My Teeth Hurt

I was one of 37,000,000 Americans who listened to Governor Sarah Palin's speech last night. She spoke very well, but after a while my teeth started to hurt, so I turned it off.

She didn't address any health care issues, which is a pressing matter in my mind. I favor the Canadian system myself -- single payer from top to bottom. The Canadians get better access to basic health care, but they have to wait in line for a CT scan. It's a trade off, but it's what I would choose.

Palin, I assume, because she didn't mention it in her speech, supports a market-based health care system.

Neither did she express her opposition to Roe v. Wade, but her pro-life stance is well known. In this matter, I also disagree with her. I feel that all health care decisions should be made as close to the patient as possible and with the least government interference. Palin's own family has flourished under Roe v. Wade, and they have made their decisions freely with only the consultation of a doctor.

I work at a regional hospital and I see doctors and nurses making decisions every day, and to my mind, ALL their decisions are moral and ethical, as they involve the life, suffering, and healing of human beings.

I have seen these doctors and nurses make poor decisions, wrong decisions, and make mistakes, but overall they do far more good than harm, and I think all those choices should remain with the doctor and the immediate family.

When does life begin? Life began when God created the Earth. He said, "Let there be light," and the creation became manifest. When did my life begin? On June 25, 1946, the day I was born, the day I became a human being and an American citizen.

That's what I know. If Palin and McCain wish to make the 2008 election a referendum on Roe v. Wade, then I would welcome that. It was a poorly crafted ruling and has long since needed a ratification or rejection by the voters.

But overall, Sarah expressed herself forcefully and clearly. And it's a wonderful change that she represents.. Geraldine Ferraro was the first female vice presidential of a major party in 1984. Then the Republicans, after thinking about it for 24 years, decided to do the same thing. Welcome to the fight!

Rupert Murdoc, the newspaper mogul and owner of Fox News and the Wall Street Journal, was quoted in Vanity Fair on which candidates he prefers, "Obama -- he sells more papers."

But Murdoch said that before Palin got the nod. I'll bet old Rupert is beside himself with joy this morning, because Sarah is going to sell plenty of newspapers herself.

McCain gets his chance tonight. Sarah Palin will be a tough act to follow. McCain is a wealthy man who owns more houses than he can count, bought with money he didn't earn -- but he's not an elitist. McCain is a a legislator with no executive experience, He has served in the Senate for 22 years, and yet he is not a Washington insider -- it's kind of cool trick -- having all that money, being that well connected to the Washington scene -- and yet not really being a part of it.

But I believe in my heart that our Republic will survive. Winston Churchill said of the United States that it can be counted on to do "the right thing," but only after it has tried every alternative.

An additional fact, not necessarily apropos: The Los Angeles Unified School District has 694,000 students, 45,000 teachers, 38,000 other employees, and a $20 billion budget. So what job would you rather have -- Governor of Alaska, or Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District?