Health

The elaborate Congressional circus whimsically referred to as 'healthcare reform' - the one that has held the nation captive since President Obama's earliest weeks in office - came complete with dancing clowns, disappearing acts and trained tigers jumping through hoops. But today the magic is gone.  The performance is degenerating. The public is beginning to understand what the political players knew all along - that this three ring circus was never meant to be more than a sideshow.

A commercial that's been on television so many times that I've lost count begins by showing a cheeseburger that is a leading product of a fast food chain. Then it focuses on the cheeseburger of a rival chain, boasting that the latter has more meat and more cheese.

Odds are pretty good that after some tortuous meetings and awful compromises by House and Senate bigwigs whatever health reform law is passed by Congress will not be close to what most thoughtful people want.  Especially not what progressives and liberals wanted from a Democrat controlled Congress.  Will President Obama act with integrity?

Anyone smart and strong enough to fight delusional thinking and who pays attention to current events should clearly see that corporate corruption of the US political system is so pervasive and powerful that there will be no genuine reform of both the health care and financial sectors. Obama's so-called reform efforts and ludicrous federal deficit spending should disappoint all his non-delusional supporters.

Would Americans who don't want government coming between them and their health care prefer Halliburton play the role of the decider? One way or the other, we would all do well to pay close attention to what's going on in California right now. If the Golden State's reputation as a 'trend setter' holds true for health care, those in need of affordable health insurance could find themselves up against private contractors like Halliburton.

The town hall meetings being held across the country by Democrats to revive Obama's gasping healthcare plan have opened a door that Americans from all corners of the political spectrum hoped would stay closed. This time around, the right may have gotten more than they bargained for.