Freedom Triumphant

This week has been a great week for the cause of freedom here in America.

More Americans will spend less just to be healthy - or alive. They will have the freedom to not only live, but to keep more of their hard-earned money (or spend it on something worthwhile - boosting another sector of our economy).

Because we will get to stay on our parents' insurance until age 26, more young Americans will have the liberty to get on a sound financial footing before we have to buy health insurance on our own.

Millions of Americans, bound by the chains of preexisting conditions, will no longer be bound by the additional chains of not having

Countless small businesses will see the freedom to save more of their money or hire more workers, as they will enjoy tax breaks and costs savings for health insurance plans.

There are so many other benefits to the new healthcare laws passed by Democrats in Congress and signed by President Obama. But they all center around one simple idea: You should not be punished for being sick.

While these laws aren't perfect, and while our union isn't perfect, this week we have taken some giant steps in forming a more perfect union. The idea of 'liberty and justice for all' - an ideal on which our founders formed our nation, and for which so many have died - is becoming more of a reality.

That is why I am pleased to dedicate this post, my 500th on Great Lakes, Great Times, Great Scott, to those who fought to make this reform the law of the land, and to all who fight for our country's ideals at home and abroad.