Healthcare Reform

A Step Back From The Cliff

15 Comments / News, Politics

A lot of Americans are upset about the passage of the Healthcare Reform Bill. Depending on what poll you read, somewhere between 30 and 50% of the country’s citizens don’t approve of these changes.

Rumors about what is and is not in the Bill are flying around like flies at a picnic, and rumors weren’t the only things flying today. Bricks were thrown through the office windows of some members of congress who voted for the Bill, and one Congressman’s brother, whose house was mistaken for the residence of the Congressman, had his gas line cut. 

This is not how Americans settle our differences: It is how third world countries and dictators settle theirs. We need to take a step back and take a deep breath. There’s an election coming up in 8 months, and it’s at the ballot box that Americans should express their frustration and disapproval.

This behavior is beneath us and weakens our moral authority. .

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An Uncertain Future…Healthcare Reform

7 Comments / News, Politics

Well, it’s happened, the Healthcare Reform Bill is passed. It certainly isn’t anything I would have voted for if a member of Congress, but it’s going to be the law of the land. Now all we can do is hope for the best. On a personal basis what I hope for is that this knot I have in my stomach is a result of the usual human reaction to change, and not a harbinger of pain and discord that is to come.

I’ve been interested in politics since I was a teenager and it is not hyperbole to say that I’ve never seen an administration so determined to pass something against the will of the majority of the people who elected them.

Perhaps our grandparents felt the same way when Social Security was enacted and our parents when Medicare came to be, but I don’t recall ever hearing anyone from either of those generations being as opposed to those social changes as I’ve heard against the Healthcare Bill.

I have an overwhelming sense of sadness tonight, like something has been lost that will never be recovered. In an effort to dispel the gloom, I’m going to try to think about someone “out there” who has suffered because they didn’t have health insurance and be happy for them that they will now be covered.

I just wish we could have accomplished that goal in a more direct, straightforward manner that addressed their specific needs without creating this monster of a Bill that I fear is going to eat us alive. 

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State’s Rights Showdown

10 Comments / News, Politics

dont_tread_on_meSince reentering the blogosphere I have consciously avoided highly controversial subjects, especially those involving national politics, preferring instead to focus time and energy on my work and my causes…areas where I can impact my own life or the lives of others rather than be frustrated over something I can’t control.

As a writer and observer of the human condition, some things are too fascinating to ignore. An issue that could be of historical importance is starting to appear in the national dialog: The unconstitutionality of the healthcare bill. There are those who believe that under no interpretation of our Founding Document can you mandate the citizens of this country, private or corporate, to buy health insurance, or levy a fine against them when they don’t comply.

A groundswell of people and states who agree with that premise seems to be building. Idaho has been the first to pass legislation ordering the state Attorney General to sue the federal government if the healthcare bill becomes law. Similar legislation is pending in 37 other states.

According to some Constitutional scholars, the Constitution’s “supremacy clause ” which gives the federal government ultimate control over the states may win out, but with so many states willing to put up a fight, we may just find that healthcare reform has an unintended consequence…a Constitutional Convention.

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