On Single Payer

Now that the election of 2008 has settled the issue of who Americans want in the White House and Congress, this blog needs to move beyond defining and defending liberal and conservative positions.  We need to use this space to discuss real issues facing real people both here in Unicoi County and throughout the country.

One such issue, and it’s an enormous issue, is the matter of health care.  This contributor is coming out fully in favor of Representative John Conyers’ H.R. 676, the United States National Health Insurance Act, which creates a single-payer, publicly financed, privately delivered, universal health care program.

This program would essentially extend Medicare to all Americans, regardless of their income levels.  Go to http://www.johnconyers.com/print/244 for a detailed description of the proposed legislation.

Now we know that conservatives will scream “socialism”, hoping that the “red menace” emotions of the McCarthy years will still invoke fear and loathing in peoples’ minds.  (Yes, I’m old enough to remember the McCarthy years and the anti-communist witch hunts that characterized the era.)

But, as I’ve written before in this space, socialism is not the real issue.  We have lots of socialized institutions in our communities.  Our sheriff, our police, and our public roads departments are all socialized.  (And yes – I do get a sort of wicked pleasure out of pointing out that both the road superintendent and the sheriff are, respectively, the chairman and past chairman of the County’s Republican Party.)   All that really means is that we recognize that public roads and safety are in everyone’s best interests and therefore we all chip in, through taxes, to pay for them.

The real issue is whether or not we continue to spend over 30% of every health care dollar on insurance company (mis)management of the system, continuing a practice that effectively denies health care to millions of citizens.  The Conyers bill would cover everyone and would be paid for by a combination of fees and taxes that would be fair to all Americans – rich and poor alike.  Check out the web site for all the details.

Let Them Eat Pork

This illustrates perfectly the mentality of our elected leaders today.

Getting Back On Track

A picture is worth a thousand words.  Don’t you agree?

2008 COUNTY BY COUNTY ELECTION MAP

Can you guess where the major cities in the United States are on this map?

Saving the Environment

Some thoughts on saving the Valley Beautiful

                There is much talk in Washington these days regarding means by which America might save its economy and its environment.  I have a modest proposal that would contribute to both efforts.

                We should establish a mass-transit system in northeast Tennessee.

                The system, at first, would consist of buses and, later, of electric light rail lines.  This system would transport those who work, shop, or have other reasons to make frequent trips to Johnson City, Kingsport, or Bristol allowing them to leave their individual cars or trucks at home or a convenient commuter lot.  Commuter parking areas would be easily and cheaply established at various points in each of the upstate counties, thus allowing for shorter drive time from home to wherever the bus can be boarded.  A parallel system could be built between the three cities allowing for public transportation between them.  Each city already has a working bus system within its limits and a bus terminal from which one can get pretty much anywhere in the city. 

                I have no idea how many people drive – one or two in a car – to and from Johnson City from Erwin each day, but I have to believe there are a great many.  I am one of them.  Just to keep it simple, let’s imagine that 100 people, driving cars that average 20 miles per gallon, drive 20 miles each day to and from a job at ETSU.  Collectively, they would consume 100 gallons of gas per day.  If the same 100 people rode two buses, each getting 6 miles per gallon, they would collectively consume 6.8 gallons of fuel, thus saving 93.2 gallons per day or 466 gallons per week.  Even assuming the cost of the bus was about the same as the cost of gas, the savings in wear and tear on our autos would be significant, the reduction in exhaust gases would be enormous, and the pain felt in Saudi Arabia would be downright heart-warming.

                For a few years, at least, the bus system would be flexible enough to allow us to study patterns of use, preferred routes, and so forth.  It would also give us time to build (using the median between lanes of the freeway system) a light rail system of electric trains.  That would get us off petroleum and into sustainable energy sources (wind, solar, geothermal) for much of our daily travel.   

                Of course there would be some “downsides” in this proposal.  It would reduce tax collections (both sales taxes and motor fuel taxes) by quite a lot.  Legislatures and Congress would need to figure out how to replace those income sources.  It would require that we Americans become much more careful in planning our days and travels.  But I imagine that most of us would benefit from having to think, plan, and walk more than we do now.

