I wonder if this has anything to do with health care costs?

Researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston compared the results of two large-scale surveys of the U.S. population regarding adherence to five healthy lifestyle habits.

According to their findings (click title to link to article), between 1988 and 2006:

The percentage of obese adults between 40 and 74 (determined by body mass index of 30 or higher) increased from 28% to 36%, reinforcing findings of many studies indicating Americans are getting fatter.
Physical activity 12 times or more per month among people in that age group declined from 53% to 43%.
Smoking rates remained essentially flat, going from 26.9% to 26.1%.
Those people eating five or more fruits and vegetables daily dropped from 42% to 26%.
Moderate alcohol use increased from 40% to 51%. Moderate use was defined as having up to one drink daily for women and two for men.

I keep hearing about our life expectancy compared to other countries. That if our health care was so great, we'd be the healthiest country in the world. It's very easy to blame "the big bad insurance companies" or the "wealthy doctors," but isn't the real problem us? Aren't insurance prices soaring because, not only do we cover all the uninsured ER visits, but the rise in costs to take care of the "smoke, drink, and eat bacon double cheeseburgers" society we live in?

Anger in Politics

The first thing I'll say is that it definitely seems as if it's gone too far. There really seems to be no middle ground.
What I don't get are the Democrats who "can't believe" the conservative Right would use rhetoric like "Hitler" and "Fascist" and "Socialism."
Politics has always been divisive. But it was in fact the Democrats who took it to a whole new level during the Bush Administration. As a matter of fact, these were the first times the "Fascist" and "Hitler" terms started being tossed around.
They mocked his speeches. They booed at the State of the Union. They sang "nana nana, hey hey, goodbye" at the Obama inauguration.
So while of course it doesn't make it right to do, isn't it the Democrats that took classlessness to a whole new level in politics, and Republicans are just giving it back? The Democrats created the current political climate that they're suddenly shocked by.

What is the real Health Care Crisis?

We've heard the numbers thrown around. 50 million. 47 million. Last time Obama talked, he said 30 million.
I found a good article that breaks down the actual numbers (click on title to link to full article).

"A closer look at that report reveals the Census data include 9.487 million people who are “not a citizen.” Subtracting the 10 million non-Americans, the number of uninsured Americans falls to roughly 37 million."
"Many of the same people pushing the incorrect numbers of uninsured Americans also claim that these people cannot “afford” insurance."
"But according to the same Census report, there are 8.3 million uninsured people who make between $50,000 and $74,999 per year and 8.74 million who make more than $75,000 a year. That’s roughly 17 million people who ought to be able to “afford” health insurance because they make substantially more than the median household income of $46,326."

"So what is the true extent of the uninsured “crisis?” The Kaiser Family Foundation, a liberal non-profit frequently quoted by the media, puts the number of uninsured Americans who do not qualify for current government programs and make less than $50,000 a year between 13.9 million and 8.2 million."

So ultimately we're talking about roughly 10 million. And how many of those are uninsured for 6 months, say between jobs?
That being said, I have no problem coming up with a solution to help those in need. But do we need over 1,000 pages of bureaucracy? And do we need to continue to lie about how many are uninsured and can't afford it? Let's put away the "guilt" that the democrats love and try to solve a problem that leaves roughly 10 million Americans uninsured.