This and That

The Senate has put off a vote on health care reform until after the August recess. A lot of people are upset about this, but this could be a good thing.

Congress is quietly but diligently working on the details of health care reform to appease enough of the so-called "Blue Dog" House Democrats who want to keep the costs down and avoid, as much as possibility. President Obama, who wanted a vote before the August recess, is comfortable with the delay to make sure the final bill is one that can pass muster with Congress and with health care institutions. And he has enough to discomfort to deal with, what with his comments on the Henry Louis Gates fiasco, which are a fiasco in and of itself. Hopefully, the Democrats can save health care reform; the last time they tried and failed to reform it, the Republicans made an issue of it, took over Congress, and made sure the issue was not returned to any time soon . . . or later.

There are also some sobering numbers to consider. A bare majority of Americans now disapprove of Obama's handling of the issue, while of the five out of six, 75 percent say they're satisfied with it. So another majority - 62.25 percent of all Americans - are quite happy with the way things are. Obama has to convince them, more than anyone else, that the system needs to be redone.

Health care reform may not come tomorrow, but in the meantime, my blog has a new feature today. As of now, you can now see thumbnails of my Flickr photostream at the bottom of this blog. I might change my hind and put it in the upper right hand corner, but for now, I'll keep at on the bottom where it's less intrusive. You can also link directly to my Flickr page. Enjoy. :-)