The HAT People

Senator Barak Obama has artfully dodged questions about his smoking habit, tactfully hinting that he quit. Oddly enough, the mainstream press has given him a general pass on the subject. What a surprise (tongue in cheek). But here is a question that I am dying to ask this saintly man of politics; should government paid health related funding of any kind, including health care coverage, be given to people who smoke or have smoked?

We all know them, those smokers who claim not to believe the data that shows the variety of diseases, illnesses and health related issues that come from smoking. As they puff away, they swear the evidence is overblown, inflated and a government conspiracy to deprive them of a simple pleasure. Fine, keep your nasty little habit but do not make me pay for the consequences.

Here is my proposal. The United States of America will pay for the cradle to grave healthcare of any and all Americans EXCEPT those who engage in self-destructive behavior under the following categories; smoking, drinking, overeating (considered overweight by current medical standards) and take illegal drugs.

Wow! Wait a minute, you say. That is most of America! Really? I am told that what a person does in the privacy of their own home is none of my business. I agree. I should have nothing to do with people who voluntarily destroy their own bodies, including pay for it.

As for Senator Obama, if he cannot tell the truth about his smoking, can he be trusted to tell the truth about anything else? I love self-evident rhetorical questions.