Well, a new year is here, the festivities are over, and we can now get back to reality. There is something about the Thanksgiving Day to New Years day period that seem unreal even if you live in Florida and Santa is ringing a bell in red Bermuda shorts. Perhaps it the lights or the good spirit that people seem to be in or maybe it’s just the extra time off of work which, other than vacation we will not see again until May. Whatever the reason may be, the reality is ten years have passed since we all wondered if the world would come to an end as the year 2000 approached. We somehow survived that and we too shall survive the disappointment of the year long health care debacle that has consumed our congress due to the ruthlessness of the Republicans and the likes of Joe Lieberman and Nelson of Nebraska.
Why we still court the likes of these two is beyond belief. Why we caved into to these two and settled for a second rate health plan that if anything has emboldened the insurance bureaucracy more, is beyond belief. Why did we allow the Republican myth writers to control the thinking process of our voters? Why were our Democratic elected officials so afraid to vote for good legislation? The Public Option was not turning our health care system into a socialistic form of economy. It simply created an alternative to a fascist form of economics whereby a few companies controlled an entire industry creating a situation where the consumer had the option of getting screwed or having no insurance. Why were so many people happy to get screwed? Contrary to the popular thought we do not have the best medical system in the world. We actually are ranked in the thirties. Why do people come here from other countries for treatment? Because the universities are turning out brilliant doctors who can perform wonderful procedures which most insured people have to fight to get approval to obtain and usually don’t, while the heads of these insurance companies have annual incomes in the billions of dollars.
Yes, we have finally passed a healthcare bill that will help some people. The Republicans will continue to rip it apart, happy that their contributors are still happy. Joe Lieberman if he has any conscience will have to shave with a towel over his mirror. Nelson can go home and tell his constituency that, although I helped screw the national health care plan, I brought back money for the state and I can run again because the insurance industry will put lots of money in my pocket.
Wouldn’t it be nice if the Attorney General investigated these people to see if they voted their conscience or if they were bribed to vote the way they voted. After all, they are representatives of the people, not the lobbyists. I have often said that the true way to good government is to allot a certain amount of running money per office and not allow any other funds to be spent to campaign. We would then have elected officials who would have to answer to the electorate instead of contributors.
Our speaker this month will be State Senator Jeremy Ring. I want to wish you all a healthy and prosperous New Year. I want to extend condolences to our Vice President Susan Pignato on the passing of her father. The meeting will be interesting as Senator Ring is right in the thick of the goings on in Tallassee. So come, bring a friend and I’ll bring the refreshments.