Barack Obama

From up here in the Great White North -- that would be Canada, eh! -- we watch with some bewilderment as president Barack Obama struggles to get his floundering health care reform bill passed. Truth is, Americans have an amazingly crappy health care system . . . okay, let me rephrase that . . . Americans have a health care system that could be really great were it not subject to the power of the Dark Side. Yes, I'm talking about good old fashioned corporate greed. That would be the kind of greed that tries to make sure every American pays through the nose for the privilege of surviving should some health issue arise, while the companies who insure them try to make sure they never have to pay out.

Meanwhile, the right wing (mostly) in the States is going nuts talking about Obama's plan to kill old people should they fall ill, with mysterious star chambers scattered hither and yon makind decisions as to how many babies will fall under the knife of Obama's evil plan. It's all very surreal.

Allow me to once more use that word, historic. Yesterday was indeed an historic day as Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States of America. Watching from Canada, where there was never much love for Dubya and his policies, there is much hope for the future under the new President. And a great deal more cautious optimism. During the noontime celebrations, I was busy feeding my son his lunch, so I caught the show later that evening. Even distanced by the sound bites and analysis of the nightly news, it was still powerful to watch. Obama said many things to many people, each person taking away what they felt was important to them. Here is part of what I took away; what drives my hope that real, positive change may well be upon us.

“Our health care is too costly and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

“We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its costs. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age.