Health Care

So, I haven't posted on here in forever. Kind of lost my interest in political blogging, just so damn depressing. Anyway, Morales asked for my assessment of the health care debacle, so, here we go...(originally an email sent to Morales)

Granted, I haven't read the bill, its over 2000 god damn pages long. So everything I know about it is gathering other peoples opinions on it, and making my own decisions.

I'll start with the constitutionality of bill. A number of states are challenging whether the bill is constitutional. In the strictest sense, there is no way in hell it is. But the constitution doesn't stand for its original intent anymore. I wish it did. Anyway, pretty much every piece of legislation congress passes they use the commerce clauseto give themselves authority. The commerce clause says that congress can regulate and legislate interstate commerce. With this bill, they are legislating 1/6 of the US economy. Thats a shit ton of commerce. Anyway, the biggest constitutional sticking point it the individual mandate. This bill requires every breathing American citizen to purchase insurance from a private company, or they'll fine you. This is probably the biggest anti-liberty action in US history (aside from slavery). The federal government is not allowed to MAKE you purchase any product just as a condition of being a citizen. The slippery slope argument is that if the government makes you buy insurance, then you'll be forced to only buy cars from American auto makers, or forced to buy widget X from Company Z. The government simply can't make you do that. You'll hear the argument that the government makes you buy auto insurance. This argument doesn't hold water. You aren't required to buy auto insurance just to be a citizen. You are required if you use the privelage of public roads. If you were to have a vehicle only driven on private property, you wouldn't need insurance. Also, the only auto insurance you're required to purchase is liability, i.e. the potential damage you cause to other people and things. Since you are taking that risk to the public as a driver, this makes sense. It doesn't compare anything to Health insurance.

There is also worries relating to the your right to privacy. Many parts of the constitution protect your right to privacy, mainly the 4th and 5th ammendment. With the government taking more and more control of health care, it becomes more and more likely they'll have more access to your private medical information, which is no business of theirs. There is no reason for the government to know that I have a heart condition. Its a private personal matter.

The other constitutional issues at hand are the 9th and 10th ammendment. The 9th ammendment severely limits the power of the federal government to what is explicitly written in the constitution. Nowhere in the constitution does it say the government is to provide health care for Citizens. The 10th ammendment gives any power not explicitly in the constitution to the states, i.e. states rights. That is why I have no constitutional issues with Massachusets having a similar health care system that this new bill creates. They are given the right to do such things in their own state but the 10th ammendment. But there is no constitutional mandate for a federal health system. (there is also no constitutional mandate for a department of education, among other departments, but that is a whole other can of worms I'm not opening.)

OK, on to the non constitutional scholar stuff. First of all, this bill creates another massive federal bureacracy along the lines of Social Security and Medicare. How many government programs do you know that run efficiently (I know one, the military). How many government programs run on or under budget (waiting, waiting, let me know if you find one). How many federal programs are overrun with corruption (Lots). What makes you think this government program will be any different? Social Security is on its way to being broke. Medicare is on its way to being broke. Where do we plan on finding funding for another massively bloated bureacracy.

Groups pushing for this government takeover of health care say that our health care system is broken. Really? Why do people come from the world over to attend our medical facilities, our medical schools, our clinics. Did you know something like 24 of the last 25 nobel prizes in medicine have been awarded to Americans. You hear about the "evil drug companies". First of all, companies can't be evil, it just isn't possible (another thing I could write about at long length.) These drug companies take millions (and Billions) of dollars searching for and discovering cures to diseases, that are then mass produced to save people across the world. Yeah, they make money, but they provide the greatest medical advances in world history. They aren't doing this with the government, they use private enterprise to move the world forward. Its other countries thats health care systems are broken. People die in western europe because of the rationing of services. Canadians have to wait 12 months to get surgery for blown out knees, replacement hips. Doctors leave these countries to come to the United States because they are allowed the freedom to practice as they want, perform great things, and make money. Government run systems just cause a cluserfuck.

Most doctors give you a discount if you pay cash. Why do you think this is? Because they don't want to deal with bureacratic bullshit, from either insurance companies or the government. More and more doctors don't accept medicare becase Medicare screws them in the payments. They see no incentive to have a bigger market of customers if its just gonna screw them in the long run. One thing this bill does is dump more people on to the Medicare rolls. Without incentive, where is the innovation? Without innovation, we get no progress. You might also have less people entering the medical profession and others leaving the profession because there is no incentive. What happens when supply goes down? Demand goes up. Health care rationing becomes reality, because there are less doctors to perform medical work. Less supply also leads to higher costs. One goal if this bill is to lower costs of health care. Thats an admirable goal. But the way they've approached it is an epic failure. Costs will not go down with rationing of service. The market DOES NOT work that way.

Are there improvements that could be made to the health care industry. Hell yes. Suggestions from Republicans that would lower costs make sense. You know right now it is not possible for you to buy insurance across state lines. This is an unnecessary limit on supply. (Remember, lack of supply=higher costs). Allowing the purchase of insurance across state lines increase supply, puts more pressure on insurance companies to cut costs. You won't find the ability to buy insurance across state lines anywhere in this bill. Another issue is tort reform. Health care costs are higher now than they've ever been partially because of how litigous our society has become. Doctors have to spend upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars on insurance to protect them from someone suing them because they've made a small error. Cut back on lawsuits, cut back on costs.

Thats all I've got for now. I'm sure I've missed some aspects of it. (Notice I didn't even go into abortion). Any questions, fire away. An article I've read recently, covers another aspect of this which I didn't go over, about what will happen in to the US if we are no longer the world leader (on anything). Read it if you like. http://article.nationalreview.com/428996/tattered-liberty/mark-steyn

It Stands on its own.

