I watched Obama sign health care into law this morning ...

I happen to love my government right about now. Obama's compassion and intelligence and the last year of going out through America and listening and knowing that this is the right thing to do. Now 30 million people will have access to affordable health care. There is still work to do, but today's legislation is the foundation for universal health care coverage. Thank you President Obama.

Thank you Senator Ron Wyden for your continuous advocacy, by appearing on the cable news programs and not letting the naysayers and the negative ad campaigns deter you. You did the right thing.

Thank you Representative Blumenauer. I am happy with my representatives here in Oregon. We already have some of the best health care in the country and this legislation will only improve our health and well being.

Thank you Rachel Maddow, Ed Shultz, Keith Olbermann. And thank you to all the tweeps and journalists and bloggers who rallied support for a real health care system. Government by the people and for the people is change I believe in.

Yes We Can and Yes We Did.

Hope 2.0

I was able to only watch the morning's coverage and part of the afternoon's coverage before leaving for a job interview, but I felt hope return when I listened to Obama advocate for health care coverage for the millions who don't have many options outside of using the emergency room as a health care plan.

In contrast to Obama, Republicans sounded scripted, repeating the mantra of "start over" and buying across state lines and tort reform, blah blah blah. Starting over at this point would only delay reform, and I see it as nothing other than obstruction for political gain. The health care debate has been dragging on for way too long already, and it has been discouraging listening to the constant barrage of commercials that sound recycled from the 90's health care debate and meant to encourage distrust of Obama and, in general, the government's role in assuring the health and well being of all its citizens.

President Obama countered Republican talking points with facts, and showed his concern for those without health care with genuine compassion. Despite my feelings of cynicism lately about the chances of the legislation actually passing, today I felt hope again that the U.S. will soon join the rest of the developed world in having a comprehensive health care system. Bravo Obama.

A way forward

Obama's speech tonight is meant to recapture the debate. Unless you've been living under a rock, you may have noticed discussion derailed by ridiculous conspiracy theories. Conspiracies are meant to distract and obfuscate, and so you have a number of gullible people believing propaganda, and all of this has to be addressed to regain control of the discussion.

I too am hopeful for a public option, and I agree with Obama that it's a small, but essential part of overall health care reform that will inject competition into the marketplace. The point is that it provides a safety net and brings down overall health care costs. That would be a step in the right direction.

The health care reform that is going to pass will be the beginning of a health care system in this country. The more people that enroll in a health care plan (public option or co-op) the more negotiating power it has. People have to start thinking of health care as a fundamental human right and voicing their issues and concerns based on good information.

There should be little controversy about health care reform. The polls have been showing that it has broad consensus. But the media likes a horse race, and so we get the asses too.

"Triggers" and "Co-ops"

I'm for universal, affordable health care (and I'm not talking you get dropped if you miss a payment). Triggers sounds like a number of people lose their health care before anything is done, and co-ops will not work unless they are not-for-profit and have bargaining power. The health insurance industry tends to like co-ops because they will be easier to compete against than a public option. Why a single-payer system was so controversial, or expanding Medicare, I don't know. Maybe it's our priorities, i.e. being too complacent about the money we spend on foreign wars to take care of ourselves.

What your health care dollars pay for ...

Most people who are happy with their health insurance should know that a portion of their premiums goes towards lobbying efforts to prevent the uninsured from having health care. Hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent to preserve an unsustainable status quo.

Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming), one of the "Gang of Six," has already admitted that he will vote against any health reform bill, and that he's just trying to get concessions on the bill before it leaves the Senate Finance Committee. "If I hadn't been involved in this process as long as I have and to the depth as I have, you would already have national health care," he said. "It's not where I get them to compromise, it's what I get them to leave out."

The White House is beginning to admit that bipartisan support may not be possible. The fate of any health reform may be up to how many Blue Dog Democrats vote for it, and if you follow the lobbying dollars flowing to this group, you can see that the for-profit health care and insurance industries know where to focus their money. Their agenda is to kill the public option and eliminate any competition in the system.

That's why it is important if you are represented by a Blue Dog Democrat to make your voice heard. You may be competing against the health insurance industry, but at the end of the day your representative is going to vote with the majority of his constituents. Send your representative a letter in support of the public option.