Good day

Good day: Both a greeting and a statement.

My apologies for not being the consistent blogger I would have liked, or have lead you to believe I was. Many things have happened in the last couple months, but let's just focus on today.

Today, September 23, 2010, marks the implementation of the president's Patient's Bill of Rights goes into effect. These were the widely popular provisions in the health care reform bill that would prohibit health plans from canceling coverage for people who get sick while on the plan, and prohibits lifetime caps on benefits. Also, it tightens annual coverage limits. But by far one of the more popular provision was the allowance for parents to keep their children on their plans until they reach 26 years of age.

These are all good selling points for the fall and I was taken back, oh say, five years ago, when I was listening to NPR this morning and they were talking about something very important happening today and I was like, "Oh yeah. That's happening at work today." I felt connected again. It was good.

Also, I got to shake hands with Interior Secretary Salazar - Colorado College '77. We were in a meeting with the Oregon delegation to discuss timber issues and my boss, being the one-note bird he can be, brought up his opposition to the proposed casino in the Columbia River Gorge. Nothing to do with the meeting per se, but it is something that my boss was gonna do since when is the next time you are going to be in a 10 x 20 space with a cabinet secretary? After the meeting my boss and I were talking in the hall and I said we should walk back passed the room since we could catch the Secretary again, and luck would have it he pops out. He gives my boss an hearty, brotherly handshake and they start talking about the casino again: My boss wants him to come see the site and realize what a mistake it would be. They chat and I position myself very close to my boss to listen and to my surprise the Secretary reaches his hand out and shakes my hand. "Great to meet you, sir. Thank you for listening," I say. Which, at that moment, I thought was very genuine. We walk off. I say to my boss, "That went really well. I hope we get him. [Yada yada yada unmentionables on a blog yada yada] and I got to shake his hand!"

My boss chuckles, "You are too funny."

I still got it.

--
Nils Tillstrom
m. 503.449.8523

"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much it is whether we provide enough for those who have little"- Franklin Delano Roosevelt