Before I go to bed at night, I usually watch CNBC. The last six months have been loaded with information on the new healthcare bill. Mr. Obama was the leading performer on the channel, pushing his healthcare reform. Although I didn’t vote for him, I have to note that he has done something that none of the other politicians running the country have been able to do: sensibly reform our government healthcare programs.
This is not a new issue for our country. It is my understanding that President Teddy Roosevelt tried to institute a similar program almost 100 years ago, but was defeated. Almost every president since then has tried to bring some form of government-backed healthcare to the American public, but these measures have been defeated each time. It appears to me that the lobbyists against it have been very strong. Most “civilized” countries have had government-backed healthcare available to their citizens with the U.S. being one of the few exceptions.
Now that the bill has passed, we’ll have to wait and see what happens. I’m frankly optimistic.
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The only thing that was different about last week is that instead of taking the boat to Oceanside, we went to Catalina. It was the first time in six months. Catalina is a beautiful place and it is being preserved for the ages by the Catalina Island Conservancy. The trip took us eight hours, starting at 9:30 am. We had lunch as usual at Armstrong’s Seafood. Dessert was a Big Olaf’s ice cream cone.
— Bob