National health care is an idea whose time has come at last. Overdue perhaps, but not to be denied any longer.

Must confess I'm a little bit of a party pooper because most spectator sports bore me to tears, the way opera does to some people. But I respect sports as a valid endeavor and do enjoy the pleasure given to others. I just never felt the same concern over the competition like 'normal' folks. Didn't really understand it at all. However, one day a few years ago when watching a great filly racing down the home stretch at the Kentucky Derby, and I mean I only had a tiny tv, I found myself leaping up and screaming at the top of my lungs, "GO! GO! GO!" Nobody else around but me and the dogs. I nearly scared them to death.

So I'm presuming that's how most people feel watching touchdowns and such. My whole family was nuts about football and all the rest. I just didn't relate to much that didn't involve horses. Now a good polo match is worth waking up for... You should've seen the fool I made of myself watching Secretariat run. Literal tears of joy at the most beautiful sight imaginable. Although I had an Egyptian Arabian mare who could've run his socks off at anything 3 miles or over. Fastest horse God ever made.

Sorry for the digression.

I love to watch some of the playoffs when Boston's teams play. However I have always been a Marathon fan here. Watching on TV or going to my down town crossing. Our Marathon Rocks. Especially this year. The are "Boston Forever" in our souls.

Love, to your Egyptian Arabian who ran his socks off, Irish. Horses are amazing, I grew up with two. No, not as fast as yours, yet sleek beautiful athletes in their own right.

Kudos to the Ravens!!!

The Ravens and all those MLB who honored Boston Red Sox during Boston's most difficult time, she.

Will be able to spread the good word about ACA to the public in a most effective way. I heard on CBS early this morning that some poll or other says 44% of people think Obamacare has either been repealed, never became law, or is about to be repealed. WHERE HAVE THEY BEEN? You don't expect most people to be political junkies but that report boggles the mind. Reminds me of a girl I knew who somehow graduated college still in firm possession of the 'fact' that DC is located in Washington State.

Still, how we get the public to the finish line is less important than just getting them there, isn't it?

I love Boston, too, and admire its spirit so much. My favorite big city in the world.

As for horses, like people they all have different roles to play. Therapy horses, for instance, are every bit as grand as Secretariat in their own right. And he could've run my little mare into the ground anywhere up to 2 miles; after that even he'd be done, where she was only warming up. Once I let her circle a mile track 3 times at top speed and she hardly broke a sweat. After the 4th circuit I slowed her down because I was afraid she'd run herself to death as some horses will. We spent the 5th circuit on cool down. And all that on the track alone w/o competition to stir her up. She was simply the hottest runner I ever knew.

BTW, a friend bought a full blood brother of Secretariat at auction for only $6K because he had no inner fire at all. Looked exactly like his brother but she used him for a kids' horse, he was that plodding. Never can tell where lightning will strike.

were probably watching faux news.

It sounds like the ride of your life, Irish. It must have been an awesome experience to ride like the wind.
She sounds like she had beautiful spirit. They are such magnificent creatures.

It probably would've been closer to 90%. Xenophobic as geese around here. I no longer attend public functions such as Veterans Day celebrations, etc, because they're used as a platform to blast the g-d liberals. At some point half the crowd turns around to stare at me.

If I may make one final mention of horses, please... No, that was not the ride of my life. Most people who knew us wouldn't race on track or cross country even if I offered them a head start because they knew what would happen. But a crop duster pilot friend flew over a fallow field I was allowed to ride on, and he dipped a wing in greeting. I waved back and pointed down to Sunny's head, then made a swooping hand motion. He dipped a wing again in agreement, then flew around behind us, circled back, and buzzed overhead about 10 feet up.

Sunny screamed in rage that anything could outpace her, and then she did something absolutely for the first time. (I know because I was the only person she'd tolerate on her back.) I thought I'd seen her run before, but not like this. She actually dropped at least an inch and kicked it up another notch. At that point I was on a runaway cannon. That was the ride of my life. I never used more than a broken snaffle and racing saddle on her, but you can see why I wore a Bell motorcycle helmet.

