Received on 11/21/09
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Showing posts with label government. Show all posts
Showing posts with label government. Show all posts
Monday, November 23, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
The Wedge
It appears the abortion debate is starting to heat up in the issue of Health Care reform and I feel the need to speak. So let me start by stating some of my basic positions for all who care. First of all, I am against any health care reform that places the federal government in the position of providing health insurance or making any decisions in health care. I am okay with the government providing rules that help protect its citizens. That's what they're there for. I believe that if the government gets too involved there will be domino effect not only for health care but many more rights and basic freedoms as well. Some could argue health care is not the first domino to fall by a long shot. Second of all, I am against abortion. Period. I do not support it. And I do not want my government legitimizing it, let alone paying for it with my tax dollars.
I strongly believe that any goverment that begins to pass laws that devalue life, and specifically the lives of those who are weakest and least able to fight back, is a government that has numbered its days. So you can put me on the record as saying that unless our goverment changes its ways, its days are numbered. Furthermore, it's been a while now since this happened with regards to abortion and we may now be seeing the end of our government. It won't fall to violence and no enemy from the outside will have had any affect. Instead the enemy came from within. It reared its ugly head and, in the names of intellectualism, atheism and emotionalism, succeeded in eroding the most basic and fundamental of all rights our constitution was meant to protect: life.
I'm not happy about this. I can't even climb to the mountain-tops and cry "I Told You So!" Truthfully these decisions were made before I ever had a voice and an opinion. I know this is harsh but I have to say it: a government that refuses to protect the lives (in principle at the very least) of the least in its care, is no better than the worst governments history has seen. There, I said it.
I desire to see our nation reformed from the people up. That's the nature of being a pastor. And as a pastor you hope that your government, tasked with the creating and enforcing the very laws that protect its citizens, will be a secular aid in that reform rather than a force that legitimizes the most sinful practices of its people. The moral fiber of our nation has been deteriorating for many years and there's not much left to erode.
Now let me get to my most major concerns for our nation. I've titled this blog "The Wedge" because I believe it describes President Obama and our current governmental change. When splitting a very large log a woodsmen often will use a wedge. I've split a few logs in my life for firewood and I've found placing a wedge into split on the wood is a good way to force that split to continue until the log is separated into two pieces. I believe President Obama has become a wedge in a nation that can already be represented by a log with a big split in it. He seems intent on ramming that wedge through the split so that what will be left behind is two or more pieces.
I'm not really certain he realizes that he is doing this but I'm not certain he doesn't realize it either. His selection of leaders around him is dubious at best and one has to wonder where his real allegience really lies. Even Hitler believed he was a patriot trying to save Germany from ruin. I'm not trying to compare Obama to Hitler and I'm certainly not calling him a Hitler. That would be a tremendous afront to Obama and I have no desire to disrespect my president and especially not the office of president. I am, however, looking a lot of strange facts, people, and mysterious changes that point towards possibilities I'm afraid to even think about. I'll leave it at that, for now. I'm not a conspiracy theorist but I will call a spade a spade.
So where is our nation heading? To put it bluntly, I believe that what our President is doing has every possibility of leading to a re-formation of America. Our federal government is going further than it ever has in ignoring the constitution by which it was formed and is governed. It is well outside of the original boundaries set up by our founding fathers. With all this in mind we need to be careful not to under-estimate the power of the people to create change. If pushed far enough I believe the average American is well capable of taking to the streets to affect change and there are plenty who would use violence to do so. (I'm not advocating violence, please read the first blog on this site to understand my foundations.)
We've been seeing a lot of people speaking out across our nation against health care. The part that frightens me is not the shouting and sometimes inappropriate behavior of protestors but rather the reaction by those who are pushing all these changes in government. The reaction is to marginalize the voices of passionate Americans. They offer no legitimacy to their opinions no matter how great the opposition. Even polls that show a majority of Americans are against the changes they are pushing are dismissed as wrong and the result of immoral tactics by their opposition.
Even in a time when the Republican party is in such disarray they are still blamed for something requiring a tremendous amount of organisation and influence. This isn't coming from the Republican party, it's coming from the people. Not democrats and republicans but rather Americans. Our governmental leaders are doing their best to ignore their own constituents. This is not a tactic often used by American politicians because it leads to them losing their jobs. And it likely will in 2010 as well. What frightens me, however, is that these politicians are fighting so hard to marginalize the American people who have given them the power they have. These tactics, if allowed to be carried to their logical end, will result in something much different than a government based on the liberty of its people.
