04/26/10 by AX.

A quick bit about the new law in Arizona that has made a lot of news as of late.

We tried to find what the main complaint is about the new law and came up with little more than leftist bitching. The Constitution is brought up repeatedly without getting to any real arguments. We did find a statement from the ACLU that parrots the same line as almost all writings about the Constitutionality of the law. The only point that may have merit is on making being in the country illegally a state offense. We admittedly have not researched this issue yet and will therefore refrain from opining. That is not the main Constitutional complaint, however.

The claim is that because the Constitution states that the Federal Government is responsible for protecting against invasion, the States are forbidden from enforcement. The idea here is that the Feds should handle all aspects of immigration and enforcement and that State police are not trained to handle the delicate intricacies of immigration law.

That is one of the dumbest arguments  we have ever heard. Guess what the Constitution is even more explicit about Federal authority. Money. All aspects of our monetary system is under the purview of the Feds. So following the model of the ACLU, we should be able to go to the police station to pay a fine and give them counterfeit money without repercussion. The cops would just say; “although we have reasonable suspicion to believe that you are illegally passing counterfeit money, that’s a Federal crime and we can’t do anything.” Really? Does the ACLU and their liberal friends really think that’s correct? No. We are pretty sure that it would be reasonable for the police to detain you even if they aren’t trained in the delicate intricacies of counterfeiting  currency.

AX

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04/26/10 by AX.

We have long wondered why Republicans have placed themselves on the wrong side of the abortion issue. Roe v. Wade was a direct attack on the Ninth and Tenth Amendments; so it’s easy to see why the Left likes it.  However, Republicans seem to want the exact opposite in the form of a federal law forbidding abortions. Even if it’s unrealistic, that position makes us angry.

The justifiable part of the position is that abortion is homicide. Fine, call it homicide. That doesn’t always mean murder. Homicides are justified all the time for various reasons. Few Republicans believe woman should sacrifice her life (and possibly the unborn child) when an abortion could save her life. It’s a justifiable homicide. But all this discussion skirts the real issue.

Even murder is not a federal offense. There are very specific circumstances where a murder can become a federal crime, but those are rare exceptions. Unless the abortion occurred on Federal property, it would never be a federal crime. Homicides are under the jurisdiction of states. The U.S. Constitution does not give the Federal Government  power to enforce that type of crime. Abortion is a states rights issue plain and simple.

Republican elected representatives have come to bow to the religious right because they have a large and mobile voting block. Once that happened, Democrats took their natural position on the opposing side. That side is an easy stance for a party of Nationalist opposing federalism at the same time.

The cure is easy, although it does take effort. Vote in the primaries. That is where the tide can be changed and return the Republican party back to the side of federalists. Also, vote for presidents based on who they would pick to serve on  Federal Courts (including the Supreme Court).

Returning the entire abortion issue to the states would result in abortions being legal in all but maybe two or three states. If a person doesn’t like the outcome in their state, move to one where the majority agrees with you. The concept of federalism is not to make all states exactly the same. The opposite is far preferable. People all over the world live in nation states surrounding themselves with like-minded people. We have the advantage of pooling for defense and useful regulations. Although the Feds have taken the latter to places it should have never gone, the ideal is still sound.

AX

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04/23/10 by AX.

Political parties aren’t what they used to be. Democrats and Republicans have changed tactics and, to a much lesser extent, stated positions. Lincoln was a Republican. The Ku Klux Klan was comprised of Democrats. That much is basic history. But things seem to have changed. Or have they? To hear contemporary Democrats, one would believe that Republicans wish to return to the days of slavery and only Democrats can help the oppressed. Have political parties switched sides in the race debate? How and when did this role reversal happen without anyone noticing? The answer; political illusion. The switch never happened. The party that promoted itself with the exploitation of minorities still does. The party that made every attempt to equalize opportunity still does.

Here at AmendmentX.info we have long wondered why in countries that abolished slavery after the United States, black people seem to have fully integrated into society and aren’t constantly recalling events of 150 years ago. Here in the States, people of Asian descent had been persecuted in the past and yet now are generally not considered an at risk (of discrimination) population.

