Dear America,

Puo ritenere come buon venerdi,

ma domenica sta venendo!

E una vita bella!

(It may feel like Good Friday, but Sunday's coming! It's a beautiful life!)

In the meantime,
waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

but let's get real, G may be a big cry baby over things large and small, but deep down I know,
when we walk by faith,
we never walk alone.
So here we are again, on another day after; and in a warped and weird way, G has come full circle; for it was an early morning much like today -- the sun was shining, the air was bright and clear, a slight breeze blew the fragrance of eucalyptus and jasmine into my window as if America hadn't a care in the world -- when 'its-a-gthing' was born.

It was so seductive really, easily I could have found myself happy with the status quo, just as I had done previously, like any other July --  July 23rd to be exact -- in the day, in the life of America;  and yet, something drew me in.

And here we are, from it's conception to this very moment, nearly nine months have passed me by.

The good news, at least we all don't have to skirt around the issue anymore, our federal government -- in an overwhelming partisan display of politics with a vote of 219 to 212 -- is now in charge of our health care.

Whether a little or a lot, the federal government is now dictating health insurance policy, quadrupling the authority of the IRS with the instruction to create four more departments to handle the Fed's new responsibilities, and all the while, outlining accompanying policy for turning Medicare upside down; basically, as of today, everything changes when it comes to our health care system in America. 

It is done; socialized medicine is here -- albeit sugarcoated to help the medicine go down -- but don't kid yourself, it is here.

America has given birth to a brand-spankin'-new entitlement program, this time for the so-called "middle class" -- not to be confused with it's big brother, Social Security, which is currently running 43 Trillion dollars shy of meeting it's fiscal liabilities (amounts to roughly $400,000/ household) --  or the evil twins, Medicaid/Medicare, which as we all know by now have a number of issues going on, not the least of which is Medicare's inability to cover it's liabilities; even though it is years younger, it's got a couple of inches on him and towers over Social Security at 57 Trillion dollars  (amounts to about $500,000/ household).

Here we are -- one big dysfunctional family, joy to the world -- and I've got just one question for you, what are we gonna name it? 

Oops, sorry, it's not just one... I seem to have a few more popping out to my surprise... had no idea...

Just why, for Pete's sake, were we in such a hurry? 

And isn't this still just a bit premature?

Aren't we still  -- after all the talk, after all the debate (the debate that is over, but is still not over), after all the selling points, talking points, props, pitch and ditch -- not ready?

Why did we induce -- knowing there were real risks involved, knowing we were clearly opening ourselves up to the well-spring of emotions bubbling under the surface and a whole of brand new issues?

Oh my, the last twenty 36 hours has been a doozy... really wasn't sure if I would make it...ice chips, anyone?

And how about that last minute Executive Order?  As if Obama's word to uphold:

"consistency with longstanding restrictions

the use of federal funds for abortion."

is enough
to convince
the small fraction
(twelve in fact)
of pro-life democrats
to follow Him? 

Oh right, I guess it was.

But the crowning blow arrived just knowing how close we came, without the E.O. from the B.O.-- when push came to shove and then shove some more -- the measure didn't stand a chance.

(we were 4 votes away, that's it)

The sad truth is, the executive order is just another example of how our government takes creative license with it's legislative power.  To be sure, it is merely fluff; it is style without substance, show without tell, and a mask to a fraud. 

As much as our dear President would love to see His Word be the new Gospel, he can't make it so no matter how hard he pushes; an Executive Order does not trump the Law.  Sure, it is nice to have, and it did the job to pacify the merry band of Stupak's imposters long enough to nab the vote, but it did nothing to change the law -- as in the new law as set forth by the Senate Health Care Bill. 

But hey, like the Chairman of the Rules Committee, U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL), so eloquently put it,

“I wish that I had been there when Thomas Edison made the remark that I think applies here: ‘There ain’t no rules around here — we’re trying to accomplish something.’ And therefore, when the deal goes down, all this talk about rules, we make ‘em up as we go along..."

