News, Entertainment, Enlightenment
Obama Anti-Catholic Mandate Petition — An online petition has been started at WhiteHouse.gov asking the Obama Administration to rescind their perversely anti-Catholic mandate requiring all Catholic employers to provide contraceptives/abortifacients to their employees.
The petition — which can be found here — has a goal of getting 25,000 names by Feb. 27. As of this post it has 22,333.
Obama Sneers Catholic Faith-Based Exemption — The Obama administration has turned down repeated requests from Catholic bishops, hospitals, schools and charitable organizations to revise its religious exemption to the requirement that all health plans cover contraceptives and sterilization free of charge.
This could indicate that the Obama administration is filled with anti-Catholic bigots but that may not be the case. It could very well be that its hope is that the Catholic Church is driven to end these services further strengthening the government monopoly.
Regardless of the reason Catholics better wake up and end their love affair with the Democrat Party.
Long Wait For MD’s In Massachusetts — The attacks on Mitt Romney regarding his reign at Bain Capital seem not to have affected his status as front-runner, although we won’t know for certain until Saturday.
It kind of makes one wonder why the anti-Romney crowd has not made more of an issue of the health care chaos he caused as governor of Massachusetts.
More than half of all internists in the state are not accepting new patients while the wait to see a new family doctor is a whole month with Boston residents facing a two-month wait.
He says he’ll overturn ObamaCare if elected and that pledge would be enough to make me vote for him if he should be the nominee but I would certainly prefer someone who has been a bit more consistent on the issue.
Telling Statistics About Health Care Sent courtesy “Uncle Dave” via Kate Rainey.
1.A recent “Investor’s Business Daily” article provided very interesting statistics from a survey by the United Nations International Health Organization.
Percentage of men and women who survived a cancer five years after diagnosis:
U.S. 65%
England 46%
Canada 42%
Percentage of patients diagnosed with diabetes who received treatment within six months:
U.S. 93%
England 15%
Canada 43%
Percentage of seniors needing hip replacement who received it within six months:
U.S. 90%
England 15%
Canada 43%
Percentage referred to a medical specialist
who see one within one month:
U.S. 77%
England 40%
Canada 43%
Number of MRI scanners (a prime diagnostic tool) per million people:
U.S. 71
England 14
Canada 18
Percentage of seniors (65+), with low income, who say they are in “excellent health”:
U..S. 12%
England 02%
Canada 06%
Check this last set of statistics!!
2..The percentage of each past president’s cabinet who had worked in the private business sector prior to their appointment to the cabinet.
Here are the percentages.
T. Roosevelt………………. 38%
Taft…………………………. 40%
Wilson …………………….. 52%
Harding…………………….. 49%
Coolidge………………….. 48%
Hoover ……………………. 42%
F. Roosevelt……………….50%
Truman…………………… 50%
Johnson…………………… 47%
Nixon………………………. 53%
Ford……………………….. 42%
Carter……………………… 32%
Reagan……………………..86%
GH Bush………………….. 51%
Clinton ……………………. 39%
GW Bush…………………. 55%
And the winner is:
Obama……………… 08%
Nancy Pelosi And This Conscience Thing — Nancy Pelosi, the fearless leader of the House Democrats, has taken issue with the Catholic Church because it is objecting to a potential Obama administration ruling that would force insurance companies to cover birth control, contraception and drugs that could cause abortions.
President Zero is refusing to allow a moral exemption for religious groups.
Fearless Leader Pelosi told the Washington Post that “I’m a devout Catholic and I honor my faith and love it . . . but they have this conscience thing”
Yes, Nancy that “conscience thing” that led the Church to do things like:
You probably have a problem with that as well.
Have you ever thought about getting “this conscience thing?”
No-To-Ocare Bill Before The PA. House — A bill that would prevent significant parts of ObamaCare from being enforced in Pennsylvania has been laid on the table of the State House.
The bill, HB 42, was released from House Appropriations Committee on Oct. 26 fulfilling a pledge made by Appropriations Committee Chairman Bill Adolph (R-165) to Tea Party groups.
The committee vote was 21-14 with all Democrats against and all Republicans in favor.
