Several Items of Interest

Thing 1. In case you don't think universal health care is an issue whose time has come. Over 40 million people skip or skimp on health care each year in the US because they can't afford it. The CDC report contains other scary statistics such as only 1/3 of children living below the poverty line in 2005 didn't visit a dentist. 19 million adults were unable to purchase needed prescription medication. And we call this a civilized country.

Thing 1a. And any successful universal health care package needs to mandate participation, per my candidate John Edwards' plan. If I've digested my information properly, that's because insurance coverage is only affordable if it is insuring both low and high risk categories. If you don't mandate insurance participation, then the low risk folks will opt out, leaving insurance to cover only those with high risk. High risk costs more. And that cost will be spread out over those less people who cost more.

If everyone must pay, then it is more likely that everyone can afford it and then everyone can be covered. If you are a nerdy type who'd like to explore this much further than I am capable of doing, go here. Please note that Obama's universal health plan does NOT mandate participation.

Thing 2. The President is planning to veto the latest energy bill poised to pass in the House. Why? Because it will hurt Big Business and cost them money. The bill includes plans to raise taxes on oil companies (currently enjoying record profits for a number of years now) and to require 15% usage of renewable energy sources throughout the country by 2020 (in 13 years!).

Bush and his cronies can't abide these reasonable and sensible measures as paths toward less costly oil and less use overall. They also can't stand the notion of raising fuel efficiency in cars by 40% by 2020. Funny thing, that fuel efficiency issue. Has technology moved so slowly since 1985 that fuel efficiency simply could not have been improved over these past 20 plus years? Because CAFE set the standard that year of 27.5 MPG and it hasn't been changed since.

As we've noted in the past, my friends, it's all about money. And lots of it.

Thing 3. Think voting isn't important? None of the issues really affect you? Think again, women of child-bearing age. Did you know that both Romney and Huckabee's positions appear to support a ban on birth control and other contraception? Any politician who supports life as beginning at conception rather than implantation is most likely saying that they do not support birth control. And these are the two candidates most likely to win the Republican nomination.

I do not feel it is Chicken Little-ness of me to announce: the sky is falling, the sky is falling!

Liz