Upcoming Presidential Summits

This evening, President Barack Obama will host prominent Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Sgt. James Crowley, the Cambridge police officer who made headlines recently for arresting Gates for disorderly conduct, at the White House to talk and drink beer, in a groundbreaking "Beer Summit." Here is a list of other important summit meetings Obama has planned in the next year.

• September 7, 2009 - Labor Day Barbecue Summit
• October 3, 2009 - Dinner-and-a-Movie Anniversary Summit with First Lady Michelle Obama
• December 25, 2009 - Obama Family Christmas Summit
• February 7, 2010 - Super Bowl Party Summit
• March 7, 2010 - Academy Awards Watch Party Summit
• June 25 - 27, 2010 - Annual G8 Leaders Summit

Three Alternative Proposals for Health Care Reform

As Congress is currently negotiating major health care reform legislation, I felt obligated to weigh in on this contentious political topic. Although there is wide consensus that reform is needed, the details of that reform are fiercely debated. How drastic should this change be? Should health coverage be federally mandated? What role should employers pay in providing coverage? How would public health care be funded?

Of course for all the discussion of the different ideas being considered, attention should also be paid to the ideas and proposals left out of the debate. The following are three of these proposals.

1. Each American is required to spend three years studying a specific area of medicine. In this time, each person is able to cultivate a tiny amount of medical expertise, which they can offer to their friends or family. Because each person is knowledgeable in a different area, an informal barter system develops as people trade their services. For future reference, I would study dentistry.
2. Health care funding is transferred to the Department of Defense, supporting programs focused on helping people slowly develop immunities to all manner of diseases. These diseases are then weaponized and stored in top-secret facilities, where they can be used to defend the Earth from the hordes of extraterrestrial invaders we inevitably face.
3. The Department of Health and Human Services undertakes a $245 million media campaign convincing Americans that “if it hurts when you do it, don’t do it.” This is followed up by federal funding specifically allocated for the purchase and distribution of chicken soup to the ill and an Executive Order establishing the President’s Task Force on Making Sure You Get Some Rest.