As the Congress continues to rewrite and introduce new versions of so called health care reform legislation in both houses of Congress the citizens of the United States are treated to longer and longer bills that are more and more confusing. The House has passed its version and now the Senate has voted to bring the Senate version to the floor for debate. That tells us what we need to know about the so-called moderate Democrats in the Senate. If the people in Louisiana and other states don’t rise up against Mary Landrieu and the other Senators who are selling out their constituents then this will truly be just the beginning. They will continue to violate their oaths of office and vote for every bill Obama and Harry Reid tell them to vote for regardless of the Constitutional implications.

As for the health care bills themselves, the bottom line remains the same. These bills are not really about health care at all. They are an all out assault on the Constitution of the United States and are designed to transfer power to the Executive Branch of government that will impact and in some cases virtually destroy the Constitutional rights of Americans to make their own choices when it comes to health care and even to protect their own privacy.

            In previous articles I have dealt with some of these concerns and now I will summarize them for you so you can decide for yourselves if this is really the direction you want our country to take. This is what both the House and Senate versions of the bill will do:

            First and foremost, both bills will allow federal bureaucrats to decide what health care you can receive. This will be true whether you keep your private health care insurance or go with the “public options”. Both bills are also carefully crafted to eliminate private insurance over a period of time and force everyone into federally mandated and controlled health care. In either case, you and your doctor will no longer be able to make your health care decisions in private. There will always be a committee of Presidential appointees ultimately making your health care decisions for you. This is clearly rationing of health care.

            Decisions will be made on the basis of “cost effectiveness". If your doctor or a hospital decides you need treatment the government can reverse that decision and deny you the treatments. The Senate bill allegedly allows States to opt out of the Health Care Exchange that offers the public option but the costs to the citizens of the states that do would be such that states will not be able to make that choice.

            Senior citizens will receive the initial and most devastating impact. The fact that seniors have been paying taxes for years to provide Medicare coverage when they retire is ignored. Massive cuts in Medicare will take place including the elimination of such programs as Medicare Advantage that many of seniors have to have in order to make ends meet. This is a direct strike against the contractual obligations that the Federal government has with citizens of the United States.

            Both bills also contain massive tax increases on the citizens of our country. Employers will be taxed on private coverage they provide for employees that will force them to either drop the coverage or pass the costs on to their employees. Good private insurance plans will be taxed as “so-called Cadillac plans”. These taxes will be passed on to individuals and that means that many families will find that their premiums will actually be much higher under the legislation. There are two reasons for this; the first is to force more people into the public option and the second is to pay for the government plans for the uninsured, including illegal aliens.

The fact is that while the bills claim to contain provisions denying coverage to illegals these are false. There are no enforcement provisions in place for these provisions and all amendments introduced in both houses of Congress to specifically prohibit coverage for illegals have been defeated in committees.

In addition, if you want to keep your private coverage, it must be approved by the Federal government. If it is not, or if any changes are made to your coverage, or if you decide to change employment you will be forced to accept the public option. If you refuse to do so you will be taxed by the government. This is not really a tax, it is a fine, but it is called a tax so that you can be denied the provisions of the due process clause of the 5^th Amendment under the Constitution. In other words, you will not be able to appeal the penalty and by the way, all of this will be under the control of the Internal Revenue Service. If you refuse to get insurance and fail to pay the “taxes” for this refusal, you can be put in federal prison.

In order to make sure that you and your doctor are under complete control of the government you will have a health care card with a bar code that will allow federal bureaucrats instant access to all of your medical information and your financial information, including your bank accounts. Forget about privacy and your rights to be free of illegal searches under the 4^th Amendment to the Constitution. These will be eliminated under these new laws.

Does the Congress of the United States have the power to do this under the provisions of our Constitution? The answer is absolutely not. Does the Congress or the Obama administration seem to care? The answer is a no, they don’t, despite the fact that the 9^th and 10^th Amendments to the Constitution clearly limit the powers of the Federal Government and protect the rights of the people and their elected state governments to make such decisions.

If this legislation passes it will ultimately end up in the Supreme Court of the United States to decide if it is Constitutional. However, even the Court’s decision will not be final. The final decision of whether or not Americans will give up their sacred rights under the Constitution will rest with us. Will we enforce our right to live under a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people” or will we surrender to tyranny. The choice is up to us. I know which choice I will make.

Michael Connelly

mrobertc@hotmail.com

http://michaelconnelly.viviti.com/

           As another Veteran’s Day approaches I am taking a break from writing about the challenges to our Constitution to offer a personal “Thank You” to those men and women who have defended our Constitution and continue to do so. I have the distinct honor to be a member of a family that has had someone serving in every war that our nation has fought from the Revolution until today. I am a veteran, as was my father who served in WW II, and all four of my sons are either veterans or are currently serving.

            I also have the honor of commanding an American Legion Post in Carrollton, Texas where there are men and women who are veterans of WW II and every war since then. The members of the Post come from many different backgrounds yet they share a bond that few others understand and some even scorn. They are American warriors who took an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States of America and they did so despite all of the obstacles many of them faced both at home and abroad. They have asked for little in return and have often gotten even less. However, they are entitled to respect, if nothing else.

            When I wore the U.S. Army uniform I was spit on and cursed by those who were exercising the very freedoms that I was sworn to defend. I demand more for my sons and all those who have served and are now laying their lives on the line every day. I demand it not only from the American people, but from those politicians who use the lives of our servicemen and women as political pawns to serve their own ambitions. You may “talk the talk” of service to America but the members of our armed services “walk the walk” and they prove it by offering their blood as a sacrifice for their country.

            During the last several months I have had the honor and privilege of attending an American Indian Powwow in Bandera, Texas and a performance by tribe members during Santa Fe Days in Carrollton, Texas. On both occasions I was invited to participate in the “Veteran’s Dance” conducted by the Tribe members. This is open to all American military veterans, regardless of their race or background. As the drums play the honor songs and we dance in the sacred circles of the gatherings I can’t help but be humbled by being considered one of the warriors who has served our nation.

            As I write this my oldest son is preparing to leave for a 12 to 18 month deployment in Afghanistan. He has already served two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. My youngest son, who has served over two years of active duty as an MP, is preparing to receive training to fly Blackhawk helicopters for the Army.

            Yet, while we continue to send out bravest and finest to fight and die in foreign lands to protect our freedom we are also seeing them die on our own soil. It is time that we recognize that our brave warriors who died at Fort Hood were killed by one of the same people who has pledged to destroy our way of life. The time for political correctness has ended, we either unite and fight, or we surrender. I have no intention of surrendering. God Bless our men and women in uniform, God Bless our veterans, and God Bless America.

 http://michaelconnelly.viviti.com/