Does socialized medicine mean that the party begins in the circle? Just wondering, your pal JJ.

Socialized medicine is a political code phrase meaning "no money in it for us."

You may remember the national healthcare debacle from Bill Clinton's first term as President. Bill's wife, Hillary, was put in charge of "reinventing" the healthcare system in this country. It was something that was seen as needed; the cost of healthcare and insurance had rocketed higher into space than the shuttle, and in a nation of immense wealth, poor people got sick and died from treatable ailments, simply because they couldn't afford the trip to the doctor (or because all they could afford was one of the patient mills which dispense dart board diagnoses after impersonal two minute sessions with bored, overbooked physicians). The wealthy, of course, went relatively unaffected as always, except to whine and moan about the amount of money required of them to provide their employees with health benefits, and to scream indignantly at the stranglehold the dreaded unions put them in, in their attempts to win decent healthcare for their members.

When a plan to improve the situation was formulated, politicians quickly scrambled to find a way to make money off it. They apparently found none. Insurance, pharmaceutical, HMO, and other peripheral industries screamed in rage and panic at the thought of lost revenue, and quickly assailed us with "Harry and Louise" ads, telling us we'd be forced to go to strange doctors on the road to communist totalitarianism that this plan would surely put the nation on. The people were outraged. Congress faced a difficult choice.

In the spirit of compromise with which our constitution and our government was formed, they could realize that some sort of solution to the country's healthcare situation was required. This was a huge opportunity for them. They could knuckle down, and create a plan that all could with live. Perhaps not perfect, but at least the beginning of what could be a great change to benefit their nation and their constituents. Or they could simply deride the plan that had been devised, and kill it without ever proposing a better idea.

They trusted to the values they hold dear. There was no money in it for them, for the wealthy, or for major corporations. They killed it. They spent a lot of our money, and a lot of our time. They blathered on in great masturbatory speeches, and then they killed the plan, and any chance there may have been for healthcare reform in the foreseeable future. Then they laughed and winked and patted themselves on their ample backsides and went off to have lunch.

So, JJ, to answer your question: No, the party does not begin in the circle. The party begins on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of every November. And it is a party to which we are most definitely NOT invited.