Wow, this says it all.
---------- Forwarded message ---------- On Sun, Aug 23, 2009 at 9:19 AM, Robyn <birdsarew...@yahoo.com> wrote: > > > Below is a letter to the editor that Andrea > Berghold<http://www.campaignforliberty.com/profile.php?member=ladynurse>, > a Campaign For Liberty member, sent to her local newspaper. This is > absolutely awesome and personally, I think deserves to be published in every > paper in the nation, even if groups have to pay to have it put in their > papers. > > > August 21, 2009 > > Leader Publications > P O Box 159 > Festus MO 63028 > > Dear Mr. Martin, > > I wanted to thank you for taking the time to speak with me regarding > your "Opinions" piece relating to healthcare reform. There are many reasons > why this specific legislation is so personal to me. First and foremost, the > proposed healthcare reform is unConstitutional, as is EVERY OTHER HEALTHCARE > LEGISLATION AND REGULATION IN EXISTENCE in this country. Nowhere can it be > found in our Constitution, Bill of Rights, or Declaration of Independence > that healthcare should be funded, regulated, provided, or controlled by the > federal government. Healthcare is a service, not a right. The entire issue > is moot, because it's not within their listed powers to interfere with. That > being said, our current Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Disability, and > the many other new programs being forced upon us, are completely > unConstitutional and should be phased out. They should remain in effect long > enough to provide promised services to those that were forced to pay into > it, and then be dissolved. > > One (of several) reasons this will never be done is because our federal > government is unable to admit their mistakes and take the necessary action > to stop repeating them. I would be happy to provide examples: The > Department of Energy: Created in the 1970's out of a need to become less > energy dependant on foreign suppliers. > > Results: After more than 30 years and hundreds of billions of dollars, we > are MORE dependent on foreign suppliers now than before the creation of this > department. > What has the fed govt done about this enormous waste of time and money? > They budget MORE time and MORE money. > > The Department of Education: Created out of a need to promote a higher > level of education for our children. Also the inspiration for the creation > of "No Child Left Behind." Results: Suffice it to say that MOST of the > 'victims' of these programs are able to graduate from high school, yet are > unable to perfom simple tasks like making change at McDonalds. The fed govts > answer? Throw MORE MONEY at it. > > And one of my favorites, the Food & Drug Administration: Created out of a > need to assure the safety of the food and drugs we ingest. > > Results: (Food) Mad Cow disease, bird flu, E-coli covered spinach, and > 'toxic' peanut butter (just to name a few from recent years), and (Drug) Can > you say, "Have you or a loved one experienced unexpected side effects from > using (Rx)? Call our law firm at 1-800-OUR-BADD." > > The fed govts answer? We all know the FDA is still alive and kickin,' and > I'm sure our fed govt is taking aim to throw more money at 'em. > > There are hundreds of billions of our tax dollars being used for > programs like these, all completely unConstitutional, and yet all still > alive and sucking down our tax dollars faster than me and you can earn them. > > Are the intentions all pure? I would hope so, but I can't prove either > side. Are the ideas behind them worthy? Absolutely! Who in their right mind > wouldn't want someone to look into alternate energy sources, and perform > quality control checks on our food and drugs? Should our fed govt be in > control of them? No way, no how. Imagine how many jobs would be created in > the public sector (that's all of us, by the way) if there were companies > that checked these things and could give their 'Seal of Approval' or a 'Star > Rating System.' The competition would be in our best interest!! How many > NON-fed govt businesses could make SO MANY mistakes like Mad Cow and E-coli > spinach before they would be out of business? NONE! But not the FDA!! > There's no incentive for you to do above average work when there's no > healthy competition for your job. > > I know that Obama promises that a National Healthcare Program (NHP, for > simplicity) would bring about competition in the insurance industry, but who > really believes that? Government and competition simply cannot co-exist. How > many other seals of approval are on food containers? None, because there is > NO competing with the govt funded FDA, and there will be no competing with > NHP, especially when there is a list of rules 1,018 pages long that the > entire industry would have to follow, whether they want to participate or > not. That's not really a fair competition. > > Now, about the cost of NHP. Obama has stated that it wouldn't be free, > and because we all know that nothing in life ever is, it will be up to > taxpayers to pay for the 47 million+ people that would now be receiving > insurance. > > First, it's important to make the distinction between insurance and > healthcare. Right now, if I need to make an appointment with my doctor, I > can expect that it will probably take a week or two to be seen for > non-urgent visits. The office may be able to fit me in within 24 hours if I > say that it's urgent, otherwise I would go to the ER for emergencies. The > key here is that I have insurance. Now let's say that NHP is in effect and > EVERYONE has insurance, and I would like to schedule an appointment with my > doctor. It will now take several weeks and possibly months to be seen, and > if it's urgent, I will sit in the waiting room at the emergency room for > several hours and possibly days to be seen. It has to be understood that an > increase of 47 million+ new insured patients will not automatically > introduce the million or more doctors, specialists, nurses, and other > healthcare providers into the system that will be needed, and there you have > the 'rumored' rationing. If there is anyone out there that can explain how > care will NOT be rationed, and that there won't be loss of life from waiting > for treatment or testing, please help me to understand, because as Obama's > proposed healthcare legislation stands, it will be an unavoidable > side-effect of govt meddling. What I think most people are not seeing is > that INSURANCE for ALL will eventually lead to