First, Kill all the politicians!!!

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- I took the one less traveled
by,and that has made all the difference.
Robert Frost

It began innocently enough, but in the end would have been grounds for divorce in twenty two states! I was speaking at a conference at a beautiful lake side resort and was hoping to get in a run before my morning presentation. The hotel was magnificently situated on hundreds of wooded acres with two golf courses cut from the fabric of the landscape. My wife had accompanied me on this trip as she knew of the splendor of the location and wanted to drink it in for herself. We don't normally run together as our schedules and biorhythms rarely coincide, but on this early October morning we had both the opportunity and motivation to venture out side by side. I had measured the distance from the entrance of the property to the hotel and had mapped out a simple 5 mile route for the occasion. It was a brisk morning, enough for a long sleeve shirt and gloves, and we stretched and warmed up by the first tee. It was too early for the golfers so we speculated that a run on the golf course was not out of the question if we wanted to "live on the wild side". About that time I spotted a jogging path lying parallel to the first hole and suggested we follow that instead. Susan agreed, so I started my Garmin 405 watch and off we went.

The first few miles were surprisingly hilly and we easily broke into a cool sweat. We kept a slow pace because of the topography and enjoyed the scenery. Three deer ran across our path onto the golf course ahead and with their abundant numbers, the squirrels looked like they were having a convention of their own. I had planned our departure to allow for about an hour run to get me safely back to the hotel in time to shower and prepare for my talk.

After going about a half hour I noticed that the color coordinated trail markers had changed from their original yellow color to black. I remember taking a few turns and forks, but thinking this was a simple circular route, I didn't pay much attention to the details. I mentioned this change to Susan and she didn't seem too concerned so we ventured on. After another mile it became clear that we were not going in a circle but were in fact traveling farther and farther from our home base. I have the sense of direction of a cross eyed pelican and Susan is not much better, so we soon realized that we were lost and about 5 miles from whence we started. We were obviously in a golf course neighborhood, but at 7 AM and dressed in black tights I was not about to knock on any doors and ask directions. We did the only logical thing we could think of and started to retrace our path in hopes of rediscovering the way home.

Mistake! As I said I could get lost in a mall parking lot so depending on me to follow the bread crumbs home is like a blind person following Google Maps. At this point two concerns were percolating in my brain, first, would I make it back in time for my talk, and second, would my wife kill me for turning our 5 mile fun jog into a 10 mile juggernaut?

I tell this tale to illustrate the universal law of unintended consequences. I started out with a plan in mind and ended up with my wife asking a passing motorist for the name of a good divorce attorney. President Obama's health care debacle reeks of unintended consequences. Regardless of the moral high ground and good intentions of universal coverage, it cannot and will not arrive without unforeseen and unintended consequences. Herein lies the dilemma; we won't know many of those effects until after years into the change.

The HIPPA laws passed by congress are a perfect example. They were intended for a noble purpose, protecting the privacy of the patient; however they have morphed into regulations that make nuclear facilities look tolerant and paper work that has singlehandedly deforested the Amazon basin. Be prepared for some form of restrictions (i.e. rationing) tax hikes (there is no other way to pay for it all), lower quality care (dumbing down just like in the public schools), and more fraud (unscrupulous doctors and executives unwilling to give up the house in the Hamptons). The system is indeed in need of repair, but to strap us all with a complete overhaul is like buying a new car when all you need is a lube job. Let's look at real reform like prevention, tort reform, portability, non exclusion clauses, and free deep fried candy bars on a stick for everyone. Okay, maybe we can leave off the candy bars, but we need a heavy dose of common sense so step number one is, in the words of Shakespeare, "let's kill all the lawyers." (and politicians, I might add)

Oh by the way, I did make it back in time from the run to give my presentation and my wife has not filed for divorce, so far.