States Prepare To Sue Feds
Mar 23, 2010 Political
Looks like some of the states of these United States have decided to sue the federal government over the recently passed health care takeover bill. Virginia, Florida and at least seven other states are preparing lawsuits challenging the Constitutionality of the insurance mandate the bill contains.
By the year 2014 the federal government will require all people here to buy health insurance. It will be the first time in history that an American has to purchase something to be a citizen in good standing.
The lawsuit from Virginia will contend that forcing people to buy health insurance is unconstitutional and is not regulated by the oft abused Commerce Clause. Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli put it very simply:
“If a person decides not to buy health insurance, that person by definition is not engaging in commerce,” Cuccinelli said in recorded comments. “If you are not engaging in commerce, how can the federal government regulate you?” al-Reuters
He is, of course, correct but whether the courts will see it that way is another thing all together. It is possible that the courts will say the government can require us to buy insurance to have good standing in this country even though this runs contrary to the freedoms our Founders fought so hard to obtain and preserve. Then again, freedom is always only one generation away from extinction and this generation, the Obama generation, is hell bent on taking freedom away.
The other issue is that Virginia passed a law that states its citizens cannot be compelled to buy health insurance. This directly contradicts the federal mandate and will lead to a Tenth Amendment battle. While federal law usually trumps state law the federal government’s law must be Constitutional.
Also, the Constitution specifically states [paraphrase] that the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution nor prohibited to it by the states are reserved to the states or to the people. The Constitution does not give the government power to force people to buy something. It regulates commerce but commerce involves voluntary buying something. As was stated, if you choose not to buy something then there is no commerce.
This is a key part of the legislation because the expected revenue from the mandate is designed to offset covering those with preexisting conditions.
The issue will be interesting because the federal government will claim it has the right to control the states insurance because insurance is commerce but the federal government regulates interstate commerce and insurance companies are prohibited from selling across state lines.
This will likely be an interesting legal challenge that will have an impact for a long time to come. If the court decides the federal government can force you to buy something what will they force us to buy next? Maybe they will say we have to buy GE solar panels before we can own a home. Maybe they will say we have to buy a GM if we want a car.
I can’t imagine the courts will allow this to stand but then again, the SCOTUS allowed private land to be taken for private industry gain which runs afoul of the Fifth Amendment which only allows private property to be taken for public use with just compensation.
I can’t wait to see how this all plays out.
No matter what, the debate over the health care issue will not be settled this week.
If this is allowed I can’t wait to see all the snot nosed kids who voted for Obama when they realize that the law they pushed so hard for does not provide free health care.
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Tags: constitution, florida, health care, lies, virginia
These Kids Will Know It For Real, Soon Enough
Feb 25, 2010 Political
A group of kids in Florida had an exercise where they pretended to live in a communist country in commemoration of the fall of the Berlin Wall. It sounds like a great exercise to get the kids involved and to teach them:
“I’m normally a nice person, but I have to be really firm with these people,” Stephany said. “They must come in, sit down and write this line on paper, front and back.”
The line: “I will serve the glorious East German state better.”
The students copied it repeatedly after watching a propaganda film depicting the evils of Western culture.
~snip~
“This was a project of the history club, and their idea was that students should really have an idea of what it was like to live in a communist state,” said social studies teacher Patricia Johnston, who helped organize the project and served as the lead “comrade.” Herald Tribune
This kind of instruction is very innovative and allows students to experience rather than absorb through reading and verbal instruction.
Unfortunately, the way this country is going these kids might very well find out what life in a communist country is really like.
At least they will be prepared.
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Tags: berlin wall, communism, exercise, florida, school
Florida Senate Race Gets Interesting
Dec 17, 2009 Political
Marco Rubio, who was trailing badly in the polls, has now pulled even with Florida Governor Charlie Crist in their bid for the US Senate. Rubio is a true conservative while Crist is not quite so. Crist supported the stimulus bill and was at events with Barack Obama, facts that Rubio has used to tie Crist to the Democrat leader.
This will be interesting and many Republicans will be watching closely to see how this turns out because it might portend the future for many of them.
Democrats have to be interested as well because if Crist’s ties to Obama turn out to hurt him then many Democrats will be less inclined to believe they can use Obama’s coattails to remain in office.
They should already know that he is not as powerful as he once was by the Virgina and New Jersey Gubernatorial elections. Obama campaigned hard for both Democrats who lost miserably.
Political season is just around the corner and it is going to be quite interesting indeed.
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In Health Care Government Gives Rationing
Oct 19, 2009 Political
The federal government wants to run health care. It is the desire of the Obamatons to take control of this large part of our economy so that it can take control of the people. This is what happens with Social Security and Medicare. Every time there is an election old people are scared to death over threats about cuts in services if the right candidate does not win. They also hear the doom and gloom as excuses for tax increases come into play. The government realizes that a large portion of the elderly vote so the politicians try to placate them.