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Pelosi Believes One Way To Reduce Costs Is To Reduce The Number Of Babies Born

The revelation came during an exchange Sunday morning on ABC’s THIS WEEK.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Hundreds of millions of dollars to expand family planning services. How is that stimulus?

PELOSI: Well, the family planning services reduce cost. They reduce cost. The states are in terrible fiscal budget crises now and part of what we do for children’s health, education and some of those elements are to help the states meet their financial needs. One of those – one of the initiatives you mentioned, the contraception, will reduce costs to the states and to the federal government.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So no apologies for that?

PELOSI: No apologies. No. we have to deal with the consequences of the downturn in our economy.

[Source:  The Drudge Report]

As the economy sinks deeper in the current recession, let’s not address the waste in government spending as a way of reducing costs.  Let’s not examine and list priorities (such as national defense) in our spending and cut everything else until we are out of the recession.  Let’s use this opportunity to push our pro child sacrifice abortion agenda.

The United States has the leaders that it deserves.  I hope we, as a nation, wake up before it is too late…..if it is not too late already.

The Solution To The National Deficit

2nd Amendment Under Attack

The Second Amendment says

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

The attacks on this right granted to us in the U.S. Constitution have started and Obama has not even taken office yet.  Read this story for more information.  Here are some of the details:

U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., is hoping to pass a firearm-licensing bill that will significantly rewrite gun-ownership laws in America.

Among the more controversial provisions of the bill are requirements that all handgun owners submit to the federal government a photo, thumb print and mental heath records. Further, the bill would order the attorney general to establish a database of every handgun sale, transfer and owner’s address in America.

You may want to read that again.  The bill is H.R. 45, a.k.a. Blair Holt’s Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009.  If this bill passes it will be a major erosion on our Constitutional rights.  David Cordea explains the implications of this bill in this way:

“It will make it illegal for you to possess guns you currently legally own unless you go jump through their hoops, register yourself and obtain a license.” [Click here to read his article]

The time for our diligence in preserving our rights is here.  Do not give up.  Call, write, email, or fax your representative and tell them to oppose this bill.  Tell them how it is unconstitutional.  Tell them that you expect them to do all that they can to stop this and remind them that you will remember how they voted come next election.

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Speaker’s Chair

For the first time in a very long time Republicans control both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the state of Tennessee.  One of the best things about this development is that we will no longer have to put up with Jimmy Naifeh running things in Nashville.   It was all but a forgone conclusion that Jason Mumpower, R-Bristol, would be elected as the first republican Speaker in 40, or so, years.

The Republicans all pledged (in writing) to vote for the Republican nominee for Speaker.  Mumpower was nominated but the Democrats nominated Kent Williams, R-Carter County.  Every Democrat voted for Williams and every Republican except Williams voted for Mumpower.  Williams voted for himself, thus winning the position.  One report described it this way:

On opening day of the 106th General Assembly, Democrats outmaneuvered Republicans to seat Kent Williams, a Republican who is apparently sympathetic to Democrats and was immediately branded by the GOP as a liar who betrayed his party and his constituents.

If the Democrats could support him, should conservatives be concerned?  Probably.  I don’t know much about Williams but I am sure we will get to see where he stands on issues very quickly as he makes committee appointments.

There is apparently a move with the Republican Party now to boot Williams from the Party.  He has effectively changed parties already.  It just has not become official yet.  I heard a news report on the radio today detailing how Williams had voted for a Democrat for the Speaker Pro Tempore.  It seems that even though the people put the Republicans in charge at the ballot box in November that the Democrats have figured a way to thwart the will of the people and retain control.

I had great hope for the State to accomplish some things in the next couple years but that seems to be gone now.  If nothing else, it should be an interesting session.

The Election Process Should Insure Only Qualified Candidates Win

“This process of election affords a moral certainty that the office of President will seldom fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications.”

–Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 68, 14 March 1788

Source:  Patriot Post, Founder’s Quote Daily Email

I guess this election cycle failed!!