blog.7Bends.com

Here is an email that’s circulating around the Virginia area about the move on to require our elected U.S. representatives to take the same healthcare plan as the people – if indeed a mandatory health care initiative passes through Congress this year:

“On Tuesday, February 9, 2010, the Senate Health Committee voted 12-11 in favor of a two-page amendment – courtesy of Republican Tom Coburn – that would require all members and their staffs to enroll in any new government-run health plan, if they enact such a program.

Congressman John Fleming (a Louisiana physician) has proposed this amendment that would require U.S. House and Senate representatives to take the same healthcare plan they may force on the people they represent. (Under proposed legislation, Congressional members are exempt. Why should there be two levels of coverage?)

Congressman Fleming is encouraging people (regardless of the state they live in) to visit his website and sign a very simple petition. (Only an email address is required.) Here is the link.

Urge as many people as you can to do the same. If Congress forces this program on the American people, those that serve in Congress – that we elect to represent us – should have to accept the same level of health care for themselves and their families. To do otherwise is hypocrisy.

Please pass this on.”

*****

Whatever coverage and requirements that those in Congress feel are beneficial for the American people should be good enough for them, too. This is both reasonable and equitable.

Va. Senate bans health insurance mandate

Today’s Take
Reported on Tuesday, February 02, 2010
On www Stateline.org

“The Democratic-led Virginia Senate sent a strong message about health care reform efforts in Washington, D.C., on Monday (Feb. 1), passing a bill that makes it illegal for Virginians to be required to buy health insurance.

With Republicans in control of the state’s House of Delegates and governor’s mansion, the bill could become law, The Washington Post reported. The effort would throw another wrench into congressional Democrats’ plans to revamp the nation’s health care system in the wake of a special election in Massachusetts that stripped the party of its 60-vote, filibuster-proof majority in the U.S. Senate.

An “individual mandate” that requires Americans to buy health insurance is a centerpiece of federal health care legislation. Virginia’s move could suggest that President Obama — who reiterated his support for reform during his State of the Union address last week — “is failing to reassure members of his own party that current reform efforts remain worthwhile,” The Post said.

A groundswell of opposition to the federal effort is emerging in statehouses around the country, The Associated Press reported today. Bills similar to the legislation cleared by the Virginia Senate are being considered in 35 states, with some lawmakers seeking constitutional amendments to prohibit mandatory health insurance. An Idaho legislative committee has approved a bill similar to Virginia’s, and in Missouri, an overflow crowd showed up at a hearing room when that state’s constitutional amendment was being debated, the AP reported.

What is notable about Monday’s action in the Virginia Senate, however, is that Democrats joined the effort, which has been led by conservatives in most states. Five Democrats joined all 18 Republicans in opposition to a health care mandate. The votes “suggest that Democrats on the state level fear that supporting health care reform could be politically damaging,” The Post said.”

“Today’s Take” provides a quick analysis of the day’s top news in state government.

Rohnert Park, CA – Project Censored was founded by Carl Jensen in 1976, and is a media research program working in cooperation with numerous independent media groups in the United States. Project Censored’s principle objective is training of Sonoma State University (SSU) students in media research and First Amendment issues and the advocacy for, and protection of, free press rights in the United States. Project Censored has trained over 1,500 students in investigative research in the past three decades.

For the last 34 years, Through a partnership of faculty, students, and the community, Project Censored has conducted research on important national news stories that are underreported, ignored, misrepresented, or censored by the U.S. corporate media. Each year, Project Censored publishes a ranking of the top 25 most censored nationally important news stories in the yearbook, Censored: Media Democracy in Action, which is released in September. Recent Censored books have been published in Spanish, Italian and Arabic.

