WTF!!!!!!!!!!!   {Here is where I would link to that Seth Myers Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Story if it was still available on youtube}

A Long Island cat became the first to have a hip replacement, which was just several thousand dollars more expensive than the common practice, total cat replacement.

I looked at the bill again.  I looked at my Smokey-pie.    But I couldn't help thinking of the following:

• Veterinary care isn't absolutely necessary.  I could have made the choice that Smokey used up her ninth life by eating a 10 cent piece of string.  People on the other hand without medical insurance go into serious, serious debt.  Medical bills are the number one reason for bankruptcy.
• In the Democratic primary, I spent a lot of time criticizing Senator Obama's plan as destined to fail.  Universal access to healthcare (without making it mandatory) would mean folks at less risk for getting sick would simply not pay into the system until it was needed.  And then if they do get sick, they have a right to care through the emergency room system.  I could have easily picked up a veterinary insurance plan for Smokey when I adopted her last year, but one of my friends advised they are a waste of money until something cat-astrophic (pardon the pun) happens.  Smokey's young and healthy - what's the worst that could happen?  Silly, silly me.
• I'm pretty happy that Senator Clinton is going to be in the Senate pushing for true universal healthcare as both a right and a responsibility.  Granted given the bailout, it won't likely be achieved in the short-term, but if we are going to tackle the problem, it should be done the right way - not universal access that is destined to overburden the system.  The reality is the people least at risk will not be paying into the plan upfront, which drives costs up for everyone else, and when they do need care, we'll be absorbing those costs too.

Smokey won...but just barely!  And after a few weeks of being a cone head, she's back to normal:

So Senator McCain, I know you are desperate for votes and that you are willing to promise anything no matter how crazy and no matter how clear it is that if elected, you have no intentions on following through on it.  Might I recommend universal health insurance for pets... and people too of course?  And a pony would be nice.