Catching up on the news

I've been going through all my NY Times and Washington Post emails from the past few days (I didn't really check it over the holiday), and found some interesting articles to share.

First, the true story behind the pardoning of the turkey. (Personally, I find the West Wing episode to be funnier. "Morton, I can't pardon a turkey! If you think I can pardon a turkey, you have got to go back to your school and insist you be better prepared to go out in the world.")

Here's a funny piece on why we don't want a physically fit President. Personally, Mitt Romney sounds crazy. Mini-triathlons with his family? Seriously? Also, this: "Romney has no known vices, except packing the family dog on top of the car during long trips."

Philadelphia mayor-elect Michael Nutter got a nice write-up in the Times. I've always liked the guy, and this comment only made me like him more: “My view is that people also have a civil right not to get shot.” If only we could convince the gun-toting, redneck legislature of that. (For anyone who was paying attention, the Governor's entreaty last week that the legislature consider gun control legislation went over like serving ham at Thanksgiving.) I don't know how Nutter's plans for the city will shake out, but he seems like an intelligent guy, and he's already got plenty of goodwill, just for not being like John Street. Here's hoping he can use it to do some good.

An adventure-cruise ship sank Titanic-style on Friday when it hit an iceberg near Antarctica, leaving the passengers and crew stranded in lifeboats in freezing temperatures and icy water for four hours. *crosses Antarctica off list of cruise destinations* How come it's never the ships in the Caribbean that sink? (Duh. No icebergs. Although, they do, on occasion, hit coral reefs. (Open bar!))

Interesting article on the cost of health care in America, as well as a look at Massachusetts' new insurance mandate. (Fun fact: Mitt Romney won't campaign on his health care achievements because he had to work with Ted Kennedy to do it.) The idea of mandating health insurance is interesting. I know a lot of people complain because it forces people to get insurance even if they can't really afford it, but on the other hand, what about all the other things we require, regardless of cost? Auto insurance, for example. I'm required to have renter's insurance in order to maintain my apartment lease. And the reason for both of those is to prevent exorbitant costs to myself and to other people. Sure, maybe some people (especially young people my age) can risk it without health insurance, expecting that they won't get sick. But when you DO get sick, and you're forced to go to the emergency room because you can't afford a doctor's visit, then it's the taxpayers who pay for it. Why can't we require health insurance, to prevent those exorbitant costs? Obviously, the ultimate goal is to bring down the cost of health care, but as the first article states, there is no simple solution. It's not going to happen right away. But universal health care is a good start.