Here is the list of their Top Censored Stories of 2009-2010:

* 1. US Congress Sells Out to Wall Street
* 2. US Schools are More Segregated Today than in the 1950s
* 3. Toxic Waste Behind Somali Pirates
* 4. Nuclear Waste Pools in North Carolina
* 5. Europe Blocks US Toxic Products
* 6. Lobbyists Buy Congress
* 7. Obama’s Military Appointments Have Corrupt Past
* 8. Bailed out Banks and America’s Wealthiest Cheat IRS Out of Billions
* 9. US Arms Used for War Crimes in Gaza
* 10. Ecuador Declares Foreign Debt Illegitimate
* 11. Private Corporations Profit from the Occupation of Palestine
* 12. Mysterious Death of Mike Connell — Karl Rove’s Election Thief
* 13. Katrina’s Hidden Race War
* 14. Congress Invested in Defense Contracts
* 15. World Bank’s Carbon Trade Fiasco
* 16. US Repression of Haiti Continues
* 17. The ICC Facilitates US Covert War in Sudan
* 18. Ecuador’s Constitutional Rights of Nature
* 19. Bank Bailout Recipients Spent to Defeat Labor
* 20. Secret Control of the Presidential Debates
* 21. Recession Causes States to Cut Welfare
* 22. Obama’s Trilateral Commission Team
* 23. Activists Slam World Water Forum as a Corporate-Driven Fraud
* 24. Dollar Glut Finances US Military Expansion
* 25. Fast Track Oil Exploitation in Western Amazon

To read details on each of these issues, visit the Project Censored web site.

More About Project Censored
The Project works in cooperation with SSU academic classes Sociology of Media and Sociology of Censorship, where students earn credit for their research and participate in writing the annual yearbook. Additionally, Project Censored sponsors and supervises over 60 student interns a year who do in-depth investigative research, sponsor campus events and speakers, and organize a series of Modern Censorship Lectures each fall semester. Students also participate in writing the Project Censored quarterly newsletter (circulation 9,000) and assist with maintaining the Project Censored website www.projectcensored.org, which receives over a million views a month from all over the world.

Between 700 and 1000 stories are submitted to Project Censored each year from journalists, scholars, librarians, and concerned citizens around the world. With the help of more than 200 Sonoma State University faculty, students, and community members, Project Censored reviews the story submissions for coverage, content, reliability of sources and national significance. The university community selects 25 stories to submit to the Project Censored panel of judges who then rank them in order of importance. Current or previous national judges include: Noam Chomsky, Susan Faludi, George Gerbner, Sut Jhally, Frances Moore Lappe, Michael Parenti, Herbert I. Schiller, Barbara Seaman, Erna Smith, Mike Wallace and Howard Zinn. All 25 stories are featured in the yearbook, Censored: The News That Didn’t Make the News.

(Source: www.projectcensored.org)

Here is the text of the U.S. Constitution. Read it for yourself. No where does it say that our elected officials can require Americans to buy anything, including health care coverage:

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Article I

Section 1. All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

Section 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.

No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.

Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New-York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.

When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.

The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.

Section 3. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.

Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year; and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies.

No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.

The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.

The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States.

The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.

Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of Honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.

Section 4. The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day.

Section 5. Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may provide.

Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.

Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.

Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.

Section 6. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.

No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such time: and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.

Section 7. All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.

Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; if he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by Yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.

Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.

Section 8. The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;

To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;

To establish Post Offices and post Roads;

To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;

To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;

To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

To provide and maintain a Navy;

To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;–And

To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

Section 9. The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.

The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.

No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.

No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken.

No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.

No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear or pay Duties in another.

No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.

Section 10. No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.

No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing it’s inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the Congress.

No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.
Article II

Section 1. The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows:

Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.

The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; A quorum for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President.

The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.

No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.

The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be encreased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.

Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:–”I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

Section 2. The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.

The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.

Section 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.

Section 4. The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
Article III

Section 1. The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.

Section 2. The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;–to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls;–to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;–to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party;–to Controversies between two or more States;–between a State and Citizens of another State;–between Citizens of different States;–between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.

In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.

The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.

Section 3. Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.
Article IV

Section 1. Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records, and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.

Section 2. The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.

A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.

No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.

Section 3. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new States shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.

The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.

Section 4. The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.
Article V

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.
Article VI

All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.

This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwith-standing.

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.
Article VII

The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.

