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First, a full platter of gratitude for the readers who stop by this site! DB’s grateful for to have some of the world’s most intelligent and well informed members of any audience. There are other things for which we, as progressives, should be thankful as well.
- I am pleased that no longer will health insurance corporations be able to rescind customer policies arbitrarily when a policyholder becomes ill or injured.
- I am happy that basic health care insurance coverage will now include prostate cancer and breast cancer screenings, and that basic immunizations must be part of a policy for families with young children.
- I am especially happy and thankful that insurance corporations may no longer capriciously discriminate against women in terms of health care insurance coverage.
- While I would have preferred to celebrate this holiday with Single Payer, or at least a Public Option form of health care insurance, I am pleased that as of 2014 there will be corporate sponsored pools available for those without coverage of any kind.
- I am grateful that 4 million more children in this country are now covered by the SCHIP program.
- I am thankful that the most egregious forms of Wall Street and banking sector transgressions that led to the meltdown of the credit markets have been curtailed, and I am pleased to observe that now consumers using such financial products as credit cards and mortgages have an Consumer Finance Protection Agency to help protect their interests.
- I am happy that reforms have been made to the way we regulate credit card issuance and the terms thereof on behalf of our average consumers.
- I am grateful that offshore tax havens have been closed and that the Administration has negotiated with the Swiss to gain access to records of tax evaders and other criminals.
- I am happy that the Obama Administration ended the previous stop-loss policy that kept members of our Armed Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan after their enlistment dates.
- I am grateful that the last U.S. combat forces have left Iraq.
- I am happy that the Department of Defense is now putting more effort into improving housing for the members of our Armed Forces, and just as pleased that we are now increasing the pay and benefits for our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines.
- I am also pleased and thankful that the Obama Administration has curtailed the practice of allowing no-bid contracts for military needs.
- I am pleased that those who work for General Motors and Chrysler, and their suppliers, have their jobs, and the companies were able to restructure such that GM could issue the most successful IPO to date, and Chrysler could open its plant in Kokomo, Indiana.
- I am grateful that the Cash for Clunkers program stimulated automobile sales while at the same time assisting customers to purchase more fuel efficient, safer, vehicles.
- I am grateful that the Obama Administration has announced that replacement government fleet vehicles will be more fuel efficient, and American made.
- I am extremely grateful that the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico wasn’t as protracted and deadly as it might have been, and that BP put up a $20 billion guarantee for the rehabilitation of the region affected.
- I am grateful that students can now refinance their education loans, and that we’re saving precious tax dollars by ending the subsidies to large banking firms.
- I am happy to see the appointment of the first Hispanic woman selected to serve as a member of the U.S. Supreme Court.
There are several more items remaining on my wish list (increased interest and funding for infrastructure projects in this country, the repeal of DADT, the end of operations in Afghanistan, and progress on negotiations in the Middle East.) However, I am thankful this day for what we’ve accomplished as a nation, and I hope for continued success.
