“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”--John Adams
A couple issues of concern right now are: The Health Care Bill and the Federal Reserve
Here is a good article outlining the history of the Federal Reserve, which is not federal at all. Just knowing the history of it could help in understanding why it's a crucial issue.
""If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and the corporations which grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."--Thomas Jefferson
http://www.iamthewitness.com/books/Andrew.Carrington.Hitchcock/The.History.of.the.Money.Changers.htm
Here's a good article about Censorship vs. Freedom of Speech, in response to recent initiatives from the White House to silence those in opposition to their agenda by turning every man against his brother.
http://davidkretzmann.com/blog/?p=649
Here is a link to an Acrobat document of the Health Care Bill. Even if you only read a few pages, you will see what dangers it poses to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
http://docs.house.gov/edla
Here's a "cliff's notes" version:
Posted on Friday, July 24, 2009 6:12:23 PM by CMS
• Page 16: States that if you have insurance at the time of the bill becoming law and change, you will be required to take a similar plan. If that is not available, you will be required to take the gov option!
• Page 22: Mandates audits of all employers that self-insure!
• Page 29: Admission: your health care will be rationed!
• Page 30: A government committee will decide what treatments and benefits you get (and, unlike an insurer, there will be no appeals process)
• Page 42: The "Health Choices Commissioner" will decide health benefits for you. You will have no choice. None.
• Page 50: All non-US citizens, illegal or not, will be provided with free healthcare services.
• Page 58: Every person will be issued a National ID Healthcard.
• Page 59: The federal government will have direct, real-time access to all individual bank accounts for electronic funds transfer.
• Page 65: Taxpayers will subsidize all union retiree and community organizer health plans (example: SEIU, UAW and ACORN)
• Page 72: All private healthcare plans must conform to government rules to participate in a Healthcare Exchange.
• Page 84: All private healthcare plans must participate in the Healthcare Exchange (i.e., total government control of private plans)
• Page 91: Government mandates linguistic infrastructure for services; translation: illegal aliens
• Page 95: The Government will pay ACORN and Americorps to sign up individuals for Government-run Health Care plan.
• Page 102: Those eligible for Medicaid will be automatically enrolled: you have no choice in the matter.
• Page 124: No company can sue the government for price-fixing. No "judicial review" is permitted against the government monopoly. Put simply, private insurers will be crushed.
• Page 127: The AMA sold doctors out: the government will set wages.
• Page 145: An employer MUST auto-enroll employees into the government-run public plan. No alternatives.
• Page 126: Employers MUST pay healthcare bills for part-time employees AND their families.
• Page 149: Any employer with a payroll of $400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays an 8% tax on payroll <>BR • Page 150: Any employer with a payroll of $250K-400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays a 2 to 6% tax on payroll
• Page 167: Any individual who doesnt' have acceptable healthcare (according to the government) will be taxed 2.5% of income.
• Page 170: Any NON-RESIDENT alien is exempt from individual taxes (Americans will pay for them).
• Page 195: Officers and employees of Government Healthcare Bureaucracy will have access to ALL American financial and personal records.
• Page 203: "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax." Yes, it really says that.
• Page 239: Bill will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors and the poor most affected."
• Page 241: Doctors: no matter what speciality you have, you'll all be paid the same (thanks, AMA!)
• Page 253: Government sets value of doctors' time, their professional judgment, etc.
• Page 265: Government mandates and controls productivity for private healthcare industries.
• Page 268: Government regulates rental and purchase of power-driven wheelchairs.
• Page 272: Cancer patients: welcome to the wonderful world of rationing!
• Page 280: Hospitals will be penalized for what the government deems preventable re-admissions.
• Page 298: Doctors: if you treat a patient during an initial admission that results in a readmission, you will be penalized by the government.
• Page 317: Doctors: you are now prohibited for owning and investing in healthcare companies!
• Page 318: Prohibition on hospital expansion. Hospitals cannot expand without government approval.
• Page 321: Hospital expansion hinges on "community" input: in other words, yet another payoff for ACORN.
• Page 335: Government mandates establishment of outcome-based measures: i.e., rationing.
• Page 341: Government has authority to disqualify Medicare Advantage Plans, HMOs, etc.
• Page 354: Government will restrict enrollment of SPECIAL NEEDS individuals.
• Page 379: More bureaucracy: Telehealth Advisory Committee (healthcare by phone).
• Page 425: More bureaucracy: Advance Care Planning Consult: Senior Citizens, assisted suicide, euthanasia?
• Page 425: Government will instruct and consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney, etc. Mandatory. Appears to lock in estate taxes ahead of time.
• Page 425: Goverment provides approved list of end-of-life resources, guiding you in death.
• Page 427: Government mandates program that orders end-of-life treatment; government dictates how your life ends.
• Page 429: Advance Care Planning Consult will be used to dictate treatment as patient's health deteriorates. This can include an ORDER for end-of-life plans. An ORDER from the GOVERNMENT.
• Page 430: Government will decide what level of treatments you may have at end-of-life.
• Page 469: Community-based Home Medical Services: more payoffs for ACORN.
• Page 472: Payments to Community-based organizations: more payoffs for ACORN.
• Page 489: Government will cover marriage and family therapy. Government intervenes in your marriage.
• Page 494: Government will cover mental health services: defining, creating and rationing those services.
As we consider the bills, amendments, acts, etc. for our nation, we must be ever focused on the constitution. Too few of us actually know and understand it. I don't. I'm studying it more now, wish I would've sooner. God ordained the laws of our land in the constitution. God ordained the formation of this nation. Read your history.
Our forefathers were a group of underfunded, untrained, under-armed people, but they sought freedom, freedom that God gave them and others were seeking to destroy. The odds were so entirely against them. They had an empire with highly trained soldiers to contend with; well-funded, and well-armed. It was a miracle and an act of God that they succeeded.
Let us not throw away what God gave us through the sacrifice of fathers and sons of early Americans by failure to make our voices heard. We must follow the admonition of prophets and get involved in governmental procedure. If we continually communicate by e-mail, phone, fax-machine, personal visits to our representatives our support of constitutional principles and our rejection of unconstitutional mandates and are ignored, God will fight for us. If we shrink back in the shadows, ranting about the injustices of our day without raising our voices in the venues that may do some good we cannot then wonder why God has not intervened. Our lack of action communicates our blaring lack of true conviction. By not getting involved we essentially tell God , "We do not care." Actions speak louder than words. Why should God fight for us if we don't fight for ourselves. He loves us and will fight with us insofar as we CAN, and he will fight for us when we CANNOT, but our part is to try. We can only fail if we do not try.
It is not necessary for us to become consumed in the conspiracy theories of our time, some of which are probably real ( we know this because they are spoken of in scripture). Some research into them may be helpful in discerning between truth and lies. However, what we need to do is obey the servants of God. If we are prepared we shall not fear. The book of Revelations in the bible tells us that even the righteous will suffer, and Job, in the Old Testament reminds us that if we struggle and even die trusting in and serving the Lord, we shall see God. Job lost almost everything: posessions, family and friends, and even his health. The only thing he kept is the only thing we can truly control: his faith, trust, and tesimony of God. I hope that I can become like Job. Accepting both the blessings and sufferings that God has for me, not wavering in my devotion to him. I hope that wether it's in church, home or public that I can serve God and that he can count on me as he did Job.