Done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the Independence of the United States of America the Twelfth

In witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names,

George Washington–President and deputy from Virginia

New Hampshire: John Langdon, Nicholas Gilman

Massachusetts: Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King

Connecticut: William Samuel Johnson, Roger Sherman

New York: Alexander Hamilton

New Jersey: William Livingston, David Brearly, William Paterson, Jonathan Dayton

Pennsylvania: Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robert Morris, George Clymer, Thomas FitzSimons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson, Gouverneur Morris

Delaware: George Read, Gunning Bedford, Jr., John Dickinson, Richard Bassett, Jacob Broom

Maryland: James McHenry, Daniel of Saint Thomas Jenifer, Daniel Carroll

Virginia: John Blair, James Madison, Jr.

North Carolina: William Blount, Richard Dobbs Spaight, Hugh Williamson

South Carolina: John Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles Pinckney, Pierce Butler

Georgia: William Few, Abraham Baldwin”

Will Sarah Palin run independently? I certainly hope so. It will be a step forward for the people. I hope others follow suit, as well.

Notice that I did not say “Will she run as an Independent?” Right now, without significant reform, each of our two parties are so invested in their issues, positions, and livelihood that they will not back down from what they believe. And, then the media play them off of each other. In the end, it’s the people that are harmed. The Federal government puts the pressure on states, the states put it on local governments, and then they put it on the people. In the end, what are the people left with? More taxes.

The way I see it – By running as an ‘Independent,” we’ll only set up another “party machine.” Instead, let’s just have qualified people come forth – and through the power of their words – and a little help perhaps from the Internet – let’s judge their stuff. Do they speak the truth? Are they sincere, whether they are perfect or not? What ideas do they have to help America heal itself – from greed? The world is watching. They have their own issues (many similar to ours.)

Hope is in the air. It’s just not reported as much. Let’s set our hearts on hope – and the future – and good – rather than so much despair and killing and war. Let’s score one for the regular man and woman. And, let’s help each other. There is much that money cannot buy – the essential life elements that make living beautiful – faith, family, truth, freedom, and unity – and love.

As more people get involved – that means you – the people themselves will be the reformers that look into what’s really going on – and demand their rights and livelihood.

We change at the tipping point.  We get so many people moving in a positive direction – standing up for the freedom of each person – that the negative, controlling actions cease to have power anymore. We each can be a catalyst.

A  spiritual change is upon us! Be part of it – you are anyway, whether you take an active role or not. Just take one step at a time, observe, become more awake every day. And pray.

In any living organism, whether it’s a person, a family, or  a government, all change happens inside first. Let’s look to get our own houses in order, and help others do the same. With intention, let us make real progress toward what matters – safeguarding the intrinsic value of each human being. Now is the time for change. Onward!

Saturday, 11/21/09

Washington D.C. – Capitol Hill is the place where your representatives are going to vote to open debate on the new health care Plan today.  It’s not clear when the vote will be. Reuters is reporting today that the debate is likely to take about three weeks, followed by the vote. Some media sources reported that the vote may actually be today.

What is evident is that there is great urgency on the part of some of our representatives to get it done super fast.

This vote will affect your pocket bock/wallet, and also most likely your health, and your family’s health.

Get involved

Is this “new improved” Health Care System a good deal for the American people? You decide. The resources are here to begin doing your homework. (A link to the text of the new bill is at the end of this article. Let’s all read it, ask questions, and as the people of America, change what we don’t agree with.)

On Thursday, Senator Reid introduced  HR 3590, a re-vamping of the original bill. It is 2,074 pages – too long for many Senators to actually read it, much less give many of the American people any real chance to understand it. And, like usual, it has a lot of other legislation tacked onto it – some of it pork and payoffs – that gets even less review and publicity, some say by design. Let’s change that.

Why is it that as important as this decision is to Americans, some of our representatives are trying to push it through as fast as possible?

Yesterday, Roger Gray of  KETK News stated: “To read (HR 3590), you’d have to read a page a minute, 24-hours a day until the Saturday vote. That’s going to be tough.”

Pay in advance?

If voted in, according to many of the reports, American taxpayers will be taxed to begin paying for the Plan in advance, though it won’t be operational until 2014.  Some say that the official COB estimates on the actual cost of the Plan are also grossly underestimated,  and the System will be a burden not just on us now, but especially on our kids and grand kids.

Will the Plan break America on the backs of the people – when the goal, supposedly, is to bring health care costs down?