"there ain't no rules around here...we make 'em up as we go along" -- now THAT is giving birth to some kind of new world, now isn't it? 

(Breathe, just breathe.)

But since I brought it up, let us jump on a thing called Trump for just a moment.

The Apprentice was on last night; and as it would turn out, it was just what the doctor ordered. Besides reminding me of a few fine principles America used to stand on with a greatness of ease, it was also great comic relief after laboring the day away with health care drama.

Now, Trump is not someone I usually turn to for guidance, you know, like Mao is to Anita Dunn or something like that, but I dig him -- there is definitely something about this guy that causes people to stop and pay attention to what he has to say.  Sure, he's been up and he's been down -- he doesn't have all the answers nor is his way the only way, that we can be sure -- but without a doubt, the wealth of his experiences can teach many of us Americans a thing or two (I mean, for heaven's to Betsy, look at his children...)

The centerpiece of last night's show was an iconic American brand:  KODAK. 

Now lucky KODAK, no? 

Trump is just like the Oprah Effect -- both of whom embody the rare commodity of  just saying the word and millions are sold  -- only in America!   And if you really think about it, just the premise of Trump's show alone proves my point -- only in America can someone sell you on watching his show, based on the success (or lack thereof) and celebrity (or lack thereof) of himself and others like him (or lack thereof), and sell an American label or brand name in the process, and all the while GIVE SOMETHING BACK TO CHARITY!  Is America a great country, or what? Love it...wish I thought of it...but I digress.

The task at hand was for both teams to take their store front business and turn it into a Kodak showpiece, an emporium designed to capture the best of Kodak and it's products while taking the idea of "Kodak Moments" to the streets of New York; the underlying message asked of each team to incorporate the idea, besides real sales and promotion of it's product, that real Kodak Moments don't just happen when you take the picture -- they happen when you actually SHARE the moment.

The team which captures the Kodak philosophy and bring their pitch to the marketplace the best, wins.

Well, the boys brought their A-team -- they sold themselves and their celebrity over and over throughout the night, hey, look at me, "I'm funny", "I'm sexy", "I'm sporty", "I'm smarty", "I'm anything you want me to be" and for once, the girls, just brought heart and substance -- for once, it wasn't about T and A!

What a breath of fresh air.  What a turn around.  What a way to bring the whole package, girls!

Just in case you missed it, in the end the girls got Trump's attention, along with the thumbs up from the visiting Kodak entourage, for all the right reasons; in the end, substance truly did matter... here, in the Kodak Moment of a day in the life of America. 

For centuries now, the American marketplace has naturally rewarded good policy, sound principles, hard work, ingenuity, service, charity, truth, honor, following the law, setting high standards, creating an income stream for ourselves, our families, while enabling us to care for our broader communities; the only times we have failed to do so, were in times we have compromised our values and principles.

And as we have seen by Executive Order in the last twenty four hours, it doesn't take much anymore.

By the way, the donation last night went to Make-A-Wish Foundation (go to them and make a wish come true).  During the show, a touching Kodak moment came when a young boy, in the midst of awaiting a wish for himself to come true, was asked a simple question,

"what are you gonna do when you grow up?" 

He answered with this, with a look on his face worth a thousand words,

"hadn't thought about it".

A future can be hard to imagine for many a set of circumstances, but when a child is sick enough not have one, we can hear everyone in America cry.

After all things said and done in the last nine months, we can't push it back in, now can we? 
It is here. 
It is out. 
WE the People -- without so much as a choice, I might add -- are the parents of another entitlement program.

Congratulations (say it like Ben Stein would say it). 

Oh, one more thing, you do know that not only will they not move out, you will have no choice now but to cover for their health insurance until the age of twenty-six...even if you one of the lucky one's and they are the picture of health. 

God speed, parents, countrymen, girls and boys, one and all.

Make it a Good Day, G

All in all, it's nothing that a little congressional tubal ligation can't fix...go to:
www.firenancypelosi.com/  really, it's brand new, too!

In the meantime, and in all seriousness, here's a good song for you today...