It’s probably a good bet that Memorial Day is simply nodded off as a “day off” for the masses spent on resting, vegging out, and not doing a darn thing all day. Makes sense — after a whole school year and work year, as summer hits, you’d want to just kick back and relax. Just remember, though, where Memorial Day came from.
 
This is about the country you live in.
 
The reality is it doesn’t take a whole lot to show your patriotism, your love for your country, and your heart for America in fun ways without being a fanatic. Remember, this is a 3-day weekend; you’re definitely not going to stay inside for all three days.
 
It’s Like Halloween
 
One way to go is to dress in the patriotic colors: red, white, and blue. You can even dress your dog up like Uncle Sam. Costumes make it fun,and get your American spirit going.
 
Family Outdoor Fun
 
On one day of that weekend, follow this plan for the best cookout of the year:
 
• Buy a few American flags to sit on your backyard benches.
• Purchase red-white-blue napkins.
• Invite the whole family.
 
This occasion should not only commemorate the beginning of summer, but the fact that our country is what it is because of all those who have sacrificed their lives before us. Even your dessert could be a large sheet cake decorated with flags, colors, and all other sorts of American memorabilia.
 
And Then, There’s the Parade
 
One of the best things for the family to do is enjoy a Memorial Day parade — probably one of the best parades to watch. It’s fantastic for the kids to watch, because they get a taste of what America really is.
 
A Family Tradition – Take a Vacation
 
Since we’re talking about the end of the school year and you’ve got maybe a week in vacation stored up from work, make it a point to celebrate your Memorial Day weekend with a road trip of sorts to a historical landmark. Treat it as a tradition. Your family will appreciate the history and the meaning behind Memorial Day, as well as the 3-day weekend, a lot more if there are memories behind all of it. If you’re really ambitious, a trip to South Dakota would suffice. Imagine the looks on your kids’ faces as they see Mt. Rushmore before them.
 
Just a 3-day weekend? Get off the couch and put down the remote control. Take your kids somewhere fun. Do something fun.
 
Remember this: Memorial Day represents countless generations dating back to the Revolution. It might be three days to you, but to America, it’s so much more than that. Patriotism these days has gotten such a bad rap. That all has to change. We should feel good about taking pride in being American. Just do it as a family and not as a fanatic. When you think about it, that’s what America is all about: family.

The polling has been great for Sherrod Brown for 2012.

Back in December of last year, shortly after Ohio was pretty much ground zero for the Democratic wipeout in the 2010 midterm, Sherrod Brown was looking like he was in dire shape, polling in the low 40s. A funny thing happened since then, though: people got to see what it’s like again to have Republicans in charge (in Ohio’s case, with John Kasich in charge as governor, who at this point would lose to Ted Strickland by 25 points in a PPP hypothetical-rematch poll). The overall shift in the direction of the political winds — particularly pronounced in Ohio — has taken what initially looked like a Tossup, given a decent GOP challenger, and it turned it into what’s looking like a snooze instead, with Brown racking up leads in the vicinity of 20 and hovering around the magic ’50′ mark.

Kasich is a complete disaster for the GOP in Ohio. President Obama should be feeling better as well.

If you work in the health care field, especially in medical billing, you’re probably interested in the kinds of changes that Obama Care will create. There’s been a lot of talk about it, and there are plenty of misconceptions. In order to know what’s true and what isn’t when it comes to medical billing issues and other concerns surrounding Obama Care, it’s very important to take a look at what it involves and what that could mean for people who deal with health care in their daily jobs. Medical billing is a great job, and it’s one that’s always in demand.

Obama Care isn’t going to harm that. If anything, it’s going to raise the need for medical billing specialists as more people seek out doctors under their new insurance coverage.

Children with Pre-Existing Conditions Cannot Be Dropped From Coverage

New insurance plans would prohibit excluding children with pre-existing conditions. That will have a big effect on medical billing specialists and anyone who works in that field, because there will be more sick children covered by insurance and seeing the doctor more often. More billing staff may be needed to handle the workload, and the current medical billing specialists may find that they have more opportunities for overtime and longer work hours to keep up with demand.

Insurance Companies Can’t Drop People for Getting Sick

People can’t be dropped from coverage when they get sick. This is good news, because insurance companies shouldn’t be able to just drop people unless they have a very good reason. Getting sick isn’t a good reason to lose insurance. Like stopping the exclusion for children with pre-existing conditions, the inability to drop people who get sick will create a need for more medical billing specialists – a career that people getting into the workforce today should consider.

Increased Taxes Will Pay for Job Expansion

There will be more than $500 billion in tax hikes in order to cover the costs of taking care of more people who are required to be insured. At first, medical billing professionals may be overworked, but they could also welcome the extra hours in a tight economy were holding onto a job that pays well is important. As the industry adjusts to changes created by health care insurance reform, it will like adjust to increased demand by hiring new professionals and creating new positions within the industry. This gives current medical billing professionals the opportunity to take a step forward in their careers. It also creates new opportunities for individuals looking for career opportunities in the medical billing industry.

For people in the medical billing field, there are some definite advantages to Obama Care’s changes in health care insurance regulations. Naturally, it’s good that there will be plenty of work for them, and it’s also very important that there will be new job openings as new medical billing positions are created. The increased demand could create new opportunities for medical bill professionals who want the opportunity to work more and find new opportunities within the field.