Contributed by: filbert Saturday, March 20 2010 @ 01:22 PM CST
Our President, ever fond of setting up straw men to knock over, says that the alternative to the government takeover of the health care industry which is now imminent is “the status quo.”
Democrats are particularly fond of this particular straw man: that some particular issue is intolerable and unsustainable, and the only alternative is government action. This is where the lie occurs. There is a vast array of possible alternative actions that people–individually or as groups–can undertake to change any current situation. The health care issue is just another example of the Democrats trying to stampede the public into accepting a solution which, totally coincidentally, solidifies Democrats in a position of power and authority over their fellow citizens.
What, exactly, is the problem with health care in America today? Well, people think it’s too expensive. People think that there are some people who don’t have access to the health care system. Both of those are legitimate concerns. Neither problem is necessarily improved by increased government involvement. In fact, there is strong evidence that the existing government interventions into the health care system–the virtual mandating of employer-provided health insurance after World War II, the disastrously ill-conceived Medicare program, the ridiculous restriction on offering health insurance across state lines, and the general public policy decisions which divorce the consumer of health care from the producers–the doctors, nurses, clinics, and hospitals–those public policy decisions by government have distorted the health care industry into this mutant monstrosity which is in no way a “free market” system, but is already an over-regulated nightmare system. And yet, Democrats and their allies say that the solution to these problems is more of the hair of the dog which has bitten us–more government intervention.
There are also concerns which are utterly illegitimate. Primary among those is the common belief among the more economically- and philosophically-ignorant people that health care is a “right.” These people are simply and tragically wrong. They have confused the word “want” with the word “right.” There are no rights which depend on the action of another person to exercise. Your right to life does not depend on another person to “give” you life. Your life belongs to you, as an individual. Your right to liberty does not depend on another person to “give” you liberty. Your liberty is inherent in you as an individual. Your right to the pursuit of happiness does not depend on another person to “give” you happiness. Your right to pursue your dreams and aspirations is inherent in you as an individual.
It makes no logical sense to extend this thought to health care. “Your health care does not depend on another person to “give” you health care” is a nonsense sentence. “Your health care is inherent in you as an individual” is a nonsense sentence.
Health care is not a right. It is an economic good. It is like food. It is like clothing. It is like cable television. It is like a car. It is like a house. It is like coffee. It is like beer. It is like a haircut. It is like getting your lawn mowed on a regular basis. It is like having someone in to clean your house.
Rights are inherent to you as an individual. You don’t have to pay someone for rights, you don’t have to ask someone else to give them to you. You simply have them. They are a part of you. That is what the Founding Fathers meant when they said that people had “inalienable” rights. Inalienable means–exactly–that you can’t separate them from the person that has them.
If you think it is your right to have your lawn mowed, to have your house cleaned, if you think you have a right to have someone care for your dislocated shoulder or that nasty cough–if you think that you have a right to someone else’s labor, what does that say about you?
Who, in history, took other people’s labor, believing that they had a right to that labor? Well, two groups: First, totalitarian governments–the royalty and aristocracy of various kingdoms, totalitarian Communist, socialist, and religious dictatorships throughout history. The other group? Owners of slaves.
And this isn’t a straw man. This isn’t a “slippery slope” argument. This is just making clear to people what they are really saying when they say “health care is a right.”
This is a point that needs to be hammered and hammered and hammered and hammered again. If you have a neighbor who says such things, call him or her out on it. People who say “health care is a right” are slave-owner wannabes. They think that their wants and their needs override anybody else’s wants and needs. And if they cloak it in terms of generosity or compassion, then they are simply being doubly dishonest. Slavery is not generous. Slavery is not compassionate. Advocating slavery for the benefit of some other person rather than benefiting yourself is still advocating slavery.
Today, the Democratic Party, the party that supported slavery before the Civil War, the party that opposed the Reconstruction after the Civil War, the party that voted overwhelmingly against the Civil Rights Act in the 1960’s (it required a majority of Republican votes to pass–did you know that?), has returned to its slaver roots, and is now is poised to re-impose–incrementally and oh so compassionately–slavery upon the United States. The greatest irony is that they are doing it with the full-throated support of the black community of this country.
The slaves become the slavers.
Sleep well tonight, you who have voted for Democrats. We know exactly who and what you are, now–and I’m not talking about the Congress and the President. I’m talking about you, my neighbors and friends, my relatives and acquaintances. This is your doing. You think you are being generous. You think you’re being kind and compassionate. You think you’re being fair. You think you’re being just. You think you’re being better than the rest of us, with your high-minded support of health care as a “right.” You may think you’re winning right now. But you’re not. You may win this small political battle. But what you have lost is your soul. You have become the very thing you profess to oppose. You have become the oppressor. You have become the tyrant. You have become the enemy of human freedom and liberty. And no amount of straw men and emoting and blubbering and sob stories and righteous indignation and snotty, snarky poses and pretensions to intellectual superiority will change that.
You are either being blind and ignorant and naive and foolish, or you’re being willfully evil. Which is it?
