TGIF

What a week, with all that's going on in Congress with the health care bill, the anti-homosexuality bill in Uganda (the "kill the gays" bill), hurting my foot, plus transitioning to the coming holidays -- the first Christmas card in the mail (which happened to be from B.'s mom) hit me like a brick. For (barely) coping, I'm going to give myself a break and skip the gym tonight. I really want to hear what Olbermann and Rachel have to say about everything, and these shows are off (i.e., not repeated) by the time I get back from the gym on Friday nights (on other weeknights, they're repeated). And I don't watch "Lock Down" or whatever it's called.

I think I'll try doing some cards again tonight on the computer. I've made a small pot of coffee (vs. the tea I had last night). It might keep me up but that's OK. I don't have to get up in the morning.

Foot, by the way, is much better today. I've stopped limping.

[Later] Cards are done. Double- and triple-checked for errors. I hadn't used the Card Store in a few years and had to re-learn it. It freaked me out a couple of times when the card that showed up on my check-out list was not the card I'd just created. When I went back to edit the card, it appeared correct, and the thumbnail back on the check-out list was then correct. I'll order one for me also, to see what it looks like when printed out.

I just don't see the Senate health care bill doing what this reform was supposed to do as originally laid out by Obama. I hate to say, it's almost a joke (a bad one). I don't think the American people are going to appreciate it. Judging by their continued support of a "public option," they're pretty much saying that the status quo isn't working for them. (To be honest, if works for me. But that then hinges on my keeping my job. And in these times, keeping a job can be iffy.)

The American people want security in their health care, as they know other wealthy, industrialized countries have. They know that people in other industrialized nations don't have to worry when it comes to health care. They don't trust Wall Street companies to care for them in their time of need. (They've seen, however, that the government takes care of Wall Street in its time of need.) People have every reason to be cynical about the health care legislation (as they apparently are), and they like the idea of a plan that's divorced from the health insurance companies they're now forced to deal with, which they know deny coverage for pre-existing conditions and attempt to deny coverage when people get sick. They've no doubt seen the horror stories in TV or have their own horror stories.

(It could be perceived that the Senate seems more concerned about the health of the health insurance companies than it is about the health of the American people.)

My main concern is the need to control rising health care costs, and our health insurance companies don't address this. As my U.S. Congressperson, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, wrote in response to an email I recently sent her:

Few challenges we face are as complex and consequential as fixing our health care system. We spend more money as a nation than any other country on the planet, yet we often do not spend it wisely. Nationally, we spend $2.1 trillion dollars a year on health care, which is more than $7,000 dollars per person. Unfortunately, two recent reports ranked the U.S. health care system last among industrialized nations for quality, access and efficiency. In our district alone, 20 percent of the population remains uninsured.

Reforming our health care system is not only the right thing to do, it makes economic sense. Lack of preventative care and improper management of chronic illnesses are significant sources of inefficiency in our system and unnecessarily drives up costs. Unsustainable health care costs represent the single largest threat to our long-run prosperity. They drain our federal budget while jeopardizing the financial security of families across the country. In Florida, 850 people are losing their health care every day during this economic crisis. This is costing Floridians as much as $18 billion every year due to lost productivity stemming from the uninsured.

It is clear that we need an American solution that reforms our nation’s health insurance system, brings down the deficit and expands access to affordable, quality health care for every American. We can accomplish this by building on what works and fixing what is broken. Health care reform should put patients - not profits - first, and we need to reduce the burden of ballooning health care costs on American families, businesses and our fiscal future. . . .

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Glad I'm not a golf fan (father is). Tiger Woods is quitting, at least for a while. With 13 extra-marital affairs (and counting?), sounds like he should never have married what's-her-name (or anybody else, for that matter). (I'm sounding old-fashioned, I guess.) See here.