Stuff That Would Bore My Sisters, 14

***NOTE: I need to check a source.


Sisters, be warned before you start to read. I have held my political tongue for a few weeks. Just wanted to express my thoughts. Feel free, as always, to disagree. I appreciate in advance if you do read, and I don't hold it against you if you don't, lol.

Politics can be very ugly. I've been reading the positive and negative press about Obama. A few days ago, I expressed to a sister that I thought Hillary could be doing better than Obama is. But then I admitted that I am biased in favor of Hillary and that Obama was doing a good job considering all the hardships and drama he inherited. I liked McCain, too, bought books about all three of them during the campaign. Thought the country had some pretty good choices. I would say the same about them today.

A playback (in my mind) of Hillary and Obama during a debate made me think about the country's situation(s) during the campaign and about how I was contemplating my choice. Hillary was openly receptive to the idea of running with Obama. He was good enough for her then, and she is on his team now.

Anyone doing the job is going to be criticized. I do wish the Katrina issue could come to conclusion yesterday. But I don't know what mess he has to untangle. Bush took a lot of heat for that one, too. It seems that if Congress can pass measures that allowed the Iraq invasion, then something could be done about this.

I am proud the health care bill was finally passed. People who gripe never had to pay for insurance out of their checks a year in advance and then be eligible. I've had jobs where I had to pay before I was eligible. In jobs where turnover is high, newer employees help with the costs of older employees' health care benefits. Chances are, the same employees won't be around by the time they are eligible. The businesses win.

One might quip "Then they should not quit their jobs." Medical issues are the reason many people have to quit. It is difficult to receive much assistance when you have a job. This has also happened to me. A government run operation could not help me and my children after my divorce "because you already have a job," they told me. I kept working. But I had to make some tough choices.

A lot of people complain about other things they have to pay for, like public education. Why must we all pay taxes? If having an educated society were not important, then we would not have No Child Left Behind. Our education system would not be compared with that of other countries' systems. It is important.

Some states require everyone to pay for car insurance. There is a reason for that. If your car is wrecked and the other person cannot afford it, someone's insurance will pay for it. Well, the people who want to could pay for insurance. But some persons thought that if they must pay for it, then everyone must pay for it.

Benefits to society should not exclude stakeholders. When it comes to health insurance, everyone is a stakeholder. It costs money when people are sick. People who work over or come in early to cover someone else's shift earn time and a half. People who cannot pay the medical bills can receive assistance - that comes from local, state or federal money - that comes from taxes. Drugs to treat probably cost more than preventative care. And sick people who would rather pay their light bill or buy food than see a doctor may spread their germs to the rest of us.

If the healthcare plan is not perfect, and it won't be, then it can be altered. I feel a lot better about spending money on this than on bailing out big business executives who put extra bonus cash in their pockets. Hey, maybe a few of those dollars came from my paycheck. From my kids' paychecks. What can I do? The government taketh from the workers and giveth to moochers of all social classes. I am pleased that everyone will have access to healthcare insurance.

Obama. I am not unhappy with him yet. Hillary will always be my hero. I wish I could know what it would be like with her as president. I wish I could know how McCain would be as president. They're both ass kickers. I suspect Obama is an ass kicker - but he has a higher boiling point than most of us. So I wonder if that is the problem many people have with him, that he manages to remain cool, calm, and collected when the rest of us are twitching a little bit.***

Many people liked (during the campaign) Obama's coolness because he seemed so opposite W. He (W) wanted to dive into something and get it done. Sometimes that desire to accomplish worked. When it didn't, it wasn't pretty. Now that Obama is in office, it is as though many people are afraid to calm down and be patient. I thought about the list of problems he faced when he was sworn in less than a year ago. I would not have known where to start. In fact, he tried to tackle several issues at once. And some said outright that Obama was trying to do too much at once. That it was too early in his presidency. Can you imagine if he had listened to them?

Like I said, my stomach cramps and my face cringes when I think of Katrina. That has been embarrassing, and I feel for anyone still in need over it. The Nobel is extremely psychologically intriguing. Gay rights are not coming fast enough anywhere. That is not Obama's fault. Closed-mindedness is more pervasive and harder to treat than swine flu.

Obama is doing a decent job. Only the one complaint. Katrina. Oh, two complaints. $ for big business execs. The positive - foreign diplomacy, healthcare, morale, economic upswing - outweighs the negative. Besides, Hillary is working with him. That is good enough for me.