary expenses scandals. Our parliament loves they on the side money making schemes.

JakobVirgil
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15 Apr 2011, 10:13 am

ruveyn wrote:

JakobVirgil wrote:

this pretty much sums up my politics.

In short, anyone who has a pot to p*ss in must be a bad guy. Only the destitute are virtuous. Right:?

ruveyn

A strawman my friend. anyone who works (adds value about 90% of folks) should be rewarded for that work.
doctors, farmers, small businessmen, designers, labourers etc. deserve the money they get.
bankers, silent partners, investors, stock market gamblers, real estate tycoons, land lords etc. not so much.

to quote a heretical rabbi

Quote:

a labourer is worthy of his hire.

or if you require orthodoxy

Quote:

By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground

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?We must not look at goblin men,
We must not buy their fruits:
Who knows upon what soil they fed
Their hungry thirsty roots??

http://jakobvirgil.blogspot.com/

ruveyn
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15 Apr 2011, 1:39 pm

JakobVirgil wrote:

Quote:

By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground

That is right. By the sweat of YOUR brown, not someone else's brown

ruveyn

skafather84
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15 Apr 2011, 1:42 pm

cdfox7 wrote:

John_Browning wrote:

There really aren't that many "rich bums" or idle rich.

Palace of Westminster is full of "rich bums" & idle rich. Idle in the case that they running my country into the ground.

When your job title could be "adventurer", you're a rich bum. Take David Mayer de Rothschild, for example....his title is "adventurer" and "environmentalist".

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cdfox7
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15 Apr 2011, 1:54 pm

skafather84 wrote:

cdfox7 wrote:

John_Browning wrote:

There really aren't that many "rich bums" or idle rich.

Palace of Westminster is full of "rich bums" & idle rich. Idle in the case that they running my country into the ground.

When your job title could be "adventurer", you're a rich bum. Take David Mayer de Rothschild, for example....his title is "adventurer" and "environmentalist".

And hes an environmental advisor to the tosser in Number 10.

skafather84
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15 Apr 2011, 2:08 pm

cdfox7 wrote:

skafather84 wrote:

cdfox7 wrote:

John_Browning wrote:

There really aren't that many "rich bums" or idle rich.

Palace of Westminster is full of "rich bums" & idle rich. Idle in the case that they running my country into the ground.

When your job title could be "adventurer", you're a rich bum. Take David Mayer de Rothschild, for example....his title is "adventurer" and "environmentalist".

And hes an environmental advisor to the tosser in Number 10.

Which is interesting given that his school has absolutely nothing to do with any kind of biological or environmental studies. His studies were politics and communications (ie, your typical rich bum).

JakobVirgil
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15 Apr 2011, 6:20 pm

ruveyn wrote:

JakobVirgil wrote:

Quote:

By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground

That is right. By the sweat of YOUR brown, not someone else's brown

ruveyn

brown? a scatalogical joke or a typo? :lol:

When does the investors brow sweat? When does the landlords back hurt?
With all other things equal I perfer the flea that takes a little to the leach that takes alot.
both of course are bums.
both are on the dole, the idle rich are just on the privite dole.

an individual american welfare thief steals a few hundred dollars a month.
the corporate welfare thiefs steal hundreds of millions.
who should I dispise more?

If wealth is work made solid.
Then do bank CEO's work thousands of times harder than farm laborers?
Is the service they provide more important than putting food on my plate?
Should I defend their wealth even against my interest?

_________________
?We must not look at goblin men,
We must not buy their fruits:
Who knows upon what soil they fed
Their hungry thirsty roots??

http://jakobvirgil.blogspot.com/

ruveyn
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15 Apr 2011, 6:28 pm

JakobVirgil wrote:

brown? a scatalogical joke or a typo? ?

typo.

I don't do scatological jokes about serious things.

The poor shall always be with us. Let them look out for themselves.

ruveyn

cdfox7
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15 Apr 2011, 6:34 pm

ruveyn wrote:

JakobVirgil wrote:

brown? a scatalogical joke or a typo? ?

typo.

I don't do scatological jokes about serious things.

The poor shall always be with us. Let them look out for themselves.

ruveyn

Gordon Brown? :lmao:

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