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This could be the most important thing you read today. (But look at the picture below anyway!)

Cian and the Sam Maguire

Cian and the Sam Maguire
Originally uploaded by tev2k3

Well, Cian and Riona are in Ireland this week vising the family. While they were out there they were able to get a hold of the Sam Maguire cup which is the Gaelic Football championship trophy. It's very cool and makes me wish I had gone. Imagine raising the Stanley Cup, the Lombardi trophy, or whatever piece of crap they give to basketball players.

I've been spending my time doing chores that I never had time to do when I had a child! I hope that if I get everything done this week that I'll be able to play some on the weekend. I just got some music software that I'm excited to get working on.

McCain the Visionary

I read today on CNN.com that:

Sen. John McCain envisions that by 2013, the Iraq War will be won but the threat from the Taliban in Afghanistan won't yet be eliminated, even though Osama bin Laden will have been captured or killed.

Now, just because he's as old as Nostradamus, Doesn't mean he can see the future.

The article goes on to give some of his goals:

• Significantly increasing the size of the Army and Marine Corps, which will be "better equipped and trained to defend us."
• Several years of robust economic growth.
• Taxpayers filing under a flat tax.
• The world food crisis ending, low inflation, and a "much improved" quality of life "not only in our country, but in some of the most impoverished countries around the world."
• Still being alive in 2013...

The Universe Is Not Ours

Chris mentioned Universal Healthcare in a comment to my last post and it reminded me of a PBS Frontline show I recently watched. It was called Sick Around the World and compared 5 other countries (UK, Japan, Germany, Taiwan and Switzerland) healthcare systems to the United State's system.

I recommend watching the program if you have an hour to spare, but if not, check out the Graphs which show basically, that in the US we spend more than any of these countries (15.3% of GDP vs. 11.6 for the Swiss at #2), our life expectancy is 2 years lower than the next lowest, and the one stat that I just CAN'T believe; we have a higher infant mortality rate than any of these countries. When I think of infant mortality (which I try not to think about often) I think of the poorest of the poor and not "my country"!

Hopefully the Dems will be elected to the White House in November and hopefully they will grow a pair and try to get something done (which they haven't done since winning congress). Granted, there is a lot to clean up, but fixing our broken healthcare system should be a priority.