Friday, June 29, 2012

The Shock Heard Around the World May Save America – Updated

By Ask Marion

The United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS) may just have fired the second shot this week that should shake every freedom loving American to their core. The temporary silence of the media, both MSM and alternative, was deafening after the Robert’s Court ruling upholding ObamaCare and then upholding the individual mandate as a tax caught everyone by surprise; the White House, the blogosphere, most so-called experts and the liberal mainstream media. Everyone had comments and responses prepared for several anticipated outcomes, but none expected this.

Rumor has it that Roberts received pressure, even threats, from undisclosed sources and caved, some say he moved to the dark side just this past week and some say Roberts has revealed himself to have real concern for the legacy of the Court that bears his name. Many feel that this ObamaCare ruling was the signature for ‘his’ court that he felt he needed.

“The Volokh Conspiracy”: Back in May, there were rumors floating around relevant legal circles that a key vote was taking place, and that Roberts was feeling tremendous pressure from unidentified circles to vote to uphold the mandate. Did Roberts originally vote to invalidate the mandate on commerce clause grounds, and to invalidate the Medicaid expansion, and then decide later to accept the tax argument and essentially rewrite the Medicaid expansion (which, as I noted, citing Jonathan Cohn, was the sleeper issue in this case) to preserve it? If so, was he responding to the heat from President Obama and others, preemptively threatening to delegitimize the Court if it invalidated the ACA? The dissent, along with the surprising way that Roberts chose to uphold both the mandate and the Medicaid expansion, will inevitably feed the rumor mill.

Then there are the speculation that Roberts is a genius, Was Judge Roberts Just Playing Bridge? or as Michael Savage said: Roberts Epilepsy Medication Affects His Cognition and affected this decision?

"Roberts is a genius": Article 1, Section 7 of the U.S. Constitution says to raise revenue (taxes) a bill MUST originate in House of Representatives. This version of ObamaCare originated in the ways and means committee of the Senate! Did the Supreme Court miss that? Or is Justice Roberts sly as a fox?

And then there are those who wonder if the all American boyish looking Chief Justice has crossed over to the dark side, either recently or perhaps he was always a closet Progressive… or worse?

The word "tax" appears 413 times in the SCOTUS’s opinion #fullrepeal If you don't buy health insurance the IRS will take your tax refunds, so good luck with that! Charles Krauthammer said Roberts’ definition of this being a tax was very thin.

Some pondered since this is now a taxation issue, in light of other SCOTUS cases this year on equal protection in tax law, can Obama still give waivers? I would say no!

Palin tweeted: Congress has the power to rescind taxes, I expect them to do this after the recess in July. #Obamatax Later on with Greta Van Susteren on ‘On the Record’ Palin said, “This is a tax on all the people. Chief Justice John Roberts just shown the light on one of the big ObamaCare lies being perpetrated by President Obama, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and HHS Sec Kathleen Sibelius.”

Then there are serious concerns about the precedent now set for other horrific “taxes”, for anything they choose based, on this decision… maybe for breathing will be next? All citizens are now taxed for living here – except of course Muslims who are exempt because their religion doesn’t allow them to buy insurance. The Amish are also exempt. Some have said this is the dhimmitude tax. If you convert to Islam, you won’t have to pay. Some have suggested a new “We are all Muslims now” program; watering down both the effects of radical Islam by infiltration and cutting the funding for ObamaCare based on religious freedom.  US Catholic Church leaders are rejecting the ObamaCare Court Ruling.

This is a complicated decision and will take more than a few hours or even a few days to decipher and study. For those of you wanting to take a shot at it. Here are the links below to the 193 page decision.

28 June 2012

supreme court obamacare opinion .pdf

click here to download 193 page .pdf [776 kb]
====
click here to download directly from the supreme court website
or
click here to go to the supreme court 2011 term opinions of the court page and look for:
National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius
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www.supremecourt.gov
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After the initial shock of the virtually unconsidered ruling settled in the comments began:

"A Dark Day for American Liberty".....Statement by VA AG Ken Cuccinelli

This is a dark day for the American people, the Constitution, and the rule of law. This is a dark day for American liberty.

This decision goes against the very principle that America has a federal government of limited powers; a principle that the Founding Fathers clearly wrote into the Constitution, the supreme law of the land. The Constitution was meant to restrict the power of government precisely for the purpose of protecting your liberty and mine from the overreaching hand of the federal government.

This unprecedented decision says that Congress has the authority to force citizens to buy private goods or face fines - a power it has never had in American history, and a power King George III and Parliament didn't have over us when we were mere subjects of Great Britain. Since the federal government itself could never articulate to the court a constitutional limit to this power, Congress has gained an unlimited power to force citizens to buy anything.

I am disappointed with the court's ruling and with the unprecedented attack on American liberty the president and the previous Congress have created with this law.

Stay tuned - I will be providing more analysis on this in the coming hours, as well as next steps.