Starting with Asians; they were not enslaved at the rate of Africans. The abuse was not to the scale in almost any way. Fair enough, by there was a degree of parity with Africans that simply isn’t present now. Two things seem to missing that would appear to be vital to maintaining the feeling of repression for a group of people. First, the minority people themselves must be willing to limit themselves to what the majority gives them as stipends. If an American wants to raise their standard of living, they aren’t going to be able to stay on the Government dole. If they are willing to live on what they don’t earn, they can continue to cite how they deserve it because of something someone else did to long dead people a long time ago. It would seem Asians are unwilling to make that compromise. Second, in order to get the masses of minorities to unite and get the Government to hand out money to them, it is useful to have a political party that purports to stand up for the oppressed. Holding that position, the party would become dependent on an indefinitely oppressed group. So to keep the party viable, the leaders would have to make the supporters of the party believe they need to help poor minorities while at the same time keeping minorities poor. Asians neither have such a party, nor do they seem to want it.

By keeping black Americans in the belief that only Government can solve their problems, Democrats have a block of people that will vote for the party that directly states that they want give them other people’s money. Republicans tend towards teaching how to fish rather than just giving the fish. Republicans may initially seem to not care, but are actually showing a lack of racism by ignoring race and trying to make the starting line equal.The argument that modern racist groups tend toward the Republican party is just a silly point. Although it may be true, the reason should be obvious. Modern racists are stupid and don’t understand the point of this post. They haven’t got the brain power to see reality beyond their idiotic prejudice. Hence they aren’t for Republicans as much as they are against what Democrats are saying. Because Democrats have re-branded their lines (without re-branding the intent) as no longer oppressing minorities, the ignorant believe only what they hear and not what can be seen. Digging just below the surface and thinking about what is happening instead of what is merely said results in often different views.

This idea goes to many aspects of life. The concept of “no child left behind” should send shivers throughout your being. The child that is behind isn’t dragged up with the rest of group; simply because that is not possible. Some kids just don’t learn as fast or as much as others. Some may need a lot of extra help. So how can none be left behind? We could use big hammers and beat knowledge into their little heads. But if that doesn’t work, the only other solution is to slow everyone else down so they can all cross the finish line at the same time. While no child would be left behind, the whole country pays the price. OK, not the whole country. Just those that can’t afford to pay for the public school system and have enough left over to pay for private school.

AX

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04/15/10 by AX.

The current health care law has unconstitutional mandates for compelling individuals to purchase health insurance from private companies. Although in past entries we have suggested that it may be a good idea have citizens show in some way that they have some means of providing for their own health care costs, that idea always had problems. While the very wealthy may be able to show complete self insurability; determining where to set the bar of minimum level coverage is problematic. Additionally, the current law forbids exclusion for pre-existing conditions, but the penalty for failing to have insurance is less than almost any policy. Buying insurance on the way to the hospital isn’t insurance, it’s cost shifting. Shifting from you to someone else. All this does is make insurance companies nonviable.

There is a much better and simpler way to ensure that everyone has a level of health care available to them that is reasonable. Setting up government health care facilities that are open to the public and only provide a predetermined level of care. Because anyone that makes it to the door is treated, we would indeed have universal coverage. The level of treatment would be limited in several aspects. Elective cosmetic procedures would not provided at these facilities. Only cosmetic surgeries that are medically necessary would be covered. Three or four patients per room would be the norm. The hospitals and clinics would be largely self regulating in the level of treatment because of budgets. The budgets would hold at reasonable levels in much the same way welfare and food stamps don’t runaway. Because some 85% of the population has health insurance now, if that figure doesn’t change (and it shouldn’t significantly), the people paying without benefiting would want to keep the budgets to a reasonable level that allows those in need to receive treatment without breaking the bank.

Employers and individuals that have or provide insurance would not be eager to give it up because the benefits are still valuable compared to the government system. Having a separate system allows those treated in the government facility the dignity of not walking past the single occupant room where someone just had a “not government covered” procedure.

The education system works in this same way now. Everyone pays for the government system, but those who wish to pay extra can take advantage of a better, separate private system and all people are compelled to show that their children are covered by some sort of education (including home home schooling, which would be the equivalent of being self insured). Public and private education levels are not the same but government funding does not require equity of outcome. The government schools will continue to provide education to failing students until they either progress or drop out on their own. The hospitals would be no different.

Many hospitals already operate in a manner  similar to this concept already. Almost anyone that lives in a big city can think of facilities they would rather go to compared to others. Usually the least preferred hospitals are the heavily subsidized facilities. To attempt to equalize the conditions in the various hospitals by law is to eliminate the reward for achievement in a country that became the best on Earth by promoting the idea that you get what you earn. If no matter how hard you work you can never get ahead, why even try?

AX

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