Take Two

If there is one standard characteristic that Congress will have throughout time, it's the speed at which is passes new legislation. They are painfully slow. This ensures that any measures which are enacted into law have been given ample opportunity to have become watered down and inoffensive versions of themselves by the time a vote is taken, coupled with the additional benefit of giving whatever issue instigated the bill time to resolve itself. Under most cases the original problem which caused the glacial bill to start proceeding through the houses will either stop being a problem, or will have changed enough to make the proposed solution ineffective.
I think of it as a chronological insulation that protects people from their government.
But Health Care Reform is a different animal. It's a problem which isn't going to resolve itself, and time wasted in passing its bill has a serious detrimental effect on all Americans. I'm not going to go into too much detail on this because I'm pretty much sick of the issue by now. After seeing the torturious protestations well meaning (and ill meaning) citizens have put themselves through on this issue, it's time for action. Either kill the thing or pass it.
But I did want to take a moment to add that I shouldn't have been so dismissive in wishing that this generation pass away so that others can take up the cause and hopefully pass laws which reflect well on them. Yes, people are refusing to pass laws which will extend their lives. Yes, they are determined to shovel as many resources to insurance companies as they can. But in all of this, I shouldn't have spoken too roughly about them. Their blindness hurts themselves.
So I'll make a point of wishing them better, and commiserating with their pain. Hopefully they will have the beginnings of wisdom shine on them before it's too late in the season for Congress. Their second eternal characteristic is that Congress is lazy. If they haven't passed a law by May, it isn't going to happen that year.