HEALTHCARE for NONE. When > you're sitting in the emergency room for hours on end, you will receive no > comfort from your insurance card...THAT is a promise you can take to the > bank. > > This letter will end up being as long as the legislation if I don't > stick to the point, but the fact is, our fed govt has taken a large ball of > twine and twisted it and knotted it all up, so that everything is somehow > connected to something else, which leads to public fear when it's time to > untangle it. The fact is, if the fed govt was forced to completely untangle > itself from all of the unConstitutional issues it's weaved itself into, the > people in our great nation would have an opportunity to utilize personal > knowledge, experience, creativity, and work ethic to solve the many > situations we have allowed our fed govt to seize control of. We should not > be asking the fed govt for answers to problems IT created! > > I have to say, also, that in reference to your OpinionS article, you > stated, "The Medicare they receive is provided by - Surprise! - the federal > government. So are the interstate highways they drive on and the military > that protects them." To be more correct, the Medicare they receive is > provided by tax dollars from a system WE ALL paid into, and shouldn't be > thought of as our govt 'just tryin to be nice'. WE PAID for that! Same with > the interstate system...we ALL pay taxes, registration, license fees, > tickets and fines, etc. to pay for our streets and interstates. The military > was supposed to be paid for with Income Tax collected on the PROFITS of > corporations (think BigPharma??), and NOT on our individual labor. But that > was back when the wisdom of the founding fathers envisioned "peace, > commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with > none." Since it's become the fed govt's past-time to meddle in the affairs > of others and plop military bases all over the world, well, that can get a > little bit expensive from what I hear. Makes one wonder what WE Americans > would think if say, Saudi Arabia or China plopped a military base here in > St. Louis, or in Washington, D.C., but that's a whole other can of worms our > big brother has opened up for us all... > > One other point I would like to mention. In the 'Letters to the Editor' > section of the same edition, there was one titled 'Tire angel goes by name > of 'Alan." This is a perfect example of how, when charity is not forced, > people will 'rise to the occasion.' Back before Lyndon Johnson started the > Medicare/Medicaid programs, and later the HMO/PPO/Managed Healthcare > Systems, doctors and patients had the freedom to negotiate fees and > services. When the regulations were set into place (for OUR own good, mind > you), doctors no longer had the FREEDOM to negotiate with their patients. If > they were discovered charging different prices to different patients, they > could be fined or removed from that network, thus the end of spontaneous > acts of kindness and the freedom of performing charitable acts. If a doctor > wants to treat a patient for less than what the HMO/PPO regulates, that > should be his/her personal free choice, after all, it was THEY that attended > medical school, and THEY that pay student loans, and THEY that provide the > service, but their freedom to be charitable has been stripped away by govt > regulation. > > How many of you out there want a "No Child Left Behind" graduate to > determine YOUR insurance benefits? How many of you want a govt bureaucrat > with no personal stake in you or your family to decide if 'grandma even > get's to be plugged in to begin with?' More importantly, shouldn't it be MY > choice if I want to max out my credit cards, sell everything I own and > mortgage my home to save my life, without turning it into a federal case?? > > The Constitution was written by the very people that fought a tyrannical > govt, if only to turn over a country rich with freedom and personal liberty > to it's children. Those children have handed said freedoms and liberties > back to the govt on a silver platter with the understanding that the govt is > to take care of them, cradle-to-grave. > > This whole mess isn't about liberal vs conservative, left-wing vs > right-wing, dem vs repub. When all of those labels that are meant to divide > us are stripped away, we are all Americans that want the best for our > parents, our children, our neighbors, and ourselves. In a perfect world, we > SHOULD all have health insurance, but the fact is, it's not a perfect world, > and not everyone will have it. Those that don't should be able to rely on > their families and the ability to privately negotiate with a provider > (without the fear of govt involvement or punishment), and various charitable > organizations. > > The truth is, the majority of people feel better when they are > charitable, as you can see by the number of people that donate to > organizations like BirthRight and GoodWill, food pantries, cash donations > for Muscular Dystrophy and others as seen hanging in the drive thru windows > at fast food restaurants, the people that sponsor families at Thanksgiving > and Christmas, etc. People, for the most part, WANT to be kind and > charitable. > A free market approach to healthcare WOULD work, IF we force our fed govt > to uphold their sworn oath to the Constitution. > > Thanks again for speaking with me about this, and for taking the time to > read it. I realize there is NO WAY this will be printed due to length, and > that wasn't really my goal. I just wanted to be able to say that some things > are better left to the govt, such as preserving, protecting, and defending > our country and the freedoms and liberties it's citizens enjoy. The car I > drive, the mortgage lender I use, the credit contracts I enter into, and my > families healthcare would be issues I think I should be able to decide on > based on my INDIVIDUAL needs and the needs of my family, just as YOU should > be able to decide what's in the best interest of yours. > > For Liberty, > > Andrea Berghold > Festus MO 63028 > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ This is a Free Speech forum. The owner of this list assumes no responsibility for the intellectual or emotional maturity of its members. If you do not like what is being said here, filter it to trash, ignore it or leave. If you leave, learn how to do this for yourself. If you do not, you will be here forever. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