Either way, you will not be forgiven if you do not soon repent of this madness. There is still time to realize what you are doing to your fellow citizens. But that time is running out.
And when that time does run out, you Democrat voters had better pray–assuming you still believe in a God. Because you should consider the fate of slave owners when the slaves finally throw off their chains.
The battle for human freedom and liberty is never truly won, because it is in essence a battle against the evil which lies within all of us–the greed, the envy, the desire to control those around us. There are those who win that internal battle more often than they lose it. All of us lose the battle from time to time, which is why Christianity preaches forgiveness. But there are those who lose this eternal internal battle, while fervently convincing themselves that they have won. To gain forgiveness, first you must recognize that you have done something which requires that forgiveness. And there are many people living on your street, in your town, who don’t even know that they have fallen into this mental trap. Pray for those people, that the scales fall from their eyes before it is truly too late.
Sic Semper Tyrannis.
Live Free or Die.
(This little essay went a completely different direction than I thought it was going to go when I started it.) SECTION TWO: Things That Amuse Me:
Simians and other aminals*:
Evidence Indicates Humans’ Early Tree-Dwelling Ancestors Were Also Bipedal [*1]
Travel:
Recession hurting cruise ship builders [*2]
Atlanta still the world’s busiest airport, but Chicago is slipping [*3]
Continental: Demand sluggish, but 787 Dreamliners to arrive in late 2011 [*4]
Speeders Beware: Officials Starting ‘Travel-Safe’ Zone in Lee’s Summit [*5]
Sports:
KU overcomes rough start for 90-74 win over Lehigh [*6]
From spectator to starter: After paying her dues on Jackrabbit bench, Schuttloffel emerges as difference-maker [*7]
Second chances: SDSU’s return to Big Dance shows winning formula [*8]
One look at the 63 NCAA women’s tourney games [*9]
UConn bad for game? Hardly: The talent pool in women’s basketball is deeper and the competition significantly better [*10]
After slow start, Pittsburgh routs Oakland 89-66 [*11]
SDSU arrives in Oklahoma [*12]
ORU Falls at Missouri State to Conclude Season [*13]
Missouri State advances in WNIT [*14]
UConn’s dominance may be good for women’s basketball [*15]
Madness builds for Jacks [*16]
Olajuwon making her own name at Oklahoma [*17]
Tennessee gets 75-42 win over Austin Peay [*18]
Science Fiction and Writing:
Writing Action Scenes [*19]
Science, technology, and space:
’science’s dirtiest secret: The “scientific method” of testing hypotheses by statistical analysis stands on a flimsy foundation.’ [*20]
Scientific Regress: The Case of Scurvy [*21] — “Progress” is not a steady climb. People thinking stupid things and doing stupid actions can erase decades–or centuries–of progress in a generation–or less. Much less.
Miscellany (amusing things not fitting above, or below):
7 Things Never to Say to Your Boss [*22]
Correction: Cheese championships story [*23] — I’m glad we got that straight . . .
SECTION THREE: Politics: The neverending battle against blithering idiocy:
People doing potentially good things (including sightings of politicians doing something less than totally idiotic):
Health Care Debacle Spurs Candidate Recruitment [*24]
Lots of Doctors Running for Congress on Republican Ticket [*25]
“I will never vote for a Democrat again” [*26] — There will be more of this to come, to the point where it will be very socially uncomfortable to be known to support a Democrat for political office. We know what they are, now.
ACORN on verge of bankruptcy: report [*27] — Expose the corruption, shine the light on the cockroaches and they go scurrying away . . .
Our promise to America [*28]
The Republic Strikes Back [*29]
The cure for blithering idiocy: freedom and individual liberty (yeah, I know–ooh, ick, philosophy!):
Doubts About Diversity Training [*30] — We don’t need “diversity training.” We need “respect individuals” training.
Socialism Vs. Capitalism: Illustrated on Film [*31] — “Governments don’t produce, they consume.”
The reality of President Obama and his entire Administration as blithering idiots:
Change!… 43% Now Strongly Disapprove of Obama – Same As Bush When He Left Office [*32]
“You know we’re going to control the insurance companies” [*33]
Obama: The Great Divider [*34]
The reality of Washington Democrats (and Independents, and Socialists) as blithering idiots:
Congress Reaches Record Disapproval* [*35]
The Heat is On: Congressman’s Office Says Constituent Calls Are ‘Harassment’ [*36] — Constituional rights are “harassment?” Yeah, that sounds like a Democrat idea . . .
Other blithering idiots at large making life difficult for regular folks:
Obama Supporter: ‘What’s Wrong With A Little Bit Of Socialism?’ [*37] — I dunno. What’s wrong with a little bit of slavery? For a good cause, of course. Maybe like growing more cotton so more people can have clothes. How does that sound? Clothing is a right, after all, isn’t it? I mean, if health care is a right, then certainly clothing is a right. If some people need to work harder in the cotton fields to make more cotton, well then that’s just the sacrifices that some of us need to make for the benefit of all of us. Isn’t it? Isn’t ti? Hmm? It really sickens me that so many blacks have bought into this slaveowner thinking. You’d think that they, of all people, would know better.