The bill, introduced by Matthew Baker (R-68) on Jan. 19, says A law
or rule shall not compel, through penalties and fines, directly or
indirectly, any individual, employer or health care provider to
participate in any health care system.
It also specifically says that an individual or employer may pay directly for lawful health care services and shall not be required to pay penalties or fines for doing so; and specifically allows health care providers to accept direct payments without penalties. It also prohibits state law enforcement and regulatory agencies from participating “in compliance with any Federal law, regulation or policy” that would compromise the “freedom of choice in health care” of any resident of the state.
Continuing Health Care Intrigue
By Jim Bowman
As each verdict is aired, it is now taking on the appearance of a judicial version of making a mountain out of a molehill. If it was only that simple. I mean really, just what is legal anymore? How can one District Court find Obama’s Health Care legal while another finds parts illegal and another rules that the entire Health bill is unconstitutional? Is this what is meant by a “living document?”
On January 31, 2011, Judge Vinson declared that “The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” to be unconstitutional. Within his conclusion, Judge Vinson wrote that, “Because the individual mandate is unconstitutional and not severable, the entire Act must be declared void.”
From Judge Vinson’s seventy-eight page Summary Judgement, my excerpt,while brief conveys the heart of the the Judge’s ruling. Again, with this iron clad conclusion, how can other black robes disagree and still maintain Constitutional integrity?
The vast majority of Americans have fought tooth and nail against this Health Care abrogation to our individual liberties. When public opinion generates such a strong resentment against an institution which, in former times, was respected and dutifully obeyed, then the ugly head of judicial activism becomes hard to ignore. With each passing contradiction, our granite like belief in the rule of law diminishes.
Much of what our Court system pivots around today comes from past interpretations which were in themselves, based upon past interpretations. In fact, today’s Law School regimens incorporate a curriculum based not upon the Constitution but of Supreme Court decisions. It stands to reason that this system of passing down words can and often does becomes an errant formula for the law’s strict adherence.
Consider the era when our Forefathers wrote our Government’s prescription. Over time, word definitions under go change. During this past year, I became familiar with Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary. Even the dictionary’s format was different in that modern versions follow each word with a pronunciation breakdown. Not so in Webster’s first edition. Also, Webster’s definitions often contained religious connotations related to Christianity. Ironically, this has fallen victim to modern standards of interpretation.
The difference between then and now is so dramatic that when confronted with the comparisons, one cannot help but wonder about the reasons for such diverse thought and the extent to which it has become so prevalent. Taken one step further, how can the current day study of American law be so enamored with definitions and interpretations which lacked relevance when our laws were written. This is the very definition of lawlessness.
Added to this judicial mix of changing definitions and wide latitudes for interpretation is the art of improvisation. The infamous 1947 Supreme Court Everson v. Board of Education ruling presents the first reference to “the wall between church and state.” Today, this has received a reverberation of sorts as if it were a constitutional tenet. In reality, the Everson ruling simply transposed a phrase from a privately written Thomas Jefferson letter.
It is necessary to understand that while the Supreme Court may rule upon Health Care’s illegitimacy, our Judicial Branch is not authorized to legislate. At some point, we were led to believe that decisions from our highest court constituted law. This wrong dovetails with the Court’s penchant for redefining, interpreting and improvising. All with a quiet public nod.
If nothing else, these back and forth health care decisions come as a direct result of our Constitution’s modern day elasticity. As such, it would be foolhardy to place any reliance upon a Supreme Court decision based upon the Constitution’s strict governmental limitations.
The first meeting of the season of the Delaware County Patriots, tonight, Sept. 22, brought about 80 persons to the Knights of Columbus Hall in Newtown Square to hear Leo Knepper of Heritage Action for America-PA describe how the Pennsylvania’s Republican congressmen are no where near as fiscally conservative as is commonly thought, and the inspiringly enthusiastic Jenn Stefano of American Prosperity Pa explain how it easy it is to win committee seats.
Mrs. Stefano, at the end of her talk, got pledges from a dozen-plus participants to run for the unheralded but important office.