Anyway, maybe that helps explain why there's not a GOPer in the world who can make me back down. I've faced a lot worse, and besides, I've been dropped on my head too often to have good sense.

So sorry about your district. I don't blame you for avoiding functions. I would too. I am grateful that I live in Massachusetts!

I love your horse stories! This is how I envision your ride in that field. Except with you in the seat and not Tom Cruise ~

Far and Away



Irish

I realize directors like that sort of thing because it looks dramatic, but it's still terrible form. If you want to see real riding, watch Aussie movies like 'Man From Snowy River'. Those guys are the best riders in general that I've ever seen. And please understand, I appreciate your compliment very much. It's just that I can still feel my German riding instructor's longe whip between my shoulder blades for the least infraction. That woman was insane. But she could also take a horse bareback over a 6' jump. I idolized her. And she was only 4'11, so it's not as if she could wrap her legs around a horse's barrel.
..................................................................................

Trying to cover my wandering hiney just a little, let me pose this question to everyone:

What kind of horse would you imagine President Obama riding? I know I think of Michelle on an elegant Paso Fino.

to have a Football Team that would help promote Obamacare, she!

"That will go a lot farther than having an administration spokesperson doing the talking.", Indeed!

Since the NFL won't do it.. this is extra Sweet, she!



"The NFL Won’t Partner With Obamacare, But Its Players Could Still Benefit From It"

snip//

"Amid outcry from conservatives and Republican senators, the National Football League announced last week that it was not and would not pursue a partnership with the Obama administration to market the Affordable Care Act, the health reform law President Obama signed in 2010. The White House has sought partnerships with sports leagues like the NFL and NBA and with other organizations to market the law, largely because the timing of those leagues’ seasons and the demographics they reach are crucial to the law’s ultimate success.

But just because the NFL won’t partner with Obama to inform its viewers of the law’s many programs, the largest of which go into place in 2014, doesn’t mean the league and its players won’t benefit from it. In fact, Obamacare has a chance to redefine health care options for former NFL players while providing massive public relations relief to a league that has drawn criticism for how many of its veterans face health troubles after their careers. Soaring health care costs and major medical problems that don’t surface until years later, in fact, remain among the biggest challenges many NFL players face when their careers end."

There's more..
http://thinkprogress.org/sports/2013/07/09/2269311/nfl-obamacare-players-benefit/

Mahalo she for putting this in the BOG

And an excellent post about the NFL.

I knew they had surrendered under GOP pressure. I never realized how much they could benefit from Obamacare.

"Former players who played at least three NFL seasons receive five years of health insurance paid in full by the league once they retire. After that, however, they are on their own, forced to pay for health insurance out of pocket. Even for players at the top of the income ladder, that causes problems: their careers leave them with an array of injuries and ailments that often qualify as pre-existing conditions. More than half of the NFL’s players are hurt each year, according to injury reports, and the cumulative effects lead to lifelong problems. NFL players are four times more likely than the general population to suffer from neurogenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and ALS and five times more likely to develop arthritis, according to the Washington Post. One of every four will eventually need joint replacement surgery. They are also at greater risk of suffering from cardiovascular disease and other chronic illnesses. That often leaves players without access to insurance that covers knees, hips, backs, or other joints, former players told the Post."
http://thinkprogress.org/sports/2013/07/09/2269311/nfl-obamacare-players-benefit/



Shame on the NFL for abandoning their players by not sponsoring Obamacare.

Computer problems fixed now, Cha?

BOG

to republicon pressure on partnering with Obamacare. But, as usual if something doesn't work then the Obama TEAM finds something that does!

Not quite. I went back but computer doc had to leave early so I'm going to bring it in Friday morning. It's something I can live with in the meantime!

Countdown to the Offical signups for Obamacare. What a fun day that will be, she

BOG