It’s a screwed up world

Bill H.R. 1863

To amend title 38, United States Code, to ensure that veterans in each of the 48 contiguous States are able to receive services in at least one full-service Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in the State or receive comparable services provided by contract in the State, and for other purposes.

If the intent of this bill is to help our veterans than maybe they need to rethink this.  One facility in Texas isn’t going to do much good if it’s 600 miles away.  Perhaps they should rethink!

Sponsored by
U.S. Representative Guinta and U.S. Representative Bass

US House

Congressional Directory

Where's the Whiteboard?

The so called “Health Care Summit” turned out to be nothing more than a tool for the Democrats and the Republicans to rally their base supporters. Both sides can now claim they tried to compromise but the other side wouldn’t work with them, while leaving those in the middle shaking their heads and repeating “This is why I don’t belong to a party”.

If this was a real summit and both sides really want to accomplish something they would have rolled up their sleeves, got out the white board list the options and see what compromising could be reached instead of repeating talking points and criticizing each other. And Hey Obama that McCain remark was really uncalled for, let the American people decide what is a talking point and what isn’t.

Give me 40 everyday Americans, scratch that there was 40 politicians, give me 10 everyday Americans a whiteboard and a weekend and we could work out a comprise. It might not be one liked by big business or those who favor socialized health care but it would be honest and have a better chance at working than any of the current proposals.

The Right to Bear Arms.

“Americans have the right and advantage of being armed – unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms. “ James Madison President of the United states and Father of the Constitution.

The McDonald vs. Chicago case currently being heard in The US Supreme Court will decide rather the Chicago hand gun law is constitutional. To decide the matter one only needs to look at the above quite by the man who wrote so much of the constitution he is called the Father of the Constitution. I think his statement alone should be enough to establish the intent of the amendment and that the laws outlawing guns are unconstitutional.

If one needs to look farther for support they can also look at the quote from Thomas Jefferson who was the driving force behind The Bill of Rights. “Laws that forbid the carrying of arms…disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed one.”

Criminal Generation?

“But what a burden would be lifted! We would no longer have to worry that our grandchildren would one day look back on us as a criminal generation that had selfishly and blithely ignored clear warnings that their fate was in our hands.” Al Gore -Nytimes.com 2-27-10

Of course Gore is talking climate change, but one could use the same reference in let’s say the debate on the FEDERAL DEFICIT.

Why Sixty Votes Matters

To understand why sixty votes are needed to move a bill to a vote you need to imagine what would happen without it.

The “Mexico City policy” was created by President Reagan in 1984, canceled by President Clinton in 1992, reinstated by President George W. Bush in 2001 and then canceled again in 2008 by President Obama and will be of course be enacted again the next time a republican president take office. The reason this policy can change so frequently is the president can cancel or intact the policy at his will.

If the Senate rules allowed for a simple 51 votes to move a bill to a vote then the same kind of back and forth would be a routine each and every time a new party took over in the Senate.

Imagine the chaos that rewriting the laws of the country ever 4, 6 or 8 years would cause.

Abortion Funding

It seems that the main reason shouted by supports of abortion coverage in health care reform is that it is a legal medical procedure that saves lives. Lets say for the sake of this argument that is correct.

If the reason is that it is legal and saves life then shouldn’t the federal government fund other programs that are legal and save lives? Perhaps they should provide funding so that all Americans could exercise their second amendment rights to keep and bear arms, as it too saves life and is legal.

If this is the case I would like to put my order in for one of those cool FN P90s they use in Stargate.

Iraq Wrong War or Right War

Gordon Brown testified before an official inquiry that the invasion of Iraq had been the right decision FULL ARTICE

I couldn’t agree more. Here we are seven years later and Iraq is “slowly” becoming a more stable country and in some ways an allied of the US, while American troops are still fighting an uphill battle in Afghanistan.

The elections tomorrow will tell us how much of an allied they will be in the near future but the big change will come years from now when the Iraq children of today enter the political arena. When the young girls grow up and ask why can’t I or the young men see the world outside Iraq and say “I want to do this”. So to all those soldiers who have fought in Iraq especially those who paid the ultimate sacrifice I say to you, this was the Right War at the Right Time and thank you.