See, this is why I hate math. Numbers aren't any more reliable than the politicians who toss them around like Scripture.

Case in point: On the eve of the House getting back to the business of repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Department of Health and Human Services just happens to release a study touting the millions who'd be left out in the cold without the landmark legislation.

According to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' number-crunchers, anywhere between 50 and 129 million Americans could be classified as having pre-existing conditions, which would – in theory – prevent them from picking up coverage in the private sector. So, without the PPACA ban on pre-existing, the scary headline hints at a nation full of sick uninsureds wandering the streets of foreclosed housing developments like the ghosts haunting some modern-day version of a Great Depression bread line.