Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev. smiles during a health care reform news conference, Thursday, November 19, 2009, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke)

One by one, the obstacles to a once-unimaginable overhaul of the nation’s $2.5 trillion health care system are tumbling by the wayside.

The Senate’s deliberation this weekend over its prescription for expanding health insurance coverage to most Americans represents, as President Obama noted, another milestone on the road to health-care reform.
 

Despite the entrenched and increasingly shrill opposition from congressional Republicans to any and all comprehensive reform, there is growing reason to hold out hope for success.
 

In predicting on behalf of the GOP that the coming Senate debate will be “a holy war,” veteran Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R., Utah) appears to ignore what most Americans understand about the critical need for reform.
 

»  More Health reform is moving along

Gov. Rendell wants to clean up Harrisburg.

In the wake of another round of indictments alleging corruption in the legislature, Harrisburg is again embracing “reform.”

House Minority Leader Sam Smith (R., Jefferson), whose name appeared frequently in the grand jury’s report despite not being charged, proposed an “ethics officer” to field complaints of misconduct. He also wants rules to bar staffers from campaigning on state time, or using government equipment for campaign work.
Both practices already are illegal — hence the heavy workload of Attorney General Tom Corbett these past two years.
 

Smith sounded very much like former Democratic House leader Bill DeWeese (D., Unindicted) did 16 months ago. He professed shock and surprise that close colleagues in his party’s leadership, including former Speaker John M. Perzel (R., Phila.), allegedly spent public money illegally on political campaigns right under his nose.
 

There’s nothing wrong with Smith’s proposal for corrective action, except it doesn’t go far enough. The culture in Harrisburg of blurring the political and the legislative is too pervasive to be changed by new caucus rules, which could expire later. Smith rightly wants to bar government contractors from making campaign donations, but doesn’t touch needed donor limits.
 

»  More Cleaning up the mess

In this image from video, Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., speaks on the Senate floor Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009, at the Capitol in Washington. Wednesday marked the day when Byrd became the longest-serving member of Congress. (AP Photo/APTV)

Whatever else you might think of him, Sen. Robert Byrd (D., W.<TH>Va.) reached an impressive milestone on Wednesday.

The adopted son of a coal miner became the longest-serving lawmaker ever in the history of Congress: 56 years and 319 days.
 

Byrd, who is in poor health and turned 92 yesterday, is in his ninth term in the Senate. He has served under 11 presidents, beginning with President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953.

The record for congressional longevity had belonged to Carl Hayden of Arizona, who served nearly 57 years in the House and Senate from 1912 to 1969. Three years ago, Byrd surpassed the late Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina as the longest-serving senator.
 

»  More Byrd's long run

AS THE setting sun creates a scarlet and golden reflective glow on the Schuylkill, tired rowers hoist their shell over their heads and turn toward their boathouse ... or, maybe they're just headed east to Jersey, getting an early head start on practice for the errant Dad Vail regatta.

The 75-year-old Dad Vail Regatta hasn’t always been held in Philadelphia, but since 1953, the Schuylkill has been its home and that’s where it belongs.

Unfortunately, next May the Dad Vail crews will be rowing their boats down the Navesink in North Jersey. That’s where the tony New York suburb of Rumson outbid Philadelphia to host the races. Except the event wasn’t actually put up for bids. Rumson instead waved $250,000 under the noses of the Dad Vail’s organizers and they grabbed it. Philadelphia officials say they didn’t hear about the deal until it was done.
 

The Dad Vail folks certainly had no reason to believe this city would come up with similar cash, given its five-year doubling of fees charged for police, fire, and other services during the event. But would it have hurt to ask?
Rumson Mayor John E. Ekdahl said his town pounced on the opportunity to sponsor the nation’s largest college regatta, and expects big returns in what will be spent at local hotels, restaurants, and stores. Every dollar spent in the Monmouth County town will be a buck Philadelphia misses.
 

But the Rumson deal is only for next year, so Philadelphia can try to bring it back home. To do that, though, a 60 percent drop in corporate sponsorship that the regatta experienced for this year’s race needs to be made up.
The recession has hit local companies hard, but, as the people in Rumson point out, investing in the Dad Vail Regatta brings economic returns that benefit businesses that support the event. Corporate citizens need to step up. And city officials need to reconsider what to charge the race for services.
 

The Dad Vail Regatta has been held here so long that many people probably think its name refers to a local hero. Actually, Harry Emerson “Dad” Vail was a University of Wisconsin crew coach well known for getting his boys to dig deeper when facing adversity. Bringing the race back is a challenge that this city can win.

A federal panel is recommending a radical change to mammogram guidelines, citing evidence that the potential harm outweighs the benefits. (Heather Charles/MCT/File)

The aim of medicine is above all else, to do no harm. But one must wonder if that will be the case with a new medical recommendation on the detection of breast cancer.

For years, experts widely agreed that mammograms beginning at age 40 provided the best way for early detection of breast cancer. But new guidelines released this week by an important federal task force recommend a drastic change and raise new questions about the benefits of testing and exams.

The panel says women don’t need mammograms until they’re 50 and then only every other year, not annually. The potential harm of annual testing outweighs the benefits, the panel found. It was the first breast-cancer reassessment since 2002 by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which typically guides federal policy.
 

The guidelines could have a far-reaching impact in the national debate over health-care reform. About 39 million women undergo mammograms each year in the United States. Critics worry that the policy shift could be a major setback for health, if insurers eventually scale back mammogram coverage for women in their 40s.
 

»  More Breast cancer confusion