"Take my apology, please"

        When asked about the millions of Americans who are losing their health care plans as a result of the Affordable Care Act, President Obama would often respond,

        "I am very sorry that they...are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me."

        What did he say? Is that really an apology or is it more like an apologoid, the way a humanoid robot is a lot like a human but, somehow...isn't really a human? Similar, but not the same. Not really.

        In an apology, you're supposed to take responsibility for what you did, say that you're really sorry you did it and that you'll do what you can to make it better and won't ever do it again. This 'apology' was more like,

        "I was sorry to hear about your health insurance, Mrs. Goldberg. Here, I brought you some cookies."

         "Thank you, Mr. President. That was very thoughtful of you." 

Have A Heart or...Maybe A Kidney

       "Of course I'm pro-choice. A woman owns her body and can do what she wants with it."

       "Even give part of it away? Donate a kidney?"

       "Of course. It's her body."

       "Haw about if she wants to sell a kidney to someone? It's her body, right?"

       "No! Definitely not! Rich people would get all the kidneys and poor people would just...die. What are you, some kind of a damn...Republican?!"

                                                               *** 

       Each year, over six thousand Americans die waiting for a kidney transplant. Many more thousands die waiting for liver, lung or heart transplants. 

        Suppose the gov't allowed a free market in buying and selling human organs with regulation to prevent fraud and assure informed consent. Maybe sounds a little ghoulish (unless you happen to need a transplant, in which case it sounds...enlightened) but, nevertheless, what would be the result?

        Well, if you were rich enough, you would probably offer a lot of money to buy an organ right away (it's possible to live a perfectly normal life with only one kidney, and with liver and lung, you would offer to buy only a piece of the organ). In the case of a heart, you would, of course, have to make an offer to the family of the deceased.

         Now you're off the list(s) and everyone below you moves up a notch. What's wrong with that? The rich get their transplants the fastest but most everyone else gets theirs faster now that there are fewer people on the list. 

       And finally, isn't this exactly the kind of thing that insurance was designed for, i.e. a lot of people paying a small amount each year so that if they are someday one of the relatively few who need to purchase an organ for transplantation, it wouldn't bankrupt them?

        And. of course, there's no reason that any of this would ever have to become compulsory. If you're not interested in a transplant and would prefer dialysis, well, "If you like your kidney, you can kee..." No, really.