Of Health Care, Pomegranates, and Gold November 9, 2009March 16, 2017 Sorry Friday’s column posted so late. If you missed it – especially the uplifting part at the end (who doesn’t need a little uplift on a Monday morning?) – click here. HEALTH CARE If you think Democrats should not filibuster health care reform, consider taking a few seconds to sign this petition. We have to mitigate the anti-choice piece (perhaps grandfather all the existing insurance providers?) or somehow get rid of it altogether. But Saturday night’s House passage was a great step forward. James Musters: ‘Government health care rescues protesters at anti-government health care rally. You just know the irony is lost on those protestors. (‘EMS workers who are employed by the federal government responded to his emergency, treated him, saved his life and transported him to a public hospital.’)’ POMEGRANATES Michael Joblin: ‘The house in Palm Springs that Gil and I just closed on has a 10-foot pomegranate tree in the backyard! I can see 8 or 10 pomegranates at various stages of growth, so it’s a tad more than $3 each [let’s see: if the house was $375,000 and there are 8 pomegranates . . .], but I’m looking forward to enjoying them for the first time in my life. Consider yourself honored! I have picked two to try. Following your suggestion, I will first chill them for a day. I’ll report back tomorrow. Meantime, beware! Pomegranate trees have thorns!’ ☞ They grow on trees? I thought they grew on fruit stands. (And this just in: ‘They taste great!’ Michael reports.) Kathryn Lance: ‘They are lovely trees and the flowers and fruit are beautiful. I have one but have never been moved to try the fruit. The birds love them so much that this year’s crop is out of the question. Maybe next year.’ Mark: ‘I am not a super religious person but a neat fact about pomegranates is biblical. The ten big commandments are further expanded to the total of 613, which happens to be the number of seeds in all pomegranates. But, you probably already knew this.’ ☞ No way! All pomegranates have 613 seeds? Really? Cool! (Well, actually not, but it’s still fun.) GOLD Chris Hanacek: ‘You should link to Less Antman’s SAP portfolio page. He maintains that commodity futures should always be part of the mix (including, but not limited to gold). That they are prudent since they generally move against equities.’