At first glance, the president's "new" health care "reform" proposal is likely to tick off CongressCritters in both houses, but not for the obvious reasons. They've done all the heavy lifting the past 8 or 9 months, and President Obama steps in to take the "credit?"

Ouch!

What's funny is that, for all the bells and whistles in the media, his effort is typically mediocre:

This may be the start of a whole new cottage industry: is the doctor you're sleeping with "in network?"

"Dr. Daniel R. Lerom is listed in documents as having a long-standing sexual relationship with his Lakeland patient ... Each time they two had sex ... the doctor would bill her Blue Cross Blue Shield Insurance for their "sessions."

Interesting interpretation of the term "bedside manner," wouldn't you agree?

According to this story in the Wall Street Journal, a Swiss company that helps folks commit suicide has opened up a pretty nasty can of worms:

"A Dignitas doctor in Zurich reviewed the Peninous' case and agreed to write a prescription for sodium pentobarbital, the lethal drug typically used for assisted suicides ... They paid Dignitas its fee of ($10,500).

This "gentleman" has quite the rant against the perfectly understandable, and laudable, efforts by our elected leadership to keep the current debate on track.

That's Hebrew for Happy Chanukah, the Jewish Festival of Lights. This festive, weeklong celebration of freedom over tyranny begins this evening when we light the first candle in our special menorah (technically, it's a chanukiah, or Chanukah candelabra).

I am shocked! Shocked, I tell you. A well-known hard-right senator has the audacity to claim that Obamacare is is anything but deficit-neutral:

"Just for a second -- health care reform, whether you use a ten-year number or when you start in 2010 or start in 2014, wherever you start at, so it is still either $1 trillion or it's $2.5 trillion, depending on where you start…"

Although it may seem counter-intuitive, Thanksgiving may be the optimum time to discuss with family members how (or even if) you'd like to be cared for in the event of a medical crisis. The 2nd Annual Thanksgiving Blog Rally for the Engage With Grace One Slide Project is about doing just that, and provides a unique opportunity to engage on a meaningful conversation about how you (and they) really feel.

Enjoying breakfast the other morning with an old friend and mentor, I was asked what I thought was the most egregious part of ObamaCare. One supposes he expected me to name the "Public Option" or abortion coverage, or even covering illegal immigrants. I surprised him, though, with my answer:

The individual mandate.

Now, one might think that, because I sell insurance for a living, I'd be all for a law that required folks to buy what I sell. But I'm an American first, and I find this particular idea repugnant and, frankly, unAmerican. Here's why:

There's a good reason why most insurance policies exclude abortion, and it has nothing to do with morality, religion or choice. The fact is, insurance is a risk management tool , and health insurance is, or at least should be, predicated on the principle of "medical necessity."
 

The Beyond Tribute Coalition has put together a bipartisan program to raise money for veterans' groups like Gold Star Mothers, Vietnam Veterans of America, and the Wounded Warrior Project, among others.