Sign Here, Mr. President

Just before noon on Tuesday, March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the House health-care bill into law before an audience of about 300 at the East Room of the White House. He used a collection of 20 pens to sign the epic bill. "This is going to take a really long time," he kidded. "I didn't practice."
The signing came after a dramatic Sunday-night House vote and remarks by Vice President Biden and Obama.
“Mr. President, I think we’ve got a happy moment here,” Biden said. “It seems ridiculous to say thank you for being here.” However, he added, “To state the obvious, this is a historic day.”
An apt capsule of the road to health care reform came during the president's speech when he praised "the men and women of the US Congress who have taken their lumps during a difficult debate."
The response from people in the audience? "Yes we did." "We're still standing."

Congress Cures Capitalism

House Passes Health Care, originally uploaded by rbtenorio.

Is the health care bill a boon to the 30 million-plus Americans it will cover ... or a nightmare because of its $938 billion price tag? Satan and Frank Faust weigh in for the latest episode of "The Devil Made Me Blog It"!

Health Care Reform: A Revolutionary Idea?

Health Care Rally Cartoon, originally uploaded by rbtenorio.

Satan, Frank Faust and the ghost of Sam Adams check in on a rally for health care reform -- during a critical stage for the movement -- at the Massachusetts State House in Boston, in the latest episode of "The Devil Made Me Blog It"!

Quotes not made by the Devil in the first three panels are more or less verbatim from an actual rally I attended at the State House on Tuesday.

Massachusetts' Big Gamble

Gambling in Massachusetts, originally uploaded by rbtenorio.

Massachusetts is still considering bringing gambling casinos to the state, and Satan and Frank Faust discuss the pros and cons in the latest episode of "The Devil Made Me Blog It"!

Sarah Palin, Queen Esther & Strong Women

Palin Purim Cartoon, originally uploaded by rbtenorio.

During her political career, Sarah Palin has considered the role of women in the public sphere, saying of current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton:

Compared to the guys she squared off against, a lot of her supporters think she proved what Margaret Thatcher proclaimed: 'If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman.'

Perhaps Palin should also look beyond 20th and 21st-century leaders like Thatcher and Clinton for proof of this statement -- and consider, say, the story of Queen Esther, heroine of the Jewish holiday Purim, which I celebrated this past Saturday. Read more in this week's cartoon.