Healthcare: Did They Get it Right This Time?

It's the biggest issue currently. Do Americans really want to have centralized healthcare, or should we just keep it the way it has been? Well, President Obama has been trying to encourage the universal healthcare bill since he became President. Many have opposed it--mainly conservatives and Republicans. But what's the situation right now?

For those that don't know, that bill is starting to make leeway. As of Thursday, the House passed a bill that "fixes" the broader healthcare reform that Obama released the Tuesday before. Most of the changes in the bill were regarding the Medicare and Medicaid taxes and such. As the article puts it, "The Democrats' fixes bill was necessary to get a reluctant House to pass the Senate's health care reform measure unchanged."

And in a way, that is completely true. The minority party here is just dead-set in seeing that this bill fails. While I think the coverage that the universal healthcare bill entails is a bit of overkill, I think it could prove to be beneficial in the long run. Sure, kids my age won't get individual health insurance, but it isn't necessary. Most kids aren't even out of college until age 22 or so, depending on their degree. And even then, four years ain't a long wait. Additionally, I think a preventitive health care system is smart. Pay to prevent the bad stuff from happen so you don't have to worry about major health problems later. GOOD. And should some major illness or accident happen and it's over a certain amount (I do believe it's $10,000 or something close to that number), then you got the healthcare system paying for it. Everything else: out of your own pocket. But, why worry? If you got the preventitives helping you, you shouldn't get that sick, and therefore don't have to pay as much.

Hey, it's worth a try. It's not like we can get much worse as a nation. And when you can't get and further down, the only way to go...is UP.

Link to the original article:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/25/health.care.main/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

Red, White, and Rainbow: the Proud Colors of America

The issue of homosexuals is one of the hottest topics in modern America. People question it constantly. Is is moral to be gay? Should they marry? Do they deserve to serve in our military? ...Woah, woah, woah. Okay, that last one doesn't deserve to be questioned. But, our government believes that the "don't ask, don't tell" policy works just fine. Gays can serve, but they aren't allowed to be open about it -- at all. It's all good, right? Not really.

This is why Defense Secretary Robert Gates stated last Thurday that the Pentagon was going to ease up on the policy. Instead of being super strict about the issue -- where if there was even an inkling of a gay in their presence, they would discharger -- they were going to ease it towards a "common sense" view. The level of authority that can make a case against an alleged gay has also been raised so it's less likely to be just a fluke.

To be honest, I think "don't ask, don't tell" is annoying. Sure, as the United States of America, we say that we have freedom of speech and freedom of religion and so forth -- but most of the time, that just seems like a load of bull and loopholes. Homosexuals should have the same amount of rights that everyone else gets, no matter what their viewpoint is. That's why out government allows diversity. ..It's more like "diversity -- with their consent." If homosexuals want to risk their lives for out country, let them. If they want to serve their country and be able to say "I'm proud to be a gay American soldier", let them.

Link to the original article:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/25/military.gays/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29