t seems axiomatic that the nation is anxious about healthcare reform for several reasons,one of which is simply because no finished proposal has yet been proposed. The proposal which came forth from the Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Max Baucus, is a healthy start. It is not as expensive as many other proposed bills and it discards the contentious "public option" - the proposed government run insurance plan to compete alongside private schemes. Barak Obama can hardly be blamed with orbiting somewhere above the fray. He has given many interviews and presented a goodly number of speeches. The Baucus bill is hardly perfect, but with some changes and the president's support the Baucus plan is good. It is possible to sell it to their nation. Healthcare reform is still very much alive and the President should back it.

By the way the Baucus plan is far-reaching and would produce close to universal health insurance coverage.

ran makes the future very unsure and even more dangerous. It seems that an Israeli military strike is in our immediate future or the world must be prepared for a nuclear Tehran, soon. At the heart of the problem is more than their nuclear program. It is the Iranian regime which has, since 1979, relentlessly waged war against this country and our allies. The regime's brutality within the nation is more than matched by its brutality abroad. This is a corrupt and ruthless regime; it is fanatic and unpopular and willing to do whatever it takes to stay in power. President Obama is presiding over the emergence of a nuclear Iran that, in the long run, is going to cause much protest at home and abroad. We need to break with past policy and find a way of actively seeking the overthrow of the Islamic Republic.

We must consider that, once achieved, nuclear weapons may embolden Iran to provide sanctuary to terrorists, including al-Qaeda.