Five Random Nuggets on HCR.

1. It's too damn big.

2. It gives too much power to special interests, insurance companies and the government. Fuck that.

3. Individual mandates: I find it somewhat cheap of the President to get elected on the backs of the youth vote (for the first time EVER) only to turn around and penalize us with this individual mandate bullshit. Sure, you can stay on your parents' insurance longer, which is awesome- but the problem for people entering the workforce is that it takes a little bit of doing to find that job with the kick-ass insurance YOU don't have to pay for. Which isn't addressed (at least not where I've seen it) by this bill. Pretty much, us young folks voted for Prez O and he turned around and well, screwed us. You ain't getting my vote in 2012, buddy.

4. No competition. Rep. John Shaddeg and his angry finger of DOOM appeared on MSNBC this morning and he made a good point: turn on the television and you'll see Lord only knows how many commercials for car insurance and yet none for health insurance. Plus, do you know how insane it is to pay for insurance yourself? Talk about getting bent over. This bill does nothing to break the monopoly of power and force competition amongst insurance companies.

5. See #1

To summate: this thing blows. Sure, people can argue that doing something is better than doing nothing, but that's exactly what Dubya argued when he passed 'No Child Left Behind' and the American Left LOST ITS DAMN MIND. So if you want to pass this health care bill, feel free. But it's too damn big, no one can tell me what's in it and the President is taking a huge shit all over people my age who voted for him. I don't disagree that something has to be done, but if what they pass makes the situation worse, I don't see how that's helping matters any.

In short, when Congress passes a bill that's a million pages long, turns to the country and says 'Hey, trust us' my initial response is something along the lines of 'uh-oh.' However you break it down though, the Labour Party of the UK can now rest easy. Their 1984 Party Platform was once described as 'the longest suicide note in history' and if this bill passes (or even if it doesn't) it will undoubtedly surpass that turd of a document for the title- as it is, it has the potential to take down both houses of Congress and the President. That's the kind of political suicide that would give Jim Jones pause.

But, I'll watch from my perch here in the boonies and laugh occasionally. Maybe I'll even learn the fiddle, that way I'll have something to do when the country starts to burn.