The TV is on, and the Inaugural is the only thing happening in the whole wide world

Early this morning the Fox crew was getting some "man in the crowd" shots.  Big crowd, all enthusiastic, lotta red Trump hats, some NRA hats, rain gear.  Everyone one in the crowd was happy the chant USA. USA, or Trump, Trump.  I'd call it solid support. 
   The parade didn't get off until nearly 4 PM, it will be dark before the last marchers get past the reviewing stand.  They had a platoon of Redcoats, Brown Bess muskets and all, march by.  Melania Trump showed up in a stunning blue suit that made her look like a million dollars. 
  Other than the drizzling rain that lasted on and off all day, it was a good show. 

I'm getting sentimental in my old age

I watched today's before the inagural festivites, laying a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier followed by a concert at the Lincoln memorial.  After some good Nashville country music the choir sang the Battle Hymn of the Republic, and fireworks burst in the sky, I found tears in my eyes. 
   It's a good thing to have a big national celebration every four years, just to make all us citizens feel good about our country. And those 60 odd democratic Congressmen who are not coming to the inaugural are missing something good.

So are these guys politicians or what?

As of last night we have 50-60 democratic Congressmen saying they will not attend the inauguration tomorrow.  Trump is going to see this as a slight or even a slap in the face.  And Trump is president for the next four years, maybe more.  And to get anything to happen in the US of A, the president has to get behind it.  At least to speak well of it on TV.
  These 50-60 democrats must have things they want to get done.  They are all serving for another two years, and they have decided to start off by irritating Trump.  Which is going to make it harder for them to get Trump to do anything, OK anything, say nice things about something they care about, appoint their friends to federal office. 
   The job of a politician is to cut a deal between opposing sides.  Part of cutting a deal is not insulting one side.  These Congressmen seem to have forgotten that, they are doing insults before Trump is even inaugurated.  Good luck getting Trump to help you out on anything, even just renaming a Post Office in your district.
   We shall see.  Maybe in two years a lot of these guys will be replaced with Republicans.  

So I watched Obama's last press conference on Fox News

Obama spoke for an hour.  H managed not to say anything of substance in all that time.  Obama is a master of the modern political speak, smooth words, motherhood and apple pie, nothing anyone can disagree with, but never a number, never a fact, never a promise of real action.  Pablum, meaningless pablum.  And that is all we have gotten out him for the last eight years. 
   Politicians spoke better in the old days.  "Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." " The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."   "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."  "We shall fight them on the beaches, we shall fight them on the landing grounds... We shall never surrender."  In eight years Obama never said anything in that class.  
   Trump is a better public speaker than Obama.  He can stir the emotions of the crowd, and talk about concrete things, a wall, a tariff, taxes.  After listening to Trump, there is no question in anyone's mind where Trump is coming from and where he wants to go.  

What Seventeen Intelligence Agencies?

Several times this month, the MSM has stated that all seventeen US intelligence agencies support this or that.  Seventeen? Do we really have seventeen different intelligence agencies?  I know of CIA and NSA and DIA.  And I guess the National Reconnaissance Office (surveillance satellite operators) counts.  But does the FBI count as intelligence? They are supposed to be police.  What about Secret Service?  They are supposed to be presidential bodyguards and federal anti counterfeiting police. 
   Anyone know of the other thirteen intelligence agencies? Like what their names are and what they are supposed to be doing with my tax money? 
   Somehow I feel that we could shut down  five or six such agencies, and save money and improve our knowledge of what's going on in the world.  Certainly CIA's record over the years has been so bad as to make me doubt anything coming out of CIA. 

Victoria on Masterpiece Theater

It was on PBS at 9PM last night.  A beautiful costume drama.  The costumes were really good, upper class Brits all dressed up for court.  The story picked up with Victoria's accession to the throne at age 18.  She has very firm ideas about who is in charge, she doesn't defer to her mother, her mother's boyfriend, prime ministers, and other members of the aristocracy.  Nice acting, a good watch.  It ran for two hours which is a little long for me, one hour episodes are more to my taste.  Anyhow I plan to watch it again next Sunday.

Replace Obamacare with What?

So what does the Trump administration do to replace Obamacare?  Remember that the country was doing just fine up until Obamacare was rammed down our throats.  Most Americans get health insurance thru their employer.  That's a strong incentive to get a job, which is not a bad thing.  I , and my family, enjoyed company health insurance for nearly 50 years.  It's decent healthcare and the government ought to encourage it any way they can.  And when you turn 65, you are eligible for Medicare which is also pretty decent.
   So the Obamacare thing was only of interest to the self employed, the unemployed, and such.  I don't understand Obamacare, I doubt that anyone does truly.  I think Obamacare offered to pay part of private health insurance premiums for low income people.  And for various reasons the premiums have skyrocketed and the deductibles are so high that the insurance is mostly worthless unless you are hospitalized. 
   So what to replace Obamacare with?  I can think of the following possibilities.
1.  Uncle takes care of everything, like Medicaid or Medicare.  Doctors and hospitals just send all the bills to Uncle Sam.  Tempting but VERY expensive. 
2.   Uncle subsidizes low income people to purchase private health insurance.  Subsidies might range from just making health insurance premiums deductible on income tax, up to  cash payments from the US treasury to either the insurance company or the patient.
3.  We pass a law requiring health insurance companies to sell the same insurance they offer to large corporation employess to the general public, at the same price charged to corporations.
4.  We make a real effort to bring down medical costs, which are outrageous.  Allow duty free import of medicines from any reasonable first world country (Canada, Germany, Japan, and company).  Clamp down on malpractice suits.  If we cut medical costs in HALF, our medical costs would be the same as every other country in the world.  America spends twice as much on medical care as any other first world country.  And our citizens health is no better than other countries.
5.  Something else?

The Republicans need to put their heads together and decide which of these options they will take.  Right now, I think every Republican has his own ideas and none of them agree on much.