Current Events Blended Almost Smooth

For the n00bs: The Health Care Bill passed. Where have you been?

But what does that entail, exactly?

At the very least it means that Obama will not go down in history as that attractive guy with the great speechwriter who sat in the Whitehouse twiddling his thumbs for four years. It also means that the democrats have actually done something with their majority in Congress, and it means that for the length of time it takes to vote at least, the politicians weren’t worrying about getting reelected and were instead worrying about getting something done.

Yes, but what does it actually DO?

Throughout this entire struggle, I’ve heard more misinformation about the health care bill than I have real information (“Death Panels” anyone?). It seems to me that most people who oppose the bill do so on principle, because Obama is the president, or because he’s a democrat, or because his dad was from Kenya, or because they lap up like starving rats every hate-filled, repugnant, misinformed, bigoted, discriminatory, tearful word that falls out of Glenn Beck’s mouth like acid rain on the heads of the ignorant and weak-minded— whoa, sorry, just a wee bit of a digression. Moving on.

At any rate, people seem to oppose the bill with little or no knowledge of what is actually in it, so I took the time to read all 1,000+ pages of the bill and thought I’d outline it for you now complete with visual aids. And by all that, of course, I mean I searched for #healthcarereform on Twitter, and I found this and this (I know, it’s FOX, so just take it with a grain of salt, although this article seems pretty ok, “fair and balanced”-wise).

The highlights for me are that I won’t be booted off my parents’ insurance plan until I’m 26. This is good, because I’ll be turning 22 (when I’d normally be kicked off) in four years, and I somehow doubt that I’ll have the capabilities to obtain or pay for any sort of insurance anything.

Also, if when I’m 26, I can’t afford health insurance, the government will help me pay for it, or if I make little enough, I can go on a government plan.

The bill isn’t perfect, by any means. But it’s certainly a step in the right direction, a conversation starter of sorts. Now, we’ve got 9 more months of holding the majority in congress, I propose we get something radical done. Marriage equality, anyone?