Back to Basics

There has been recent talk about alternatives to the public option in H.R.3200. Don’t jump on the band wagon! Although some of the alternatives may prove viable, as long as anything is part of H.R.3200 it is not acceptable.

Only the first 166 pages address the Health Insurance Exchange and Public Option as part of that Exchange program. The Health Insurance Exchange is STILL a government take over of insurance. A government committee appointed by the president, along with the Commissioner, will determine what benefits will be covered and insurance plans that may be offered. The Commissioner is basically a form of a Health Care Czar WITH all the authority to make decisions that impact our lives. The Commissioner will take bids and decide which policies will be offered to individuals and employers. Anyone with half a brain knows how bidding with the government goes. Will Americans receive choices with only their best interests in mind? Absolutely NOT! Special interest groups are definitely involved, not only in deals with the government but they are on the committee that makes these decisions.

That is only the beginning. Amending the public option would not remove the additional taxes imposed, would not restore what would be taken away from Medicare and continues to decrease Seniors coverage. It also leaves all the pork in the give away programs, grants, studies, etc. It still would not address the problem of illegal immigrants obtaining free care at the taxpayers’ expense. One of the great concerns is that it does not eliminate the denial of obtaining secondary insurance. These are some of the consequences that would remain if an attempt at amending H.R.3200 is made rather than scrapping the entire bill.

I read an article stating that 45 million people in America are uninsured, yet bill H.R.3200 is only going to add 16 million to the ranks of the insured. The cost of the bill and the estimated benefit is not a good indictor of a program worth investing in. The increase in insured population by these estimates is less than 35%. Would any program in the private business world consider those results as successful? The result is a government take over of the health care program, regardless of how the package is decorated. If it smells fishy and you haven’t gotten rid of the fish, then it still smells fishy.

“Free Speech:
Freedom of speech is protected in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights and is guaranteed to all Americans. Since 1920, the ACLU has worked to preserve our freedom of speech. Learn more and take action to protect the right to free speech.”

This quote was taken directly from the ACLU’s website, right off their home page. Yet when I checked their website I found nothing on the government’s blatant attempt at silencing our freedom from Linda Douglass’s communication on August 6, 2009. ACLU where are you?

The relationship with the ACLU might be described as a love/hate relationship. They are constantly in everyone’s face over every little infraction of the constitution. Depending on what side of that particular battle you are on you may love their efforts for standing up for what you believe in, or you may hate them for causing you so much grieve over something so trivial. They have served a purpose and got results. Where are they today? How could they remain quiet when the government is asking us to snitch on our neighbors, family and friends?

The White House has issued a warning to Americans.
From the White House.gov website:
“FACTS ARE STUBBORN THINGS”:
There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas challenged this action and has asked President Obama to stop this effort.
From Senator Cornyn’s Website:
SEN. CORNYN SEEKS ANSWERS TO PRIVACY CONCERNS; ALSO SUBMITS “FISHY” CLAIMS TO THE WHITE HOUSE
Friday, August 7, 2009
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, released the following statement responding to the White House’s claim that “no one is collecting any names” as well as their apparent refusal to make clear what steps they are taking to purge all names, email addresses and other personal information that they have collected on private citizens as part of their data collection program.

“Of course the White House is collecting names. As I wrote to the President, it is inevitable. Anyone with access to the flag@whitehouse.gov account has access to the names and email addresses that are collected in that account.

“The question is not what the White House is doing, but how and why. How are they purging names and email addresses from this account to protect privacy? Why do they need the forwarded emails, names, and ‘casual conversations’ sent to them instead of just the arguments that they want to rebut?”

Thanks for standing up for our rights Sen. Cornyn. But where is the ACLU?

I was finally able to locate a piece in an article published by FOXNews.com with only a two paragraph statement from the ACLU.