Why Michigan is the Worst: Moronic Governor Proclaims Today ‘Meatout Day’ [*38]
Opposition Research: because blithering idiocy can be dangerous, especially when organized into idiotic groups with idiotic ideologies:
Breaking: While An Anxious Nation Is Transfixed By The Healthcare Debate, The Obama Administration Restores ACORN Funding [*39]
Freedom Alliance Responds to Allegations Against Sean Hannity [*40] — A favorite tactic: make outrageous allegations which are completely fabricated, but take up valuable time and energy to refute . . .
Frum Forum: Evidence Shows Accusations Against Sean Hannity Are Not True [*41]
SECTION FOUR: Case Studies in Blithering Idiocy
Health care “reform” aka health insurance “reform” — or should that be health care “change?” Perhaps “Global healthing?:
A future that doesn’t work [*42]
16,500 New IRS Agents Will Be Needed to Enforce Obamacare [*43]
This Process is Undermining the Rule of Law [*44]
Most Americans see healthcare benefiting the needy [*45]
Ryan: CBO score uses double-counting, funds “15,000 IRS agents” [*46]
Obamacare’s Delusional Deficit Reduction Claims [*47]
The Aftermath of Obamacare: What America Will Look Like If The White House Gets Its Way [*48]
How a Bill Becomes a Law: Pass It, Find Out What’s In It, Then Fix It [*49]
Actually, The Process Does Matter: Why the Democrats are wrong to “deem and pass” the health care bill [*50] — “Sometimes process is vital in protecting the American people from the abuses of majoritarians and crusading tyrants. Other times, it is used by those very people to circumvent pesky constitutional restrictions.”
Voting for Obamacare? Fair warning … [*51]
“Twilight of The Interest Groups” or Sunrise For a Whole New Set of Payoffs? [*52] — All the Democratic Party is today is a collection of interest groups, all pushing and shoving to get their nose more deeply into the trough of government money and power . . .
Caterpillar: ObamaCare will cost us $100 million in first year [*53] — Apparently not the “Hope And Change” they were looking for . . .
Economists to Obama: PLEASE, NO! [*54]
CBO confirms: ObamaCare with “doctor fix” will actually add billions to the deficit [*55]
Of Course The Democrats Wouldn’t Lie About A Memo About CBO ‘Estimate’ [*56]
Interstate Compacts for Health Insurance is Yet Another Sound Idea [*57]
Former federal judge: Yes, the Slaughter strategy is unconstitutional [*58]
Hatch Says It’s ’Nuts’ to Think House Vote Ends Health Issue [*59]
Honk to stop Obamacare protest: 32 seconds of noise [*60]
Shocker: Federal Employees Bombarded With ObamaCare Email Pitches [*61] — I’m not shocked. It’s the Chicago Way.
Harry Reid promises to bring Public Option to a vote in the next few months [*62]
Rules Committee meeting descends into chaos [*63] — Actually, chaos is where they’ve been all along. They are maybe just now realizing it . . .
[*64] Rules Committee Gets Unruly–Update: Demon Pass Dropped; House Will Vote On Standalone Bill
Arizona Kills SCHIP, Puts Medicaid on a Diet [*65]
Video: Ryan vs Slaughter on Medicare reform [*66] — Are Republican ideas too subtle and sophisticated for Democrat minds to understand? It appears that this may be true . . . Ryan knows what he’s talking about, and he knows what the Democrats are talking about. The Democrats don’t know either of those–that’s painfully obvious. They keep trying to put words into Ryan’s mouth, and they keep trying to demagogue Ryan’s plan. It would be laughable if it wasn’t so serious.
OMG! Executive Order for ObamaCare Payoffs? Can This Possibly Be True? [*67]
100,000 RALLY IN WASHINGTON AGAINST OBAMACARE [*68] — Or, undoubtedly as many in Big Media will report, “Dozens, maybe hundreds . . .”
The Economy (Can the blithering idiots bring down the most productive economy the world has ever seen? Yes, They Can! Will they?):
Trivia Tidbit of the Day: Part 759 — Conservative Ideas Produce Healthy Economic Growth.[*69]
How to Repopulate Cleveland And Other Once-Great American Cities [*70]
Politicians Smother Cities: How to bring life back to great American cities [*71] — “Let my people go!”
U.S. testing Moody’s patience on debt load [*72] — And this is before Obamacare further depresses the economy . . .
The Euro in Crisis: In Greece and elsewhere, statism proves riskier than free markets. [*73]
Foreign affairs and National Security (Will blithering idiots get us all killed, or make us all speak Spanish–or Chinese–or Arabic–or all three?):
India’s Interest Rate Rise ‘Sign of Things to Come’ [*74]
The Morning Whip is a (mostly) daily review of what’s out there that caught my attention, sometimes but not always posted before 11 am Central time in the U. S. of A., unless I just don’t feel like it that day, am out doing something more important or more fun, or I’ve been abducted, detained, arrested, or otherwise flummoxed by the agents of blithering idiotry.
I surf the Web, so you don’t have to! (which would be a trademark, but come on, who am I kidding?)