And the quality of care you’ll be “entitled” to receive is also being debated. Where does that stand? Let’s see. After significant outcry by medical doctors, the American Cancer Society, and the Susan Komen Breast Foundation on Wednesday -  as well as protests by thousands of U.S. citizens – The White House is backing off the Federal Government’s  announcement earlier this week that guidelines for breast cancer mammograms should be changed from 40 years old to 50 years old. Many say that by setting this new guideline, the Government is putting womens health and longevity in peril – for the sake of saving money.

The same holds true for the pap smear guidelines they just announced yesterday. What’s up with all of these “guideline” announcements just before the health care plan debate and vote? And why are all of the announcements publicized so far about womens health? Why does the government belong in issues that are between a person and his/her doctor?

I invite you also to take an open-minded look at many of the drug and insurance commercials – on TV, in print, and on the web.  The Government and these corporations often seem in concert. Certainly, the banks and the drug companies, and large retailers like WalMart, are connected into the System.  What ever happened to free enterprise?

Small business, too, is in peril. How will they be able to pay for this Plan and survive? It is difficult for many to keep their doors open now. Will they be asked to police who is enrolled in the Plan and who is not? Do you wish to pay an extra 2.5% tax if you decide not to participate?

To view a newscast by Roger Gray of KETK News that weighs these issues, visit:

http:/www.ketknbc.com/news/the-senate-healthcare-revealed

This newscast summarizes some of the contents of the revised health care bill. (You decide what to look into next.)

In the meantime, call your senator today, email him or her, or march down to his/her office. Here are the web sites that list the contact information for your Congressional representatives. I suggest that you bookmark them and use them often over the coming times.

Link to Senate website – with contact information.

Link to House of Representatives website – with contact information.

The people you elect to represent you, are not mind readers. You want to believe that they will listen to you – to their constituents – regardless of the enormous pressure put on them to vote for this bill, and the incentives offered to them to vote in a certain way.  All I say is – Test it out and see to what extent they really hear you and vote accordingly.

Your representatives do NOT know where you stand on the health care System issue unless you tell them. Don’t depend on someone else to tell them. They may not act, and then you’ll be left paying in the end – literally and figuratively.

It’s not too late to be heard. Make the time today to contact your Senator first, and also your representative in the U.S. House.

Health care access and costs may be difficult now. The debate, though, is whether this new Plan will cost you more – to receive limited, controlled coverage in the end? That’s an equation that doesn’t add up for the benefit of the people.

Even if less care for more money is a possibility at all, we owe it to ourselves and our families to slow down this process to make sure it benefits the people.

You know, I am sick and tired of the Republican machine telling us one thing and the Democratic machine telling us another. (The actors and their continuous arguments back and forth are unproductive.)  I’ve heard many say that the two-party system – with the media handling their PR – has become a circus.

Perhaps, the overall goal is to keep the people confused, off-balanced, and fearful. Whether it’s a goal or not, it’s often the reality. Then again, perhaps it’s a case of how far they can push, adjust the “anger meter,” and then push again, trying to ramrod things along so fast that people don’t know what even happened to them.

You know, there is a wise, non-partisan statement that goes like this:

There are three types of people in the world:

1) those who make things happen;

2) those who watch things happen; and

3)  those who wonder what happened (in retrospect, that is!)

Which are you?

Read the text of HR 3590 – the revised health care bill today – at this link:

http://www.opencongress.org/senate_health_care_bill

And, contact your senator NOW.

This is your future

Prepare for drastic Internet changes – or Act Now

On October 22 of this year the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) took the first step toward creating formal net neutrality rules, despite a huge lobbying effort from opposing groups. Since mid-2005, the FCC has said it will enforce four broadband policy principles, saying consumers have a right to access the legal Internet content of their choice, and they are entitled to run Web applications and services of their choice. While long an underlying principle behind the World Wide Web, the FCC has never made formal net neutrality rules.

On the FCC announcement, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said, “the rules are necessary to protect innovation on the Internet and preserve the openness that has allowed the Internet to blossom. The problem is not merely that we’ve seen some significant situations where broadband providers have degraded the data streams of popular lawful services and blocked consumer access to lawful applications,” he said. “The heart of the problem is that … we face the dangerous combination of an uncertain legal framework with ongoing as well as emerging challenges to a free and open Internet. Given the potentially huge consequences of having the open Internet diminished through inaction, the time is now to move forward with consideration of fair and reasonable rules of the road.”

