By Paddy Notar

It looks like Democrats are actually going to shove the healthcare legislation down our throats by putting together a reconciliation bill. That's basically a bill that bypasses the democratic process and gives the majority party the ability to do whatever it wants with a simple majority vote. Real nice. Way to embrace that over 65 percent of Americans who don't want this bill.

How comfortable does it make people feel that our legislators don't give a damn about what we think? Wait until the mid-term elections in November when democratic incumbents get a harsh wake-up call by being tossed out of office. I remember feeling so invigorated when Obama took office. I thought for sure things would change. He campaigned against this type of process and, as usual, we all bought into it. For whatever reason, people just hope that the next guy will be different. And all too often, we're totally disappointed.

I see Sen. Begich and Sen. Murkowski were questioning the EPA regulations regarding greenhouse gases. The Supreme Court gave the EPA the authority to do so in one of its decisions. Murkowski believes that the United States Congress is better suited to deal with the greenhouse gas issue. Really? You mean all of those scientists that reside there? I think that's a wonderful idea. Let's give lobbyists the power to oversee the environment. Simply brilliant Senator.

Murkowski is utilizing some weird, hardly ever used, process to bring a bill to the floor and have the EPA take a back seat to the will of Senators and their biggest donors. I just don't understand why.

Sen. Begich said that he's okay with the EPA. But they needed to explain themselves to him regarding their timeline for going after big utility companies that cause a great deal of our greenhouse gases. Begich agreed with Murkowski, at first, but then backed down and changed his mind after speaking directly with the EPA Director.

Thank you Sen. Begich for giving the green light to the agency to go do their job. Please, just focus on forcing healthcare on us and let the EPA do their job.

Speaking of bizarre stuff, what the heck is this law that Mayor Sullivan wants to adopt giving buses a green light every time they hit an intersection? I know it's a little more detailed than that, but, basically, if you take certain buses in the morning then the light turns green for you and you get to work quicker. Who wants that to happen? And tough luck if you're late. Suffer like the rest of us in traffic.

This is considered important legislation? The only time you get to be early is when you're on your way to your own funeral. Otherwise, get a travel mug and a donut and act grumpy like everybody else.

By the way, how many people are taking the bus to work or would if the law is passed? Not many.