The Mark Twain Sausage Analogy

**“Those that respect the law and love sausage should watch neither being made.” – American Humorist/Author Mark Twain (real name Samuel Clemens) Prestigious lawmaking bodies are comprised of solons* Some find it hard to refrain from comparing them to cons Few legislators know the ramifications of bills And the way they’re rushed to passage can give the public chills We don’t know what’s in bills or how they strip away our rights And if we ask our lawmakers, they provide few insights Piles of amendments are thrust hastily in political machines Objections are made; no one successfully intervenes “What’s that?” we ask later when we realize what has been done (In Kennesaw, Georgia, all citizens MUST purchase guns) Try to blend the conservative and liberal viewpoints You’ll find the machine sputters with fat spewing from its joints It’s like taking hunks of pork and grinding them into links The process is messy and the outcome usually stinks No matter! We are supposed to smile and just eat it up Then we wash it all down with a sip from the lager cup Pork barrel projects like Alaska’s “Bridge to Nowhere” confound As on nebulous values of bills lawmakers expound So beware if for common sense in these bills you forage And remember old Mark Twain’s analogy to sausage *Solons are members of any legislative or lawmaking body.