This year there will be no cost of living increase because the cost of living has not gone up. The Congress is looking to give each SS recipient a $250 check because there will be no COLA. The law says that benefits cannot be reduced so the SS never goes down regardless of how well the economy is doing. The law also says that there is no COLA increase if the COL does not go up so why don’t we stick with the law? The Congress wants to placate the elderly by buying them off.
The real concern should be what will happen to them if the government controls health care. Rationing WILL take place. If the government needs to control costs or if there is a disaster then people not deemed worthy, per Ezekiel Emanuel, will be denied care.
The state of Florida is a prime example. The Florida Department of Health, a state government agency, has issued guidelines to hospitals regarding who is to receive care and who is not should the H1N1 flu cause a shortage of hospital beds.
Florida health officials are drawing up guidelines that recommend barring patients with incurable cancer, end-stage multiple sclerosis and other conditions from being admitted to hospitals if the state is overwhelmed by flu cases. Sun Sentinel
A state government agency has drawn up guidelines on who should be refused care should the flu overwhelm the system. The state agency has given guidance for rationing care.
Take this to the next level and you have the federal government. The federal government will also have guidelines that determine who gets what treatment based on age and general health. A 90 year old person stands little chance of getting a hip replacement or heart surgery if the procedure costs too much based on life expectancy. The big difference is that an emergency need not exist for the feds to ration care. The budget will be a major consideration as a cost is placed on human life. If they only expect you to live a few years more then you will not get what you need.
We see it in place in Florida based on a flu outbreak but the fact that they are deciding now who lives and who dies is a foreshadowing of things to come should government take control of the health care in this country.
No longer will a doctor and patient decide. It will be some bean counter in DC who decides based on life expectancy charts and the budget.
We, as a nation, need to decide that it is time for all members of Congress to be denied what they need to exist. That, of course, would be elected office.
Vote them all out in 2010.
And say no to government run health care.
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Tags: budget, florida, flu, h1n1, health care, Obama, rationing, swine flu
DNC Has a Choice to Make
May 31, 2008 Opinion, Political
The DNC has been put in a terrible bind by the Democratic Politicians in Florida and Michigan who decided that they wanted to hold their primaries early. The DNC told these leaders that if they did so they would not be able to seat their delegates. The states moved their primaries and the candidates all agreed not to campaign in either state because of the DNC ruling. The DNC figured it could be heavy handed with its threats and that the states would back down. When the states did not back down the sanctions were imposed and it did not, at the time, seem like a big deal because Hillary Clinton was the candidate in waiting. Everyone assumed she would be the winner and that is why these states had early primaries, they wanted to have a say in the process.
The Republicans had a front runner in Rudy but took a more conservative approach and decided to strip half of the delegates from any state that went early. This approach has been seen as fair and has caused no real complaints on the Republican side. The Democrats, however, have a real mess on their hands. It did not start out this way. Everyone expected Hillary to win and she, along with the others, agreed that they would not participate in the states that went early and they were all fine with the decisions of the DNC. Then Hillary turned out not to be the winner. She was getting trounced by Obama and all of the sudden she decides that Florida and Michigan should count.
It always seemed to me that the DNC made the wrong decision from the start because they were so damned adamant about every vote counting in 2000 (even all their dead voters and people’s pets). The word disenfranchisement became part of the vocabulary of people who can’t spell DNC and it was the ugly Republicans who were keeping votes from counting. That all turned out to be a bunch of bunk but after all the caterwauling from the Democrats about every vote counting they would come up with something better than not counting every vote.
A lot of people in Florida and Michigan feel disenfranchised (now that they know what it means) and they are upset that their votes, so far do not count. The DNC feels that it has to at least give the appearance of being tough and having rules but they do not want to tick off people in two states they must have to win. What message will they send? Will they keep it so that no votes count and risk losing the states or will they allow some or all of the delegates to be seated thus telling people that while the DNC has rules it is OK to break them. Unless they stick to their original edict, one which all parties knew and agreed to, then they are waffling in favor of politics. How can we expect these people to run our country when they have no respect for rules, not even the ones they establish?
To the Democrats in Michigan and Florida, it was your party leaders who allowed this to happen. If you want to be mad be mad at them. Vote them out of office and replace them with people who can lead. As for being disenfranchised, that is what happens when you allow greed to top the rules. Your states were so greedy to make a difference that they broke the rules. Don’t worry, we in the Republican party would welcome you with open arms. We will count your votes. You Hillary supporters who think she got shafted, vote for our guy to show your party that you disapprove of their leadership. You Obama supporters who feel that he is getting screwed because he did not campaign in those states and therefore did not do well (to know him is to love him) vote for McCain just to show your party that you will not be taken for granted. We will not disenfranchise you like your party did.
The Democrats are working this out. They will bend the rules in some fashion to allow at least some of the delegates to be seated. This is contrary to the rules they established but they are trying to appease people. They are the party of appeasement and they have a candidate in the lead who will meet with unfriendly nations without precondition so that he can appease them. This is the DNC platform, appeasement and they are showing it with regard to Florida and Michigan.
They want to be everything to everybody and that is not leadership.
Related items:
Yahoo News
Yahoo News 2
Tags: delegates, disenfranchise, dnc, florida, michigan, primary