MEandering

Health care is a complex topic, but myths should not cover up a simple truth: We are wasting money by paying top dollar for mediocre results.

Tom Daschle (See full article)

The quotation above is taken from an article written by the gentleman who has probably been chosen as our new Health and Human Services Secretary.  I have not yet read enough about his thoughts on how to get health care for every American to know whether I agree with what he thinks is the best way to go. However, the fact that he sees the situation as it is means that we-the-people may get a form of national health care that provides better medical care instead of higher profits for insurers.

The candidate was not the story. The story was We-The-People.

I liked the message. I liked the fact that the message was delivered by a speaker who sounded like he believed what he was saying.

I love the fact that the message was heard, and believed, by millions of Americans who took that belief to the polls.

It was we-the-people in action, believing that, if we want things to be different, to be better, it is up to us, individually and collectively, to make them different.

I cannot predict how well the new President-elect will do as President. I can predict that the army of we-the-people who worked so hard, and so effectively, to make him President will continue to make a difference in America.

Many members of that army woke up on November 5^th , 2008 with a feeling of letdown. The war over, victory won and, “What do I do now?”

I doubt that many of them will fall back to the pre-Obama helplessness of waiting for someone else, not even Obama, to take the full burden of making America the nation it could be. They have learned the real American lesson that, once learned, is unlikely to ever be forgotten.

All positive change starts with one person believing: Yes! I can!

Thanks Sarah!

Is it just me? Have you noticed that John McCain did not do too badly in the election?  The large difference in electoral votes may mask the fact that the popular vote was something like 52% Obama to 46% McCain.  Had three voters in each hundred switched from Obama to McCain, the race would have been a tie. Four voters switching would have seen a President-elect McCain instead of President-elect Obama.

Sixty percent of the public feels that Sarah Palin is not qualified to be the President of this nation. When sixty of every hundred say that she is unqualified, is it any stretch to guess that she cost McCain at least four votes from each hundred?

Thank you Sarah Palin. The world is in your debt.

I do not, in general, go in for product endorsements, paid or otherwise. This, for the record, is a product endorsement and it is one that I have not been paid to make.

The Gabston-Howell's online presence is hosted by Bluehost and has been for a few years now. After we decided that we needed the stability of a paid service, we started shopping for a company that would meet our needs. We signed up with Bluehost and have never regretted it.

For me, the best thing about dealing with them is the fact that I normally don't need to deal with them. I pay for a service, I get a service. The good job that Bluehost does is something I take for granted. Although this is how it should be, it is rare that this is what actually exists.

The other day, we had a rare interruption in service. We turned on the tap but no water flowed. Our pages did not display when the URLs were typed into the address bar. Bluehost took too long to fix it.

The thing that made our experience with Bluehost different from our experiences with other companies was that, throughout, it was possible to call and talk to a person. Nobody denied responsibility or acted like we were being unreasonable to expect service. We were not forced to prove that we really could spell our own names before the company admitted that there was a problem.

The reason for the interruption was that Bluehost had overlooked minor mistakes while providing a free upgrade to our plan (free upgrades have been frequent, unrequested and always impressive throughout our time with the company) and had not noticed until we called. Even though the interruption was as a result of trying to improve service, they did not attempt to excuse the problem.

They recognized that they had messed up, told us they would fix it, then they fixed it. I am back to being mostly unaware that Bluehost exists. This is as I think it should be.

Please see http://mattheaton.com/ , Mr. Bluehost's blog. Pay special attention to his January 12, 2008 post. The man, and therefore the man's business, clearly understands that when you turn on the tap, the water should flow and that when this does not happen, the proper response is to correct the problem and render an apology.

(Drum roll please) If you are considering a paid hosting service, please consider Bluehost.