According to Gigi Sohn, president of Public Knowledge, a digital rights advocacy group, “The Internet was created and grew up under strict nondiscrimination rules. Those same ideas are as valuable today as they were 10 years ago. Having rules in place will bring a degree of certainty that will help both carriers and consumers alike. Carriers will know what is allowed and what is not; consumers will be relieved to know they will be able to have access to any content and service on a nondiscriminatory basis.”

Meanwhile, from our old friends on the hill

In a seemingly separate event, one day later on October 23, 2009, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) introduced a bill, the so-called Internet Freedom Act, seeking to do the opposite of what its name implies, by ensuring that broadband and wireless providers can discriminate and throttle certain traffic while giving preferential treatment to other traffic. Basically, those in power and/or those who pay more will have access to more bandwidth.

Where is all this Orwellian style double-speak coming from? Congress introduces a bill that would effectively kill any notion of Net Neutrality and give the final decision making power over to the likes of AT&T, Verizon and Comcast, as to who gets priority service and who doesn’t. The name of this bill? The Internet Freedom Act!

George Orwell would be proud of the way in which such phrases as “Public Safety and Homeland Security” have come to mean unlawful search and seizure and an end to writ of habeas corpus; “Ignorance is Strength” describes the hog-wash that passes for network, as well as cable television, and “Freedom,” once a sacred word in this country is left in the hands of  the BIG Telecoms to administer and arbitrate.

According to the text of the McCain bill, the FCC “shall not propose, promulgate, or issue any regulations regarding the Internet or IP-enabled services.”

Now wait just a damn minute here; isn’t that specifically what the FCC is chartered to do? (See mission statement below) Since when did our Congress go from being the maker of laws to the con-founder of the existing structures that were put in place (by Congress) to regulate certain industries in the first place? Can we all spell “Special Interest,” kiddies?

An excerpt from the mission statement of the FCC:

As specified in section one of the Communications Act (of 1934) as amended by the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (amendment to 47 U.S.C. §151) it is the FCC’s mission to “make available so far as possible, to all the people of the United States, without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex, rapid, efficient, Nation-wide, and world-wide wire and radio communication services with adequate facilities at reasonable charges.”[sic] The Act furthermore provides that the FCC was created “for the purpose of the national defense” and “for the purpose of promoting safety of life and property through the use of wire and radio communications…”

Consistent with the objectives of the Act as well as the 1993 Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA), the FCC has identified six goals in its 2006-2011 Strategic Plan. Those are:

* Broadband: “All Americans should have affordable access to robust and reliable broadband products and services. Regulatory policies must promote technological neutrality, competition, investment, and innovation to ensure that broadband service providers have sufficient incentives to develop and offer such products and services...”

The McCain “Internet Freedom Act” see’s the Internet in a whole different light, setting the stage for the same sort of Big money, Big Business, and Big government control we’ve come to expect from radio, television and the print media.

Why McCain?

Another interesting question; what do John McCain and the Internet have in common, in the first place? During last year’s Presidential campaign McCain freely admitted to having little or no knowledge, or interest in modern technologies like email or the Internet. On the other hand, John saw fit to accept huge contributions from large Internet service providers, such as AT&T, Verizon and Comcast, to namne a few, and now, as the bill comes due on these “donations,” Mr. McCain opts to sponsor a bill that would effectively strip the Internet of its underlying democratic underpinnings and leave the decisions on who gets the bandwidth up to the telecoms.

According to a report from the Sunlight Foundation and the Center for Responsive Politics, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) is the top recipient of campaign contributions from large Internet service providers like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast. Over the past two years, McCain has taken in a total of $894,379 (much of that money going to support his failed 2008 bid for the presidency), more than twice the amount taken by the next-largest beneficiary, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. ($341,089).

This article is in no way meant as  a reproach to Mr. McCain, who’s record as a soldier and senator speak for themselves, however one is given pause as to the motivation of anyone that would opt to support, let alone sponsor a bill so diametrically opposed to the free dissemination of information to the people of this country, and indeed the world.