We may well be experiencing the takeover of America as we speak. It's a movement from within and only the American people can stop it. If left to go far enough it will indeed descend into violence and end of America as we know it. I would not be surprised to see America split into many smaller countries. What really concerns me is how fast we are moving towards it. The political makeup of our government is likely to change drastically in the elections of 2010. This offers me hope if we can hang on that long. I have to admit to having some doubt, however. Things are moving so quickly right now that our country could split before then.
Last year I heard the predictions of some Russian professors that our nation would split by 2012. When I heard those predictions I thought they were crazy, not about the splitting of our nation so much as the time line. I figured it would take much longer and we would have many opportunities to keep it from happening. Now, I think they may have been too generous in offering a four year timeline. We've degenerated so quickly I now believe it could happen within the next year.
I hope not. I hope I'm wrong. I hope I'm writing blogs next year in which I am eating crow. I want to be wrong. So please, America, prove me wrong. Make me wrong. Let's fix our country now while there's still time. Before there is divorce the likes of which haven't been seen in our country since the Civil War. Before we see violence that splits America in a way much more final way than the current leaders have idealogically.
I strongly believe that any goverment that begins to pass laws that devalue life, and specifically the lives of those who are weakest and least able to fight back, is a government that has numbered its days. So you can put me on the record as saying that unless our goverment changes its ways, its days are numbered. Furthermore, it's been a while now since this happened with regards to abortion and we may now be seeing the end of our government. It won't fall to violence and no enemy from the outside will have had any affect. Instead the enemy came from within. It reared its ugly head and, in the names of intellectualism, atheism and emotionalism, succeeded in eroding the most basic and fundamental of all rights our constitution was meant to protect: life.
I'm not happy about this. I can't even climb to the mountain-tops and cry "I Told You So!" Truthfully these decisions were made before I ever had a voice and an opinion. I know this is harsh but I have to say it: a government that refuses to protect the lives (in principle at the very least) of the least in its care, is no better than the worst governments history has seen. There, I said it.
I desire to see our nation reformed from the people up. That's the nature of being a pastor. And as a pastor you hope that your government, tasked with the creating and enforcing the very laws that protect its citizens, will be a secular aid in that reform rather than a force that legitimizes the most sinful practices of its people. The moral fiber of our nation has been deteriorating for many years and there's not much left to erode.
Now let me get to my most major concerns for our nation. I've titled this blog "The Wedge" because I believe it describes President Obama and our current governmental change. When splitting a very large log a woodsmen often will use a wedge. I've split a few logs in my life for firewood and I've found placing a wedge into split on the wood is a good way to force that split to continue until the log is separated into two pieces. I believe President Obama has become a wedge in a nation that can already be represented by a log with a big split in it. He seems intent on ramming that wedge through the split so that what will be left behind is two or more pieces.
I'm not really certain he realizes that he is doing this but I'm not certain he doesn't realize it either. His selection of leaders around him is dubious at best and one has to wonder where his real allegience really lies. Even Hitler believed he was a patriot trying to save Germany from ruin. I'm not trying to compare Obama to Hitler and I'm certainly not calling him a Hitler. That would be a tremendous afront to Obama and I have no desire to disrespect my president and especially not the office of president. I am, however, looking a lot of strange facts, people, and mysterious changes that point towards possibilities I'm afraid to even think about. I'll leave it at that, for now. I'm not a conspiracy theorist but I will call a spade a spade.
So where is our nation heading? To put it bluntly, I believe that what our President is doing has every possibility of leading to a re-formation of America. Our federal government is going further than it ever has in ignoring the constitution by which it was formed and is governed. It is well outside of the original boundaries set up by our founding fathers. With all this in mind we need to be careful not to under-estimate the power of the people to create change. If pushed far enough I believe the average American is well capable of taking to the streets to affect change and there are plenty who would use violence to do so. (I'm not advocating violence, please read the first blog on this site to understand my foundations.)
We've been seeing a lot of people speaking out across our nation against health care. The part that frightens me is not the shouting and sometimes inappropriate behavior of protestors but rather the reaction by those who are pushing all these changes in government. The reaction is to marginalize the voices of passionate Americans. They offer no legitimacy to their opinions no matter how great the opposition. Even polls that show a majority of Americans are against the changes they are pushing are dismissed as wrong and the result of immoral tactics by their opposition.
