On August 6, 2009, less than six months since Dr. Lamelas replaced my defective Aortic Valve, my cardiologist, Dr. Lopez, informed me that my heart is no longer enlarged, that it shrunk to a normal size. Dr. Lopez also stopped all the meds I've been taking since the operation except one baby aspirin a day.

Dr. Lopez, who's been my cardiologist since 1977, should feel very proud of how he's managed my health since then. The result of his wise decisions over the years, including the precise time to have my valve replaced, could not have been better. I feel truly lucky to have him as my doctor.

        

It seems that it is a tactic, if not a policy, of the Obama administration to repeatedly remind folks that the nation's state is one the administration "inherited" (http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jul/29/obama-still-cashing-in-on-bushs-economic-failings/print/), as if though that came as a surprise to them.

The Obama team ran one of  the longest presidential campaigns in history. From the start, they articulated the problems they perceived to be hurting the nation: Iraq, Guantanamo, healthcare, economy, environment, etc. Appropriately so, during the long campaign they effectively blamed the Bush administration for those problems. They qualified themselves as the best equipped team to take ownership of the problems and promised voters big and swift solutions. Their proposal was clearly accepted.

Now, when the reality of governing has set in; when the weakness of the Executive branch relative to the power of Congress has been revealed, again; and when the people have begun rejecting some of the team's solutions; the Obama team tries to appear as the surprised victim of inheritance. That, in my opinion, is the tactic of political cowards.

There's ample opportunity for the Obama team to do great things for America, but they need to develop political cojones, quit whining, and effectively work with Congress, where the real power of the federal government resides.

        

Sorry for not posting more stuff here but I've had no time or reliable, fast internet access to do too much online. There are some new videos in YouTube and some new photos in my photo album.

We arrived in San Jose yesterday and met with Carlos Molina, my childhood best friend, and his wife Lizzi at their finca overlooking San Jose. The view at night was quite spectacular. Spending time with them at that altitude felt like being in heaven surounded by angels.

        

We spent our first full day day in Costa Rica in the Arenal area where we explored through a couple of local sites.

We're staying in a lovely place named El Silencio del Campo, which I highly recommend. We've met the owner, Luis Diego, who, along with his friendly staff, runs a first-class operation. The rooms are spacious and clean and the grounds are beautifully landscaped.



After breakfast, we went on a two-mile hike  to the Arenal Hanging Bridges. The scenery there was beautiful. Had the humidity, though, been one percentage point higher, we would have been swimming through the place. Boy, was it humid!





Carrying two children and backpacks around helped us work up an appetite so we stopped and had lunch at a roadside al-fresco steakhouse. From there we headed to the La Fortunal waterfall, where we managed to descend 500 oddly-shaped steps into the area where the, ah, water falls. The problem with descending 500 steep asymetrical steps in a humid, densly packed forest carrying children is that you have to later ASCEND. I would upload the video I took of everyone goion into the cool waters around the waterfall, but I've threatened with severe bodily harm if I show the gals in their bathing suits.





By the time we arrived back and had dinner, we were all pretty tired so we very quickly said our good nights and went to bed.

        

Today Lauren and I, along with Matt, Maha, and their two daughters, Yasmeen and Dahlia, begin our fun trip to Costa Rica. The primary purpose of the trip is to attend my elementary school reunion.

  

Upon arrival in San Jose, we will go to La Fortuna, home of the Arenal volcano, where we will stay for a couple of nights. Our next stop is Hermosa Beach in Jacó, where we will spend time with our friends Judith and Paolo, at the property they manage.



A few days after that, Lauren and I will go to San José, where we will meet up with my childhood best friend, Carlos Molina, and his wife, Lizzi. I'm really looking forward to seen them. On the 18th is the reunion, which will surely be a hoot!



This is our graduation picture from 1969. I'm the one circled in red.

Stay tuned to this blog for the next two weeks, and leave your comments. I'll also be posting links to these entries on facebook.

PURA VIDA!

        

My thoughts on limiting the number of terms an elected official may serve.<< MORE >>

Today Lauren and I went to our local Tea Party with our friends Mark and Kim. There were about 1000 people at the event and more were arriving by the time we left. There were many clever signs. This was, I thought, the best:



I hope the effort of the folks that went out today to protest the exorbitant government spending, bailouts and the forthcoming tax increases are being noticed by Congress.

You can see a few pictures of the event here, Mark Buttler's FaceBook photo album.

        

Here is another reportage about Dr. Joseph Lamelas and his minimally invasive procedure. This segement aired on Monday, April 6, 2009. Of course, I'm the patient being interviewed.

This is the link to the video.

        

This is a reportage broadcast on our local Telemundo station about Dr. Lamelas' minimally invasive procedure. The surgery footage is not my own or the same procedure I had. The similarity, though, is that Dr. Lamelas reaches the area of the heart he needs to repair through a small incision, just like mine.

If you've been following this blog, you'll know that the small incision means less pain and more rapid recovery.

        

By May 2008 I had predicted Obama would win the presidential election. The basis for my prediction then was my own sense that our socialist-minded population, which I believe to be around 40%, coupled with the haters of the previous administration and the disillusioned with the McCain campaign, who stayed home and didn't vote, would be sufficient to catapult Obama into office.

By September 2008, as the policies of an Obama presidency began to crystallize,  I realized that the change the Obama campaign was promising was going to move us away from capitalism and closer to socialism (see this entry). What I could not imagine then was the speed at which the change would take place.

Having read the new administration's agenda, executive orders, and the legislation signed so far by the President, I am willing to predict now that by the end of this administration's first term, 60% of the population will be either completely or largely dependent on government for sustenance. The big one, of course, will be universal health care. The other will be that the government through its national banks (i.e.,  banks the government owns, like Citi and Bank of America) will hold a large portion of the population's assets (cash and properties).

With such a large percentage of folks getting more from government than ever, this administration's second term will be almost assured. Voters will be afraid to bite the hand that feeds them. What will happen then is difficult for me to imagine; but, I am almost sure that major constitutional changes will be proposed and passed. The first one will be the abolishment of the electoral college and the implementation of new rules for presidential elections. Those will include elections by popular vote and also longer and/or unlimited terms. We will see severe limitations or perhaps a complete ban on firearms. There may also be attempts to control speech.

These and others are the changes, I think, you can count on. The question is: Are they changes we need? I don't think so.

Finally, I hope I fail as a political prognosticator.