If you want a better idea of how all this will work just take a look at the current state of cable TV and how it is packaged for the providers’ benefit with very little choice by consumers as to what programming they choose to pay for. 200 channels for $49.95 per month may seem like a good deal to some, but what if you only want three of those channels. Under current regulations, the only way to get the 3 stations one wants is to pay for the other 197 that one has no interest in. The proposed legislation sets the stage for the same sort of pro big-business shenanigans that we have all come to expect from the kids of Ma Bell.

Make no mistake here, it is the exact same players we are discussing. Those who having successfully lobbied for the current regulations affecting cable providers and are now taking some of those profits and lobbying for the same sweet deal for Internet services.

A much deeper issue involved in the proposed legislation is that it makes possible the deliberate expansion of bandwidth to those who can afford to pay a “premium” for it,  that bandwidth being drawn from those either not able to pay, or even worse, those not spouting the same message as the established big-dollar media moguls, who for years now have seen fit to publish little more than what is handed them by the government run and lobbyist supported propaganda apparatus itself.

But how can we be sure?

Just in case there are any doubts as to how the telecoms will use this new found freedom that they are paying so well for, take the case of Comcast who filed a federal lawsuit challenging the FCC’s authority to enforce these principles after the agency ruled last August that Comcast had to stop slowing peer-to-peer (P2P) traffic in the name of network management.

Interestingly,  Comcast’s federal suit, denying the authority of the FCC to regulate, let alone punish in these matters comes on the heels of their asking for and receiving a stay of an earlier suit filed in the state of California claiming the exact opposite.

In its motion, Comcast argued that regulation is “unnecessary and unwarranted,” but also specifically said the FCC has authority over the matter. “Any inquiry into whether Comcast’s P2P management is unlawful falls squarely within the FCC’s subject matter jurisdiction,” the company stated in its brief.

“Comcast is wrong,” says Free Press attorney Marvin Ammori. “Comcast is not above the law. In fact, the Commission has asserted eight different bases for its authority, and every one of these asserted bases independently confers Title I authority.”

Now’s the time

Every small business owner (or employee, or customer – everyone who would like to see the Internet remain an open and democratic network,) who wants to do business online without paying a “quality of service tax” or some other electronic blackmail charge, should let their representative in Congress know that they are in favor of Net Neutrality in principle, and that it is a basic  protection for small business, as well as for the free dissemination of information among an informed citizenry.

And while you’re at it, maybe put in a word or two about truth in advertising, or calling a spade a spade, or however you might want to phrase it. There’s been entirely too much double-speak coming from the “swamp” lately, and I for one would rather hear nothing than this incessant mumble-jumbo that passes for news. Gee-whiz, if they had just called it the “Internet Slavery Act of 2009″ I might have gone right past and not given it a second thought.

On a lighter note . . .

… at times I feel that I get just a glimpse of the frustrations the founders of this great nation experienced at the audacity of a ruling class that seems to find no low too low to sink to.

Jon Stewart’s Daily Show from 10/26/2009 takes a different tack on the issue. It’s a whole lot funnier than the situation warrants perhaps, but it puts another perspective on the whole thing that’s thought provoking, at the very least.

As Stewart points out, there’s a hidden motive behind everyone who promotes net neutrality. And that is, naturally, advancing a radical socialist agenda by controlling the Internet.

Set the telecoms free!

Surely we can trust them!

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
From Here to Neutrality
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

Dateline: 10/23/2009

Article Title: Sunflower COO calls on Congress to rein in media conglomerates

Writer: Mike Robuck

Selected Excerpt:

“Sunflower Broadband COO Patrick Knorr testified before a recent House subcommittee that media conglomerates are taking advantage of consumers who are served by small, independent cable operators. In his written testimony, Knorr, who was the immediate past chairman of the American Cable Association, asked Congress to put a halt to programmers’ current contracting practices.