233 years ago, 56 of our founding fathers signed one of the most important documents in human history. Happy 4th Everybody.

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security...

Also, my earlier post on the Declaration.

Lastly, Remember our troops and thank them if you can.

Summer Fun

As I've said before, not everything is not doom and gloom, so I bring a new Shower Every Hour Feature... The Summer Music Playlist. I'll list a couple songs every so often that for me make up the Sounds of Summer. Some will require explanations, others are quite obvious. Feel Free to play along and add your own in the comments section. (Morales pick and choose as you please)

Lets begin.



Summer isn't complete without the Beach Boys.


Tom Petty will always be my favorite



This album was listened to approximately 274 times summer of 2006 among me and my friends.

Ok, this is fun, until next time.

Vote 'em out...

My new suggestion for how to fix what is wrong with our government (pretty much everything). Vote them All out in 2010. EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM! This means every member of the house. 435 new members in the house. 36 New senators (that is how many seats are up for re-election in 2010. The remaining 64 need to be removed in 2012 or 2014). It is the only way I can see the culture of corruption ending in the congressmen. Unfortunately, some good will have to be swept out with the bad.

There are a number of congressmen I like, even a couple on the other side who I at least respect. This will end the careers of some who have served our country well.But they are tainted, just like every player of baseball's steroid era is tainted. And a number who have served well have served well for way too long. They have lost touch with reality. The only way to remove this stain is to get rid of every last one of them. Most of them are scumbags. Its time to start over.

Now, don't read this as me being in favor term limits, I don't think term limits make sense in the United States Congress. But it is such an utter disaster, it needs to be reset. Start over fresh. It will also serve as an example that the people are the ones who have the power, not the people in office. We are their bosses, the time has come for us to fire all of them for failure to uphold their oath to protect the constitution. Many truly believe in the constitution, but, well thats too bad. Its time to start over. Vote 'em out, EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM!

Quick Hits

Haven't wrote anything for a while, so lets hit a few big stories quickly.

Iran
What a clusterfuck. The Mullah's obviously rigged the elections, which is amazing that they'd have to do that since they put whoever they want on the ballot. Ahmadinejad is nuts, Khamenei really rules the country, but Mousavi is the one the people want. There are rumors that the mullahs are gonna unleash their "Republican Guard", we could see Iran's Tiananmen sqare. Revolution is brewing.

Obamacare
Courtesy of Hot Air, it sounds like moderate Blue Dogs and so called New Democrats are balking at this situation. Thats what happens win conservative budget estimates put the cost at $4 Trillion. As PJ O'Rourke has said, "If you think health care is expensive now, wait until its free."

North Korea
Kim Jong-Il has really lost it. Apparently threatening to fire a missile at Hawaii, I'd really be shocked if they do it. And in all likelihood, this missile would go up about 75 yards, then blow up all over their launch pad. If this does happen, don't we have to go to war? This regime probably needs to be eliminated already, with an act of war like this there is no doubt that we would have to go in there. How long do you think N. Korea could hold on against our military? 2 hours? 1 hour? 6 minutes?

Tasered Grandma
Well she did ask for it. I can't believe the Today host thought the police officer went too far. Typical liberal loon, thinking that our military our police officers are evil when they are just doing their job.

Into the Storm

I changed the quote of the week to a Winston Churchill quote this week, as I just watched HBO's new historical Biopic on Churchill about his leadership through the second world war. A Fantastic film about a brilliant man. Winston Churchill was a man that refused to back down to the growing evil in Europe. He understood that Britain needed to fight Hitler's Germany to the bitter end, for the good of man, Europe, democracy and the world. To paraphrase one of my favorite quotes in the film, those who surrender and are defeated are doomed to servitude, those who fight and are defeated are destined for freedom. Churchill lived as a man fighting for freedom. He also understood he needed America's help. Again as quoted in the film, speaking of Britain he says, "we have managed not to lose the war, we need (the United States) to win it." Churchill is a man who stood by his principles, believed in democracy, and understood how important it was to preserve it. He was willing to fight to the bitter end. As he said in an all time great speech,

"We shall not flag nor fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France
and on the seas and oceans; we shall fight with growing confidence and
growing strength in the air. We shall defend our island whatever the cost
may be; we shall fight on beaches, landing grounds, in fields, in streets
and on the hills. We shall never surrender..."

What does this have to do with our current affairs? President Obama has been on his world apology tour from the beginning of his presidency. He was in Egypt this week continuing to apologize to the Muslim world, calling the United States one of the largest Muslim Nations with our "7 million Muslims". This is all laughable, there are dozens of nations with more Muslims, and a more accurate number would be 1.5 million. Less than one percent. We are not a Muslim nation. We are open to Muslims enjoying our freedoms as much as any other man, but we are not a Muslim nation.

That's not the point I'm trying to make though. Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. Churchill constantly fought the growing extremism in Europe, he understood that evil is to be fought. President Obama is going around the world apoligizing for... well, I don't know what he is apologizing for. Is he apologizing for the fact that Muslim extremists (note extremists, not just average Muslims) hate us and want us to die. We should not be trying to make friends with these evil people, we should be fighting them to the bitter end. Those who want democracy and freedom to die are not going to moderate themselves. Why should we try to appease them. Churchill understood this, and because of that defeated Nazi Germany. The United States is not evil, those who commits acts of terror and want tyranny are. Do not forget history Mr. President.

So...

I was gonna write something, but I decided to watch Conan's debut. So, it will have to wait.