Way back when I was an undergrad in Chemistry, I did laboratory work with Heteropolytungstates in an aqueous environment.  Don’t let the jargon put you off.  Hetero means different.  Poly means many.  Tungstates are combinations of tungsten and oxygen.  In other words, these were really big molecules with many different elements in them.  Aqueous environment simply means in water.  I have forgotten what it was I was actually trying to accomplish (something to do with paints and coatings) but I did produce a lot of pretty colored stuff.

One result that I do remember is that any time I introduced an iron compound into the reaction, I consistently ended up with a layer of the prettiest brown sludge in the bottom of the glassware.  Think Red River only more colorful.  OK, it was wet rust (iron oxide).

This is what you get when you mix politics with anything:   sludge.  It might look pretty at the start but it builds up so that all you have is the politics.  You mix anything with politics and you get politics.  The late Harry Browne indicated the same thing when he explained how one person’s good idea ends up looking nothing like the final bill passed by Congress.

I don’t think I need much of a transition here to jump to Obama Care.  Forgetting for a minute whether or not our national government should even be doing such a thing, it is obvious that Congress tried to satisfy too many masters with it.  Many experts, whether they agree with the concept or not, say it is unsustainable.  The initial deal that new signer-ups got has now gone away and they have had the cost upped on them.  Many of these people thought they could get along just fine without it but were forced to pay one way or another.

So now the Republicans are trying to modify the approach, change to make it better.  Good luck with that.  Congress still has the same problems that they had in formulating Obama Care: too many people who want to be satisfied.  Let’s see:   Insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, medical groups, and medical technology companies who don’t want to lose money on the deal;  medical groups and doctors who truly want to see as many people treated as possible and think socialized medicine is a way to go;  those who are pro-abortion; those who are anti-abortion; religious related institutions that don’t think they should have to support medical stuff that goes against their beliefs;  those that want to see more and better attention paid to women’s health issues; etc. etc. etc.  And who knows how they are going to handle the exponential growth in medical knowledge and technology which is occurring as you read this and will continue.  Probably they will assume that this will lower costs, which is probably true but not the way the government handles things.

I almost feel sorry for Congress;   then I remember they have excellent health and retirement benefits.

-George Reynolds