I'm not a big fan of poetry, but I do love poetic justice.
A Side Note:
In the weirdly functioning synapses of my brain, that term conjures up images of Chief Justice John Roberts delivering an opinion in rhyme, possibly starting out like this:
I never met a corporation I didn't love quite madly
But if one should perchance turn up, I'll still rule for it gladly.
Or conversely, maybe some poet (quick...can anybody name one living American poet?) rendering a view on justice of some sort...
Ambulance at night
Lawyers chasing in its wake
Justice is left mute
Oh, but there I go, digressing again. Poetic justice, as you know, doesn't have anything to do with those images. Rather, according to several dictionaries I checked, it's a situation in which someone in the wrong gets his comeuppance, especially if he gets what he deserves in a way he would least expect. It's a lot like being "hoist by your own petard," but the price of a good petard being what it is these days, we'll just stick with PJ. Recent news brings several nominees for "poetic justice of the week," to wit:
Karen Ignagni and America's Health Insurance Providers (AHIP), the organization which she heads, and all the other industry groups that have spent billions to oppose any reform that would affect their profits. AHIP made an ill-timed effort to quash the Senate Finance Committee's version of health reform by trying to scare people about its cost. In a later statement the op-ed pages, Ignagni tried to walk this back, claiming the timing was not intentional, but accidental. This bald effort to strangle an infant in its cradle was seen by most, including Congressmen, for what it was, and may have been the straw that overloaded politicians' patient backs. It appears Congress is more determined than ever to pass meaningful reforms, and with public opinion polls still showing 57% of Americans favoring the "public option," and even some legislators who held back now saying a modified public option might be desirable, it's possible the various segments of the industry may even get the one thing they all opposed.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Many U.S. companies, including some rather major ones, are increasingly reaching the conclusion that "green" changes are not only good for integral reasons, but also because they make good business sense. Some of these companies are even bailing out of the U.S. Chamber. Yet the Chamber has been almost berserk in its opposition to the Obama administration's climate bill, including the propagation of pure fabrication and distortion -- to the point where Adminstration officials seem ready to cold-shoulder the hot-headed organization. The fake press conference in which The Yes Men announced that the Chamber was dropping its opposition to the bill was also deception, but it was done with humor, and there's a nice irony in having the Chamber's rabid reactionism brought to light in this way.
The Heene Family, alleged perpetrators of the apparent fraud involving their son Falcon in the case that's now been dubbed "balloon boy." By most accounts now, except the Heenes' own, the alarm over the boy feared to be aloft in an errant hot air balloon was totally concocted - some kind of Colorado Rocky Mountain high? - for the purpose of getting the family more notoriety, and possibly another shot at a reality show gig. The harm, of course, was in the false report, and the costs and efforts it entailed. Whether the outcome will be any serious penalty for the Heene mom and dad or not, the FBI investigation of the incident should at least take some wind out of the Heenes' sails. More broadly, maybe this incident represents the peaking of the craze for "reality" shows, and that would be a welcome development as well.
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