A Tooth for a Tooth

I've been forced to confront something that I've been avoiding since the spring: having a wisdom tooth removed. It's not any fun, the dental surgery, but then again, neither is having an impacted tooth causing an infection in your mouth. So, off I go. But I'm one of the lucky ones.

My job gives me dental insurance (and even with that it still costs an arm and a leg, or whatever the dental equivalent would be). Many, upwards of 40 million people in the U.S. have no dental insurance or any kind of health insurance to speak of. So once again, in a small way, Congress is trying to address that by re-authorizing and upping the state health insurance program for kids, or SCHIP.

Bush has vetoed it already. What a tough guy: stopping kids from getting medical attention. Or what, the terrorists win? And he promises to do it again, and the Republicans won't rush to override his veto.

All I have to say is: Give any one of these guys an impacted wisdom tooth and no way to pay for it, and see how quick they last.