IEDs

It is too bad that our soldiers are getting killed with ingenious cheap devices in places like Afghanistan. Some possible consolation is that it is good to have methods that weak nations can use to defend themselves against powerful ones. We may enjoy the benefits one day when the Afghans use it against the Chinese.

health care legislation

We spend on healthcare about twice as other developed countries without much to show for it. We could save one trillion dollars a year if we brought down our spending to the French level, the country with the best healthcare system in the world according to the World Health Organization. So I am a bit sad that the current round of health care reform may fail or accomplish very little.

Silver lining: The system we have in place subsidizes handsomely old folks like me (I am 65) who have good health insurance. So I will be able to hang on to these generous subsidies.