I MAY HAVE TO RETHINK OBAMACARE

Now that I've had my third employer in four years say to me "John, you are a great asset to (blank), but the economics - blah, blah blah, yadda, yadda, yadda - we're going to have to let you go", I may have to rethink government-provided health insurance, especially for us "poor" people. The employer is compelled by law to provide its health insurance program (COBRA), at the former employee's expense, of course, but they always make it seem as though they're being benevolent.

This time the two owners sat a group of us in the company's newest conference room and let us all go at the same time. As soon as I heard the schpeal, I rose and left the room while the President shoved a copy of the COBRA info at me telling them I needed to call the unemployment office before they closed, because I'd been through this before, as it was 3:00PM and the office closed at 4:30 and I still needed to pack. I have found that 3:00PM on Thursdays need to be avoided. But I digress.

As I packed up the car, two of the layoff rookies were still talking while I had already set up my unemployment and packed up, I poked my head in turned in my key and asked if I needed to show up on Friday. Bob said I did not and, again, that he was sorry, which was a nice gesture from the Jester (see "The Company Christmas Part" entry from last year).

On Saturday, I smoked a cigar after scraping some snowflakes off the driveway and having applied to about six employment opportunities on line since Friday morning to celebrate the first day of the rest of my life. I may want to hope for a change in health insurance coverage after all,

ANOTHER OLYMPIAD HITS THE AIRWAVES

Another Winter Olympics is upon us. While I like watching them as much as the next guy, why can't a "major" network that has numerous Olympic Games broadcasting experience under its collective belt still use the original format and the same horrible coverage priorities to cover this quadrennial event? NBC owns, what, tens of networks? Today, (day one of competition), only two networks, NBC and CNBC, were utilized to show events. Maybe not many were under way, but it might be interesting to see, oh, I don't know, all of ONE event. There was a hokey prelim on CNBC and the only 5000M men's speed skating and some of the only women's biathlon. Why don't we get to see most of the events? Again, they own multiple networks.

NBC will spend multiple days of network time on figure skating and ski boarding, but mere minutes on biathlon, cross country skiing, and other less American-popular events. Maybe if we were exposed to these events for longer periods of time our athletes would be more interested in them and become more proficient at them.

To top it all off, media has dolts like the insignificant Bryant Gumble complaining (yet again) that there are too few black faces in the Winter Olympics, like it's a white man's conspiracy to omit blacks from these games. I just watched Shani Davis finish 12th in the 5000M, he being a man of color who will participate in the 1000m and 1500m also.

Personally, I am always amazed at the melting pot that is America. Look at the names of the competitors from other countries. The names of our athletes are, in many cases, nearly the same, i.e. Mueller, Weber, Krammer, Christiansen, etc. I will still try to enjoy the Olympics, though I will still complain about the horrible coverage and broadcasting by the network.

TOUGH MONTH FOR THE PRESIDENT

First, he loses an election EVERYONE knew the Democrats would win - the Senate seat formerly occupied by the late "swimmer", Ted Kennedy to an "upstart" Republican State Senator backed heavily by every Massachusetts union and the President himself, which, in turn, ended the easy push through the Senate of the health care reform bill. Then the unconstitutional McCain-Feingold was struck down by the evil constitutionalists on the U. S. Supreme Court. Then the plan to try the 9/11 terrorist in New York City had be scuttled. Then even the sock puppet press could not avoid his lack of transparency in the health care reform process. Boor BHO.

I have a suggestion as to how BHO can save face in the trials matter, move the venue again. I suggest:

• Detroit, especially at night. Even if riots did occur, nothing could be harmed.
• Death Valley in summer.
• The Bonneville Salt Flats in summer.
• ANWAR (Alaska National Wildlife Refuge) where I've been advocating oil drilling. Since the drilling of oil won't be allowed, how about drilling terrorists. Oh, and hold these in January, of course.
• The Everglades in August.
• Washington, D.C. so BHO can watch the proceedings from his house.
• Chicago, the center of BHO's universe, any time of year (how about Comiskey?).
• San Francisco during Gay Pride Week.
• Disney World, also during Gay Pride Week.
• Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.

Maybe you have other suitable locations to try the 9/11 mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his co-conspirators.