Thoughts for the week:

Bad idea of the week: Let's go hiking along the Iraqi/Iranian border. What could possibly go wrong? Three American vacationers are now held by Iranian Authorities. Who goes there for a vacation anyway? Did I miss something?

Sarah Palin resigns as Governor of Alaska. Who cares? She pissed off the Republicans when she ran against them for Governor of Alaska and then when she ran as the Vice Presidential candidate (what was John McCain thinking?) she pissed off all the Democrats. Nobody likes her anymore up there.

I am fearful that health insurance reform will once again fail. Why don't we do a Canadian style/European style single payer plan? It's not socialism any more than paying taxes for Interstate highways and the national defense is. Some toothless proposal will probably emerge. We can be our worst enemies sometimes. Doctors lobbied against a provision that would have curtailed Doctor owned hospitals and Democrats caved in and eliminated the provision. Doctors order tests for patients at their own hospitals and pocket the cash coming and going on both ends of the deal. Hyperinflation in costs, an uninsured population the size of California, Washington, and Oregon. That's the system people want to preserve?

A Democratic Congressman, after listening to lengthy tirades against socialized medicine by some Republicans, proposed eliminating Medicare thereby challenging those Republicans to put up or shut up. Not a single Republican voted to end Medicare. For whatever its financial issues, Medicare is a testament to common sense and what we can do when we put our minds to it. Anyway, Republicans have once again chosen bloviation as their program.

The Beer Summit - Barack Obama put his foot in his mouth when he spoke too soon about the arrest of the college professor. But he made up for it nicely with personal contacts to the police officer and the college professor. President Obama has the knack of admitting his mistakes and taking corrective actions in stride which often lead to good results.

Cash for Clunkers - seems like a good idea. Customers love it, auto dealers love it (although they complain about paperwork all the way to the bank). The program ran out of $$ in a week, but the US Senate may add more $$ this coming week.

August Recess: Republicans have been training their people to disrupt August town hall meetings held by Democratic Representatives. Example, "sit far apart and coordinate your heckling --that way it will seem as though there are more of you than there really are." Nothing like democracy in action......

And finally the Birthers - the nutty group of folks who insist -- with ample evidence to the contrary -- that President Obama is not an American citizen. This bunch has been encouraged by a number of Republicans in their silliness. This is the same crowd that believes in UFO's, Area 51 nonsense, conspiracy theories so vast that the total absence of evidence itself is proof of the conspiracy. Some of these, uh, citizens, even believe George W. Bush and Dick Cheney orchestrated the attacks against the Twin Towers on 9-11. As much as I disliked those two, that's going too far......It's really not necessary to invent crimes to discredit those two - they committed plenty the way it is.

People tell me they like reading my commentaries, and so I keep writing them.
Sorry.

And that's the way it is, as Walter Cronkite would say, Aug. 2, 2009.

Regards,
Bud C
www.artbycassiday.com