Webster Defines Cluster as...

We work for the people. That's what they tell us. The men and women of Congress sit up there in their tower and insist that they work for us. They are here for us to make our lives better. Don't believe the hype, folks. With the recent House passing of the Health Care Bill, this theory of "working for the people" has pretty much been disproven and eradicated. Never in my short lifetime have I witnessed a more blatant disregard for the needs and wants of the American public.

I don't understand how a group of people who is supposed to be working "for us" can pass something that only fits their own skewed agenda and feeds their own massive egos. It doesn't make sense.

I am about to enter medical school at the end of this summer. Right now there are few things I want more than to jump on a plane, fly to Italy, and spend a few weeks relaxing and taking in the sites and culture of my ancestors. Yet, I don't have the money to do so. I have bills to pay and I have to be financially prepared for the next 4 years and beyond. Why is this such a hard concept for the American Government to grasp? Our deficit is in excess of a TRILLION dollars at the moment. The answer? Blow up spending with the new Health Care Bill to make sure people can get coverage. If you're scratching your head, you're not alone. I know, I know. It's all Bush's fault. He can be blamed for everything right? Not so fast.

There is no possible way this bill will NOT cost us money. No possible way. 0% chance. Nil. Zippo. Zilch. Goose Egg. The number of goals the Thrashers have scored against the Bruins in the last two meetings. Period. You cannot tell me that increasing the amount of people by millions that rely on the government will not cost us money. They have even explicitly stated that individuals making over $200,000 a year or married couples combining for $250,000 or more per year will face drastic tax increases. Does this affect the majority of Americans? Maybe not. Does it affect many? Yes it does. People making this amount of money work hard and have earned the money they make. They have health care for themselves and their families and now they are responsible for funding the health care for individuals who don't care to work or make less money? This group already funds the welfare and unemployment system so these people don't have to work and can still survive, now they have to provide prescription drugs to them as well?

That brings us to the issue of fining individuals or businesses without health care. If you make a certain amount, you have to have health care. Period. These fines will help encourage people to work hard and work for companies with benefits and the money the government collects will help pay off the deficit. FALSE. These fines will do the opposite. Few people will want to face fines and most who do will not be able to afford to and will therefore opt for the government's Medicaid plan thus increasing people who rely on the government causing an increase in spending and an increase in the need for more tax revenue. The economy is in the toilet. The fix? Let's tax and fine the hell out of businesses that don't offer decent health care plans. That makes sense. Did it ever occur to you that they cut out health benefits because they CAN'T AFFORD TO OFFER THEM?!! Maybe businesses like airlines and medium sized retail stores would like prefer to cut out benefits rather than laying people off in these tough times.

As a future physician, I am not only taking it on the chin with regard to tax increases, I'm also taking it when it comes to my business. The government plans to cut repayments to hospitals, physicians, drug companies, and pharmacies by an undisclosed amount. This is in addition to the almost 40% physician cutbacks for Medicare and Medicaid starting in January of 2010. Walgreens in Washington state has stopped accepting new patients on Medicare because they cannot afford to help them. Physicians in family practice are doing the same. Physicians in specialties are cutting back because many of their procedures are not covered by the government as it is. Remind me again how putting more people on the government aid is beneficial to care. Please....I'll wait for your answer...Actually, I better not because I don't have time to wait that long.

I cannot believe the ego of these idiots passing this bill. They are all incredibly insane to think this is a good idea. Pelosi has an approval rating of 11%. Reid has one of 8%. Obama has a DISAPPROVAL rating of 58%. I wasn't alive to see Jimmy Carter take office, but this is pretty much the same thing so I guess I can get my fill. I beg the American people to see this as a travesty. People without insurance are viewing this as a hay day. The system is running wild. The government cannot control itself or its spending. A person who preached "transparency, accountability, and an open government" has egotistically signed a bill which was created in "Democrat-only" closed door meetings and has purchased votes by bribing Democrats in certain states. This bill smells and it smells bad, forget the fact that's it's unconstitutional. Where in the Constitution does it say we have a right to health care? Where in the Constitution does it allow the House to pass a bill and THEN read it to see what's involved? What happened to "the public will have 5 days to read the bill before I sign anything?" The only good that has come of this is that the Democrats have shot themselves in the foot for the midterm and Presidential elections. I'm only sorry that it wasn't the face...

Olympic Reflections

February 22, 1980. The United States and the world finally believed in Miracles. February 28, 2010. The belief was back. The last time a home country won gold in men's hockey was 1980 when the US men took gold at Lake Placid, a time nobody could forget. Although the singing of "God Bless America" was replaced with "O Canada" in 2010, the USA finally had a miracle to believe in again. The United States was not supposed to compete in the medal rounds in Vancouver. With the recent success of Russia and Sweden on the world stage, and Canada's all-star NHL roster competing on home ice, there was no way the USA was going to even take bronze. They couldn't. They had the youngest roster in the games, and even if they did make it out of their pool with Canada, they'd have to fight Russia, Sweden, or Finland to get into a medal round. There was so little confidence in them that most of the US hockey players were booked on flights leaving Vancouver for the respective NHL cities on Sunday morning, three hours before the gold medal game.

That's where the miracle started. The men's hockey team not only got out of their pool, they won the pool by defeating Canada and securing a bye and a spot in the semifinals. They fought hard and routed Finland to stamp their ticket to the finals with Canada. Everything was going right. In the final game they won a silver medal, but not without a hard battle. It may not have been Mike Eruzione, Jim Craig, and Herb Brooks, but it was very much Zach Parise, Patrick Kane, and Ryan Miller. Good for Canada for winning the medal on home ice. It was a spectacular accomplishment for them. However, it was an even bigger accomplishment for the USA team to prove their doubters wrong. Many questions remain about 2014. Will the Canadians be able to repeat? Will the NHL allow its players to compete in the games? Will I have time to remember that the Olympics are on since it will be in my final year in medical school? Only time will tell.

We have come to the end of another Olympic season. The Olympics are a time when we can put our differences aside and recognize all we have accomplished. It's a time when we can look at friends and neighbors from other countries who may be very different from us and congratulate them on their achievements. It's a time when we can look past our anger towards one another and shake their hands, give them a high five, and rejoice in a common ground.

Pretty soon our lives will be back to normal. The NHL will resume tonight and the players we cheered for last week will once again become our rivals. The players we booed yesterday will be our team's heroes. We will look at Vancouver as just that Canadian west coast city that seems ever so far away on a map. Life will go on but we should remember to keep the Olympic spirit going as well. Congratulations to all the athletes who made us realize that we are all together in this world. Congratulations to the United States for setting a Winter Olympic record with 37 medals, including our first in Nordic Combined and Men's 4-man Bobsled. Farewell, Vancouver. We thank you.