Monday was Opening Day in Cincinnati. It’s a big deal. Since we had the very first professional baseball team, Cincinnati used to have the honor of having the first game each year. But no longer.
I did have the honor of marching in the Opening Day Parade this year with the Cincinnati Chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. Talk about a bunch of great Americans! These heroes put their lives on the line for us, and were wounded in combat. We owe them a lot, and not only should we recognize and thank them for their sacrifice, but we should make sure that they receive the best possible care for their wounds suffered, both physical and mental. I want to particularly thank Tony Kohl, President of the Purple Heart Cincinnati Chapter, who was wounded in Vietnam, for the invitation to march with his guys. May God bless all our veterans.
And as for the Reds, even with great pitching from Johnny Cueto, they couldn’t get a single run in, and lost 1 – 0. That’s the first time the Reds have been shut-out on Opening Day since the year I was born, 1953. Oh well, they’ve got 161 games left to play this season, so there’s no reason to despair. And if you’re a Reds fan, or a Bengals fan, there’s been a lot to cheer about the last couple of seasons. Both teams have had back to back winning seasons and made it to the playoffs.
Unfortunately, both teams were knocked out of contention early in the postseason. Hopefully the Reds will have another great season, and maybe make it all the way to the World Series this year. After all, it’s finally Spring, and as they say, hope springs eternal.
One other milestone occurred Monday. This was the date the Obama Administration had set for having seven million Americans signed up for Obamacare. And whereas they’re saying they technically made the number, that doesn’t begin to tell the whole story.
First, the whole justification for passing the AFFORDABLE Care Act (Obamacare) in the first place, was that 40 million Americans were uninsured because they couldn’t AFFORD healthcare. The implication was that of the seven million Americans who would sign up for Obamacare by March 31st, the overwhelming majority would be people who didn’t already have insurance. In fact, just the opposite has happened.
It’s estimated that only 25% of those who signed up didn’t already have insurance. The vast majority likely lost their existing policy BECAUSE OF OBAMACARE ITSELF!
And the sad fact is that we’re finding that people are paying more and getting less. Under Obamacare, premiums are higher. Deductibles are higher. Their current doctors and hospitals often aren’t covered. Paying more. Getting less.
Second. Of the “seven million”, many haven’t paid a single premium yet. So even though they’re being counted as enrolled, they may not be covered under Obamacare at all.
And third, in order to make the numbers under Obamacare even come close to working, 40% of the enrollees have to be young people (18-34 years old.) That’s because young people overall are healthier and don’t need medical treatment as often as older people. Rather than 40% of signups being young people, it’s estimated that they made up only 24% of enrollees. This will result in costs going higher for everyone, resulting in even fewer younger people signing up.
Unfortunately, most of the dire predictions about Obamacare have turned out to be only too true. And that’s a problem for Democrats. Most of those running this year, are running as fast and as far away from Obamacare as humanly possible. They’re even struggling with how to talk about Obamacare. They’ve gone from “it’s the law, deal with it” to “keep it, but fix it” to “mend it, don’t end it” to “it’s all the Koch brothers’ fault.”
The bottom line is, the American people know they were promised one thing, and got something entirely different. They’re paying more for an inferior product. And they’re mad, and likely to take it out this November on those responsible.
Post Script: I wanted to share this video that was sent to me. If you like it, you might want to forward it to others.
