People somewhere screaming about health care and the government.

It's been too quiet around here.

Since Barack Obama achieved victory over the forces of darkness, i.e. the possibility of a McCain-Palin White House, I've been quiet on political matters. This is partly because my team won, but also because I just haven't been paying much attention. Obama's only been on the job seven months, so we're still really in the Bush years; a political hangover. Wake me when he's been at the wheel two years and I'll be able to evaluate how he's really been doing.

I can't sleep, though, due to the volume coming out of these screamfest health care town hall meetings. "Get treated for glaucoma without having to rely on an insurance company? Hell no, I won't go!," a lot of people seem to be saying, or rather, screaming.

My understanding of the health care reform issue is sketchy, but it sounds like the proposal now is nothing but a sketch. The idea seems to be that if you found yourself uninsured for whatever reason, you could still get a heart bypass if you needed one. You could get a skin cancer taken off your leg. You could get a cataract cleared up in your eye. Your pillow might not be as fluffy or the TV in your room might not get as many channels as the guy with fancy-pants insurance, but you would live to see a few more days.

This idea produces red faces and flying spittle in people who appear to have a death wish for themselves. "You mean you would charge Donald Trump and his billionaire friends 3% more on their taxes so that I could live to see my grandkids grow up? I'd rather die! Trump needs that $100,000 weekend at his island resort more than I need chemotherapy!"

Opponents say that if you want an example of how government runs things, just look at the interstate system, the police and fire departments, the military, or the public library. No, actually they never cite those things. I did hear one guy say, "The post office is losing money!" Yes, and you can get a letter mailed anywhere for 44 cents. What's your point? And has the post office hurt Federal Express or UPS? Their doors were still open, the last I knew. The library hasn't put Barnes & Noble out of business.

Hands off your health care? Okay, keep your hands of my health care, and the doctor's hands out of my wallet. No one can dispute that doctors and hospitals are charging highway robbery prices, and with the crappy economy, a lot of people are going to find out what it's like to be unemployed and uninsured. Public option health care is good medicine.