Public Option Still Alive and Well

Remarkable what the progressive push-back has managed to accomplish in the health reform arena. Looks like we might actually get a decent bill passed after all.

Kudos to Obama for Winning the Nobel Peace Prize

Ok, I have recently been grousing about the incrementalism of the Obama administration and worried about the continuing wars, but this is clearly a positive thing for both Obama himself and the country. Right-wing pundits who are saying this is embarassing or undeserved are misguided as usual. This is about the Nobel Committee encouraging peace overtures and saying that the war and fear mongering of the Bush administration will no longer be held against the USA. Obama does seem overly cautious at times, but he is so far from Dubya and his horrible thugs like Cheney, Rumsfeld, et al it is no surprise the world is celebrating this. Good for our President, and here's hoping this will encourage him to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and pursue genuine peace in the Middle East and all over the world. That would really be change we can believe in!

Fall Blahs and Swine Flu

My household and some of those with whom I share children have suffered bouts of swine flu already. It seems to me the CDC is sometwhat behind the eight ball on this epidemic. My son still has not received his promised vaccinations through his school. Nobody in Santa Fe appears to even have the vaccine which is supposed to protect against swine flu available as of this week. Younger people are documented to be at greater risk of serious complications and even death from this strain of the flu. Why wasn't the US more prepared to deal with this in a timely fashion?