Even in a time when the Republican party is in such disarray they are still blamed for something requiring a tremendous amount of organisation and influence. This isn't coming from the Republican party, it's coming from the people. Not democrats and republicans but rather Americans. Our governmental leaders are doing their best to ignore their own constituents. This is not a tactic often used by American politicians because it leads to them losing their jobs. And it likely will in 2010 as well. What frightens me, however, is that these politicians are fighting so hard to marginalize the American people who have given them the power they have. These tactics, if allowed to be carried to their logical end, will result in something much different than a government based on the liberty of its people.
We may well be experiencing the takeover of America as we speak. It's a movement from within and only the American people can stop it. If left to go far enough it will indeed descend into violence and end of America as we know it. I would not be surprised to see America split into many smaller countries. What really concerns me is how fast we are moving towards it. The political makeup of our government is likely to change drastically in the elections of 2010. This offers me hope if we can hang on that long. I have to admit to having some doubt, however. Things are moving so quickly right now that our country could split before then.
Last year I heard the predictions of some Russian professors that our nation would split by 2012. When I heard those predictions I thought they were crazy, not about the splitting of our nation so much as the time line. I figured it would take much longer and we would have many opportunities to keep it from happening. Now, I think they may have been too generous in offering a four year timeline. We've degenerated so quickly I now believe it could happen within the next year.
I hope not. I hope I'm wrong. I hope I'm writing blogs next year in which I am eating crow. I want to be wrong. So please, America, prove me wrong. Make me wrong. Let's fix our country now while there's still time. Before there is divorce the likes of which haven't been seen in our country since the Civil War. Before we see violence that splits America in a way much more final way than the current leaders have idealogically.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
The President is Upset
So I was watching FoxNews earlier and I saw a tirade by the President about all this misinformation out there about government health care reform. The president was upset and what he was saying made me upset. So here I am ranting again.
At issue are these Death Panels those idiots that oppose health care reform keep talking about. The president states as a matter of fact that the people perpetuating this claim are the ones who have the most to gain by killing reform. He also states as a matter of fact that any honest read of the health care bill will show that there are no death panels being set up.
So let me tell you why this upsets me. I'm upset because my president doesn't see what I see and has closed himself off to seeing what I see. So let me put it this way: any scenario where the government offers plans (public option) will lead to pushing private health care providers out of the market so that more of the burden will fall upon the government until, eventually, the entire burden of health care is upon the government's shoulders. The money we spend on government health care has to come at someone's expense and, eventually, that expense will be shouldered by the tax-payer. Even then, health care rationing will eventually come into play. I don't care if it's tomorrow, five years from now, or fifty years from now, we are opening the door to that inevitable future. Rationing equals death panel. Rationing eventually leads to asking the question "who is most worthy of the limited dollars we have to put towards health care?" This leads to a devaluing of the lives of those considered to have less to offer society (elderly, handicapped, smokers, obese, etc.). Inevitably this leads to only a few who receive care, healthy persons who have the most to offer society.
It's like the movie "Lifeboat" by Alfred Hitchcock. In this movie an ocean liner is destroyed by a Nazi U-Boat and then the U-Boat is destroyed. There are survivors floating around from both ships in one small lifeboat. What ensues is a battle over who is worthy to lead and who should be thrown overboard because they offer the least value to the ultimate survival of those involved.
Where does it stop? I don't know the answer to that question but I do know where it begins. It begins with a government-run health care system where a third and disinterested party becomes involved in the ultimate decision making process about my health.
I'm an overweight 37 year old minister. How long until they toss me overboard? I may not be the first to go but I assure you I won't be around to the end in the Lifeboat scenario.
But here's what concerns me the most about what the president is saying. I am left to draw one of two conclusions about how he sees this issue: first, he is failing to see the logical end of the road this health care bill is on or, second, he does see it and he's lying to the American people because that's exactly what he wants. If I take the first option I'm left with the conclusion that my president does not have the cognitive faculties required of a president and perhaps it's time we throw him overboard. If I take the second option I'm left with the conclusion that my president is a liar who will say whatever he has to in order to get his way and our only hope is that the American people will see through the facade and deny him his want. Why would he want the American people to become totally dependant on the government? Good question. I don't like the answer and neither should you.
I guess there is a third option: the answer is both one and two.
