In a soon to be released book (doesn’t that figure), Ridge states that President Bush’s political operatives wanted the threat index raised just before the 2004 presidential election. Ridge concedes this was based on political opportunism rather than the security of our nation. How’s that for a blinding glimpse of the obvious? Of course, Ridge didn’t quit or go public. That makes this tardy admission irrelevant, immaterial and useless. He, like Colin Powell, knew the Bush administration was playing fast and loose with the truth about national security. And Ridge, like Powell, did nothing to stop it.

So, if you bother to buy this book, or borrow it from the library, remember this: Tom Ridge is no political hero.

This would be most unfortunate. Anyone who has taken even a cursory glance at this lengthy piece of legislation knows that it doesn’t involve a federal government takeover of the entire American health care system. There are no death panels. No one is pulling the plug on Grandma or denying care to special needs children. If you have private insurance you can keep it. If you have a preexisting condition, you cannot be barred from getting health care insurance.

Frankly, from my point of view, the bill as written does not go far enough. I would prefer a single-payer system along the lines of the care available in Europe. But that’s me, and I learned to compromise at an early age.

Yet I cannot understand why anyone would oppose the public option. The public option is not mandatory for all. It simply provides a means for those without affordable health care coverage to get it. Have you ever seen the cost of current health care insurance plans for individuals and families where there is no employe contribution? Outrageous. What can possibly be wrong with a public option? Nothing.

However, the dysfunctional Republican party will do anything to defeat a Presidential initiative. So, the facts of the legislation notwithstanding, the fear-and-hate-mongers who lead what is left of the Republican party have frightened otherwise decent, hardworking, honest citizens into thinking that the proposed health care reform will take us on a rollicking ride on the slippery slope to socialism. Just as bad are those Democratic legislators, afraid of losing their cushy jobs at the mid-term elections, who are now backing away from the public option portion of the bill.

Failure to pass meaningful health care reform–with a public option– will emasculate the Obama presidency. The wars rage on (although they are hardly mentioned these days). Big Money, bailed out by Bush, is back on its bonus bonanza, albeit this time with our money. Mortgage foreclosures and unemployment continue to climb. If meaningful health care reform does not pass, then I am not sure we got the change we voted for last November.

Fast forward to this past weekend in New York City. An airplane and a helicopter collide, killing nine people. While following this story I found out that under 1100 feet in altitude, over the Hudson river, there is no regulatory control. That’s right, that area is a free fly zone. Now this is in New York City, site of the tragedy of 9/11. As Joe Scarborough said on this morning’s edition of Morning Joe on MSNBC, all a terrorist would have to do is take a small plane at a small, local airport, fill the plane with an explosive, stay under 1100 feet, and fly it into Times Square. He would go unnoticed. Voila! A weapon of mass destruction. Another tragedy.

But watch out for that toothpaste.

Tonight Keith Olbermann of MSNBC asked why are executive contracts sacrosanct, while busting union contracts is viewed as necessary to saving the American auto industry?  Keith, I have no idea. No idea other than perhaps the people who run our government have more in common with our corporate crooks than they do with decent hard working Americans. Let us also not forget these executives control lots of campaign contributions, too.

What’s funny in this tragedy is that Edward M. Liddy, Chairman and CEO of AIG said these bonuses were necessary for retaining the best and brightest talent for AIG. What he didn’t say was that the bonus pool included executives who ran the derivative division that ran AIG into the ground! Remember the old days? When you had to perform successfully to get a bonus?