Healthcare Reform or Media Trap?

Tomorrow, President Obama will be speaking with Republican leaders on the issue of healthcare reform in a live televised debate. One of the goals of this meeting will be to figure out how to come to an agreement on certain key issues regarding national healthcare reform before moving forward with the reform bill. In particular, President Obama has expressed a willingness to be open-minded to suggestions from the Republican party members that will not only help give more coverage to more Americans, but simultaneously help lower the national deficit.

So did any of that register to you out there? Yeah, it all sounds like something straight copied and pasted from CNN.com, right? Often when I hear newscasters or read journalists' reports on what's going on in Washington, a lot of it registers to me as "blah blah blah." Not because I'm not interested in the issues per se, but because of an underlying distrust in news media as a whole. Where did this come from? I'm not exactly sure, but I'm willing to bet that I'm not alone.

Even this televised meeting for example. From the day it was announced, it has translated to many, especially Republican representatives, as a "trap." Many are suspicious of a purportedly "open" discussion, and Obama's request for Republican leaders to "lay their ideas out on the table."

Though Obama has repeated his own desire for a change in the tone of American politics, and for an elimination of a kind of relentless "political theater" as some have termed it, he has still failed to convince many that his intentions are without guile. Though I think at this point, with the economy still being what it is, it would be difficult to convince even the most optimistic American that things are going to change.

Now I'm sure Jay Leno, and Bill Maher and those folks have probably already made a snarky comment or two about all the heated healthcare headlines swirling around this week. Call me soft, but I can't bring myself to crack a joke today. Instead, I leave you with some cool tips on how to cook healthier, and be more aware of health-related risks.

With all the buzz on new diet fads (HCG - where a pregnancy hormone which inhibits appetite is literally injected into a non-pregnant person. Wow. As if people aren't cranky enough these days...) and our own First Lady leading the pack with her childhood obesity prevention initiative Let's Move (a woman who's well dressed AND knows how to get down to business? 2010 better watch out), it's always helpful to know how to adjust your eating habits with minimal changes to your current diet.

Cheers to everyone trying to make 2010 a healthier year.