So, Mr. President, stop calling me an idiot. Stop trying to shove this plan down my throat. I will oppose any option in health care where the government has too much vested interest. The Public Option is not the answer. The government should not be involved in my health care.
At issue are these Death Panels those idiots that oppose health care reform keep talking about. The president states as a matter of fact that the people perpetuating this claim are the ones who have the most to gain by killing reform. He also states as a matter of fact that any honest read of the health care bill will show that there are no death panels being set up.
So let me tell you why this upsets me. I'm upset because my president doesn't see what I see and has closed himself off to seeing what I see. So let me put it this way: any scenario where the government offers plans (public option) will lead to pushing private health care providers out of the market so that more of the burden will fall upon the government until, eventually, the entire burden of health care is upon the government's shoulders. The money we spend on government health care has to come at someone's expense and, eventually, that expense will be shouldered by the tax-payer. Even then, health care rationing will eventually come into play. I don't care if it's tomorrow, five years from now, or fifty years from now, we are opening the door to that inevitable future. Rationing equals death panel. Rationing eventually leads to asking the question "who is most worthy of the limited dollars we have to put towards health care?" This leads to a devaluing of the lives of those considered to have less to offer society (elderly, handicapped, smokers, obese, etc.). Inevitably this leads to only a few who receive care, healthy persons who have the most to offer society.
It's like the movie "Lifeboat" by Alfred Hitchcock. In this movie an ocean liner is destroyed by a Nazi U-Boat and then the U-Boat is destroyed. There are survivors floating around from both ships in one small lifeboat. What ensues is a battle over who is worthy to lead and who should be thrown overboard because they offer the least value to the ultimate survival of those involved.
Where does it stop? I don't know the answer to that question but I do know where it begins. It begins with a government-run health care system where a third and disinterested party becomes involved in the ultimate decision making process about my health.
I'm an overweight 37 year old minister. How long until they toss me overboard? I may not be the first to go but I assure you I won't be around to the end in the Lifeboat scenario.
But here's what concerns me the most about what the president is saying. I am left to draw one of two conclusions about how he sees this issue: first, he is failing to see the logical end of the road this health care bill is on or, second, he does see it and he's lying to the American people because that's exactly what he wants. If I take the first option I'm left with the conclusion that my president does not have the cognitive faculties required of a president and perhaps it's time we throw him overboard. If I take the second option I'm left with the conclusion that my president is a liar who will say whatever he has to in order to get his way and our only hope is that the American people will see through the facade and deny him his want. Why would he want the American people to become totally dependant on the government? Good question. I don't like the answer and neither should you.
I guess there is a third option: the answer is both one and two.
So, Mr. President, stop calling me an idiot. Stop trying to shove this plan down my throat. I will oppose any option in health care where the government has too much vested interest. The Public Option is not the answer. The government should not be involved in my health care.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
The Public Option
So FoxNews is reporting that the Obama administration is starting to open up to the idea of taking the public option for Health Insurance off the table in order to compromise.
"On Sunday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the so-called public option -- a government-run health care plan that would be just one component of a broader health care overhaul -- is "not the essential element."
She suggested the White House could settle for a system of insurance cooperatives instead, something the Senate Finance Committee is considering."
This is at: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/08/16/town-halls-having-impact-white-house-bends-health-care-provision-face/
Now we're getting somewhere. I'm not against government oversight (done properly), I just don't want to see the government offer and provide competitive insurance. It's not their business and they need to a more governmentally appropriate role in this system.
Let's fix it, not replace it.
"On Sunday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the so-called public option -- a government-run health care plan that would be just one component of a broader health care overhaul -- is "not the essential element."
She suggested the White House could settle for a system of insurance cooperatives instead, something the Senate Finance Committee is considering."
This is at: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/08/16/town-halls-having-impact-white-house-bends-health-care-provision-face/
Now we're getting somewhere. I'm not against government oversight (done properly), I just don't want to see the government offer and provide competitive insurance. It's not their business and they need to a more governmentally appropriate role in this system.
Let's fix it, not replace it.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
47 Million Uninsured
There has been a lot of talk lately about all these uninsured Americans when it comes to Health Insurance. I watched an interesting episode of Huckabee last night in which Mike Huckabee suggests that number is actually quite different. You see, you have to take away the number of people in that figure that are illegal immigrants (10 to 12 million), those who make more than $50,000 a year and choose not to pay for health insurance (17 million), those currently qualify for government programs but do not enroll, and those who are merely in transition and will likely have health insurance again within the next 4 months.