“We hope you will take advantage of this unique moment in time to consider how to improve the rules that govern our marketplace that are nearly two decades old and pre-date the emergence of the Internet,” Knorr wrote. “Consumers deserve better services than can be provided under today’s regulatory regime. We are also concerned about the future of a free and open Internet that is being threatened by the emerging business model that compels consolidated and dominant content providers to leverage their video content in anti-consumer ways.”

Knorr appeared before the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, a panel that has jurisdiction over cable operators, broadcasters, satellite TV companies, vertically integrated cable programmers, phone companies and the Federal Communications Commission.

In his remarks, Knorr described a marketplace that he said was being distorted by outdated laws and regulations that unfairly supply media conglomerates with powerful leverage to take full advantage of consumers served by Sunflower Broadband and nearly 1,000 other small- and mid-size cable operators represented by the ACA.”

To read complete article

Which web site was this from? : Communications, Engineering & Design Magazine

Who are they? (as explained on their web site.)

“CED, the premier monthly magazine of broadband communications. Editorial focus is on the technological developments that are shaping existing broadband networks and the communications networks of the 21st century. CED’s target audience is corporate and system management and engineering/technical management at cable TV, telecommunications and wireless operations, as well as data professionals and interactive- multimedia providers and developers.”

Toward informed decisions

The big push is on … for “targeted groups” in the US and across the Earth – to get the new h1N1 vaccine. These target groups include pregnant women, young children, and people older than 65. Aren’t these our most vulnerable citizens?If the vaccine is  not safe, are we then subjecting our very loved ones to peril?

There are reports that the h1N1 vaccines have harmful effects, and it is true that the US Government has granted immunity to  the manufacturers of the h1N1 vaccine – that has been rushed to market. Why?  If there are problems with the vaccines, they will not be held responsible. Who will?

In 1976, the swine flu vaccine was taken off the market in the US after a significant number of its recipients contracted Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), a nerve disease that paralyzes and sometimes kills its victims.

Already, people in the United Kingdom, are questioning what is going on.

Here’s what mercola.com reports:

“A warning that the swine flu vaccine has been linked to a deadly nerve disease has been sent by the UK Government to senior neurologists in a confidential letter.

The letter from the Health Protection Agency, the official body that oversees public health, was leaked to The Daily Mail, leading to demands to know why the information has not been given to the public before the vaccination of millions of people, including children, begins.

It tells the neurologists that they must be alert for an increase in a brain disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), which could be triggered by the vaccine. GBS attacks the lining of the nerves, causing paralysis and inability to breathe, and can be fatal.

The letter refers to the use of a similar swine flu vaccine in the United States in 1976 when:

* More people died from the vaccination than from swine flu
* The vaccine may have increased the risk of contracting GBS by eight times
* The vaccine was withdrawn after just ten weeks when the link with GBS became clear
* The U.S. Government was forced to pay out millions of dollars to those affected.”

Copies of the disclosure materials that are inserted in the packages of the new vaccine out now  mention Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS)  as a possible result.  There are copies of these inserts on the Internet. US doctors and health care workers are being required to track any incidences of  GBS  following h1N1 immunizations.  One may wish to view, or ask to see these inserts.

Right here in the US, health care workers themselves are being forced to get the vaccine.

There are also reports that France and Greece will require mandatory injections. When did any government get the right to tell its citizens that they must put anything into their own bodies against their will?

US doctors, too, have had their medical practices  disrupted in many towns around the U.S., as the number of citizens calling for information and to inquire about getting their family members vaccinated is soaring.

There are questions, too, whether this “pandemic” of swine flu, though nothing to ignore, has and will result in the widespread harm – and deaths – that the World Health Organization (WHO) and governments around the world are predicting. Are we getting hype, or the facts? Is the move to “mass vaccinations” an overreaction?

People, it seems, just want the facts to make an informed decision, and certainly do not wish the pharmaceutical companies to place millions of Americans and other world citizens at risk due to nondisclosure of the possible risks of the new vaccines.

Where and when are human lives more imp0rtant than money?

There are many references on the Internet about the facts to consider in weighing whether to get the H1N1 swine flu vaccine. Or to give it to your kids or elderly relatives.

This Examiner article – which includes links to other sources – gives a good solid overview of the issues – and possible lives – at stake.  Check it out here.

After an open-minded look, what do you think? Register your comments here.