The recent political chatter about “Obamacare” before the Supreme Court of the United States got a great deal of media attention.  President Obama added fuel to the fire when he declared, “Ultimately, I am confident the Supreme Court will not take what would be an unprecedented, extraordinary step of overturning a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected Congress.”

For someone who was a law professor those words were absurd.  Even if a bill passed unanimously in the house and senate, it could still be overturned – if the law was in violation of the Constitution.

1. Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives took the time to pass legislation prohibiting gay marriage and “marriage-like” ceremonies on military bases, and limiting reprimand for soldiers voicing opposition to gay soldiers. This was the big accomplishment of the week. This is what our leaders are focused on. This is the way it’s going to be until after Election Day.

2. Fifty-five days after Election Day, possibly in the middle of multiple transitions in the executive and legislative branches, the payroll-tax cut, investment tax credit and enhanced unemployment insurance will all expire. Also expiring are the so-called Bush tax cuts. At the same time, the automatic, across-the-board cuts in domestic and defense spending that were part of the debt ceiling agreement will kick in, including the immediate “sequestering” of $100 billion in federal spending.

Casey Stengel, the New York Mets’ manager in their inaugural season, was one of the first two individuals inducted into the Mets’ Hall of Fame. I imagine few Mets fans, however, can name the other.

Yet Joan Payson (1903-1975), a Manhasset resident who purchased a nearly 80 percent ownership stake in the Mets when they were first created, is finally getting her due thanks to two native New Yorkers now working at academic institutions in Ohio and Connecticut.