Huckabee's numbers come down to about 5 million who want health insurance but can't afford it. I've seen other estimates from 8.2 million to 13.9 million and there's an interesting article on all this at http://businessandmedia.org/articles/2007/20070718153509.aspx.
So do we really need universal health care to reach those who want it but can't afford it? The numbers suggest there could be much cheaper and easier ways to simply fix the problems we have and extend coverage to those people.
Being in the under $50,000 a year class, but with health insurance, I submit to everyone that a little education could go along way for those who want it but don't feel they could afford it. It may not be as expensive as they think.
Either way, our current track for reform is not the way to go. Huckabee also suggests the problem is more an issue with the state of health in America rather than just the health insurance industry. Check out his take on this issue at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPS0GE6ZsBw.
Let's stop playing with the numbers and get on the right track. I'm tired of the lies and truth-stretching.
Huckabee's numbers come down to about 5 million who want health insurance but can't afford it. I've seen other estimates from 8.2 million to 13.9 million and there's an interesting article on all this at http://businessandmedia.org/articles/2007/20070718153509.aspx.
So do we really need universal health care to reach those who want it but can't afford it? The numbers suggest there could be much cheaper and easier ways to simply fix the problems we have and extend coverage to those people.
Being in the under $50,000 a year class, but with health insurance, I submit to everyone that a little education could go along way for those who want it but don't feel they could afford it. It may not be as expensive as they think.
Either way, our current track for reform is not the way to go. Huckabee also suggests the problem is more an issue with the state of health in America rather than just the health insurance industry. Check out his take on this issue at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPS0GE6ZsBw.
Let's stop playing with the numbers and get on the right track. I'm tired of the lies and truth-stretching.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Clearing the Air
I'm getting more and more frustrated with my government every day. I'm getting so frustrated that I feel like I am in a sinking ship, locked in a cabin with no way out. The ship is not only sinking, it was already taking me somewhere I didn't want to go. With this in mind I have created this blog. I want to rant. I don't want to bottle all this up inside. I need to speak. I need to make my voice heard somewhere, somehow.
So, in this first blog, I want to clear the air about things. First of all, I am a pastor and I want everyone to know that I have far better things to talk about from the pulpit than political issues. So you wont hear any of this on Sunday morning. This blog is personal and doesn't represent my church or my denomination. With that said, I will hereby assume that no one will take it that way. The fact that I am a pastor also means you can expect my blogs to be respectful and clean. What I mean by "rant" is probably not what most people mean. I just want to speak my peace. I want my voice to be heard, even if it doesn't stand a chance to make a difference in where my country is going.
Secondly, I do not and will not ever advocate violence when it comes to the debate of ideas. Every person has the right to be heard. We can respectfully disagree if it comes to that but we all have the right to be heard, even those who disagree with me. This means that if you come along and respond to my blogs, there is a greater than average chance I will allow your comments to be posted. I will block them, however, if they are disrespectful and/or coarse. I won't curse in my blogs and I expect others to respect my desire to keep my eyes and ears clear of words that have no reason to exist in the English language.
So I'm going to express my opinions and everyone can agree or disagree. Now, on to the ranting.
So, in this first blog, I want to clear the air about things. First of all, I am a pastor and I want everyone to know that I have far better things to talk about from the pulpit than political issues. So you wont hear any of this on Sunday morning. This blog is personal and doesn't represent my church or my denomination. With that said, I will hereby assume that no one will take it that way. The fact that I am a pastor also means you can expect my blogs to be respectful and clean. What I mean by "rant" is probably not what most people mean. I just want to speak my peace. I want my voice to be heard, even if it doesn't stand a chance to make a difference in where my country is going.
Secondly, I do not and will not ever advocate violence when it comes to the debate of ideas. Every person has the right to be heard. We can respectfully disagree if it comes to that but we all have the right to be heard, even those who disagree with me. This means that if you come along and respond to my blogs, there is a greater than average chance I will allow your comments to be posted. I will block them, however, if they are disrespectful and/or coarse. I won't curse in my blogs and I expect others to respect my desire to keep my eyes and ears clear of words that have no reason to exist in the English language.
So I'm going to express my opinions and everyone can agree or disagree. Now, on to the ranting.
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