Knepper singled out for special criticism Congressman Pat Meehan, whose 7th District includes Newtown Square. He said Meehan only scored a 48 percent on the Heritage Action Scorecard which charts the votes legislators make as whether they advance or detract from the cause of commonsense conservatism.
“On the big issues, he’s been there, but on the small issues he’s been dropping the ball” Knepper said.
Knepper gave an example as to how Meehan voted against a seemingly uncontroversial bill that would have cut farm subsidies to $250,000 and restrict them to actual farmers rather than seekers of tax breaks.
Knepper said the only members of Pennsylvania’s delegation to score at least an 80 on the score card were Congressman Joe Pitts of the 16th District and Sen. Pat Toomey. No other Republicans scored above a 60 he said.
Knepper said that the United States has reached the point where the debt equals the entire gross domestic product.
“We are going to collapse if we keep going at this rate,” he said.
Mrs. Stefano said time for talking was over and it was now up to Tea Partyers to start doing the walking, namely by running for office, specifically committee seats. Local committee people run at the precinct level and are the ones who pick the leaders of the established parties and write the party bylaws.
It requires 10 signatures to get on the ballot, Mrs. Stefano said.
Republican bylaws require that each precinct be represented by a man and a woman. Often this office is unfilled.
Failing to get involved is a mark of shame, Mrs. Stefano said.
“You cannot say you are a patriot. Our children and grandchildren will have to pick up arms and fight and die for the things we gave away,” she passionately said.
Mrs. Stefano singled out Delco Patriot Lisa Esler for special praise.
“Politicians are afraid of her,” she said.
After the speakers, it was announced that the Delco Patriots were signing onto a push to get HB 42 to a vote in Harrisburg.
HB 42 is the proposed state law that would undermine much of ObamaCare in Pennsylvania. It has been bottled up in the House Appropriation Committee since Feb. 8.
The committee is chaired by Bill Adolph of Springfield who represents the 165th District.
Adolph indicated to the Patriots on May 19 that there would be a vote on the bill before the end of the year.
A U.S. district judge, today, Sept. 13, declared that Congress exceeded its authority under the Constitution when it required all Americans to buy health insurance under Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act i.e. ObamaCare.
Christopher C. Conner who sits in Harrisburg and on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania said “The federal government is one of limited enumerated
powers, and Congress’s efforts to remedy the ailing health care and
health insurance markets must fit squarely within the boundaries of
those powers.”
Conner made the ruling on behalf of Barbara and Gregory Bachman of Etters, York County who had filed suit challenging the individual mandate.
The Bachmans are self-employed, owning and operating Performance Marine and do not have health insurance. They are believed to be the first private citizens to have been granted standing to challenge ObamaCare.
Judge Conner was appointed to the bench by President George W. Bush in 2002.
Hat tips GrassrootsPa.Com and WomenOfGrace.Com
Medicare Does Not Equal Health Care — Old friend Tom Flocco of Upper Providence sent several links taking shots at Congressman Pat Meehan (R-Pa7) including this one to a YouTube video making the rounds on left-leaning sites accusing him of voting to “abolish” Medicare.
Meehan had supported a Paul Ryan plan which made the tax-funded safety net for seniors more like the health care offered federal workers. Ryan had tried to add an option giving seniors tax money to buy their own insurance programs rather than be entirely dependent on the government bureaucracies that some health care providers are now taking pains with which to avoid being associated.
It was an attempt to save Medicare. If something is not done soon there will be, in practice, no Medicare and Social Security. The safety net will be gone.
Sure, Medicare and Social Security will exist on paper. Those eligible for them will get nice-looking cards saying they have a “right” to benefits; a right that will be confirmed by bureaucrats and computer screens when they go to use them.
But it will soon be found that being told one has a “right” to benefits is not the same as actually having them.
Health care is not government workers or insurance cards. It is competent doctors, nurses and pharmacists. If we don’t start trying to understand this concept we will not have health care.
Also Bob Guzzardi sent a link to this remarkably positive article by John P. Martin that appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer on Bucks County Tea Party activists Anastasia Przybylski and Ana Puig. Guess Inquirer people have 401Ks too.
Thanks Bob.