I've been somewhat ambivalent about today's rally surrounding the United Nations Summit on Non-Communicable Diseases. The libertarian "party line" is that the United Nations does little more than abrogate nation-states' sovereignty and forcibly redistribute income from the wealthier nations to the less-wealthy, dampening incentives for innovation and destroying private charity efforts which would otherwise improve the lives of those in need. On the other hand, the prospect of spending time with friends I seldom see in-person is an opportunity not to be missed.

It's a dilemma I'd been wrestling with for a couple of months, and friendship was winning over politics. However, neither friendship nor politics had the choice to decide.

The deciding factor was money.

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Canada and the United States of America both celebrate their "birthdays" on this long weekend. Flags are flown, fireworks launched, parades marched, and we perceive a sort of unity and interallegiance to our governments and our fellow citizens. While the United States celebrates it's independence from England, we also understand the various states' interdependence upon each other in matters of commerce, transportation, and national defense. It would seem to me that the Canadian provinces are similarly interdependent upon each other.

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In the rainbows-and-unicorns world of diabetes activism, it is often said that one of the most egregious oversights in international politics is the lack of available medical insulin in economically-depressed areas and emerging nations. Our standard-bearers act as if all we need to do is ship tons of strips, gallons of insulin, and forests-worth of needles to the middle of the African bush and every person with diabetes will live forever in the world of Blood Sugar Nirvana and No Complications.

The truth of the matter is much more complex.

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Earlier this week, it was announced that the focus of national anger for most of this century had met his Maker, courtesy of the United States military. The TV news showed people reacting by dancing in the streets.

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One of the odd observances of the Christmas Skeptic is the effect of today's gift-giving Santa Claus on the development of greed amongst children. The observation is somewhat paradoxical considering greed is considered one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

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There are a lot of things in this world that I don't understand and don't choose to understand. Politics is one of them. I despise politics. I don't do office politics, I don't play games with people, I feel like I'm a straight-shoting tell-it-like-it-is kind of person. So, I really don't like politics. Which means I don't pay attention to bills and votes and all that nonsense. I should, I've tried, but I don't.

I do know enough to know that the passage of the health-care reform bill today and the fact that it's being sent to President Obama's desk to be signed in to law (which it will) is a big deal.

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