Rush Limbaugh: “There is nothing constitutional about this law (ObamaCare)!” Neal Boortz said, “Here come the death panels! and the doctor’s shortages

Glenn Beck took the extreme step on radio today to actually demonstrate, on a pretend human being, what medicine will look like under Obamacare in the near future. Stu & Pat get a lesson from "Dr." Beck to experience what the challenges of being a "real" doctor are. Warning, the video is fairly graphic.

And longtime D.C. political operative considers today’s Supreme Court ruling on Obamacare a good thing in the fight to defeat Barack Obama in 2012. Here’s why:

The Obamacare ruling is good news for us. Real good news. It’s 2010 all over again now. Swing states will shift over to Romney in most cases. Trust me on this. We’ve done the polling. The data is conclusive on this. It’s a huge tax. We got Obama lying.

Again. The Tea Party movement, which was as real and powerful a political movement as I’ve ever seen in my lifetime, is back in play. That scares the hell out of the Obama White House. You just got a bunch of Dems sweating hard over their re-election. The Republican Party will now be a lot more focused and clearly conservative and that’s exactly what they need to be this time around. We must make the election a clear divide between one side and the other and this Obamacare ruling has forced that to happen.

And the initial reports I’m getting are telling me there was a lot more clever going on inside that decision than the initial reaction will indicate. It’s the Obama Tax now. And states were given an out. The entire law is a big ass convoluted mess and the ruling has reinforced that fact. Obama will have to defend something he doesn’t understand, and Romney can now sit back and just repeat over and over again “repeal-repeal-repeal”.

The giant has woken up. Country needed a hard kick in the ass to remind us what is at stake in November. Now we are truly ready to fight! Read full article: Here

Many including Senator Coburn have Repudiated the Chief Justice: He did Not ‘Enforce the Constitution’ Today, ‘Is On The Wrong Side’ In Ruling. Some have even mentioned the possibility of impeaching Supreme Court Justices, but in reality the chances of that moving forward would be like the impeachment of President Obama himself with the present Congress in place.

This decision was an overall a win for the Obama administration but, there is always a silver lining if you dig deep enough. There are five (actually six) good things about the Supreme Court’s ObamaCare decision: It made taxation the panacea for constitutional questions; The liberal judges inadvertently brought Federalism back; Roberts got the liberals to actually set up a limit on the Commerce Clause; This deflates Occupy Wall Street’s and the Wisconsin protestor types’ biggest cause so Mitt Romney will now have a much easier time defeating Barack Obama… plus Obama now owns this massive regressive tax increase. Plus the decision also allows states to choose ‘not’ to increase their Medicaid rolls if they choose to turn down the new related federal funds and develop their own programs. Former Clinton advisor and author (most recent book: Screwed!), Dick Morris says that might be the biggest win of all. Morris also says this win will ultimately defeat Obama.

Tammy Bruce: This==> Obama Wins the Battle, Roberts Wins the War By Gutting Commerce Clause

Several states have already chosen not to take the so-called new funds or return their ObamaCare grants and ‘not’ to expand their Medicaid programs or develop exchanges, because in the end, after the first year it will cost the states millions… if not more eventually. Alaska is the only state who did not apply for a grant and Florida, Louisiana and New Hampshire quickly returned theirs. Virginia, South Carolina, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas are among the list of other states who have or are expected to decline or return their funds and develop their own programs (probably most of the 27 states involved in the Supreme Court case plus Virginia who had their own case will decline the funds ). Between the states who are opting out, businesses who will keep their employee rolls to below 50 or drop their health insurance coverage all together and just pay the fine and individuals who will not purchase insurance until they are sick and need it, funding and the implementation of ObamaCare looks precarious. (But remember ObamaCare does give the IRS the ability to charge you directly by withholding monies due from your tax returns.)

The Supreme Court decision to uphold ObamaCare and the uphold the mandate as a tax leaves small business owners with the same uncertainty that has kept them from expanding and hiring and has caused many more large businesses to move offshore equating to a continued stalemate in the growth of jobs and the U.S. economy, which will both hurt President Obama’s re-election prospects. Small business owners still hope that ObamaCare will be repealed either by Congress or next January if (when) Romney is sworn in as President, but until then they will continue in the same mode of uncertainty they have now operated under for almost 3-years. “Obamacare is bad medicine, it is bad policy, and when I’m President, the bad news of Obamacare will be over”, said Romney after hearing the ruling. He has previously vowed to give all 50 states and U.S. territories waivers the first day of his administration and then focus on repealing it completely.  If Obama is re-elected most small business owners will either choose to drop the medical coverage for their employees and pay the fine (which has always been the goal of the Obama White House to ultimately create a single-payer system) or they will keep their employee total number below 50, using outside contractors to do work instead. Large companies will also hold on until November to see if Romney is elected. But if Obama is re-elected you will see a mass exodus offshore costing the U.S. even more jobs and continuing the downward spiral of the American economy.

And in the end no matter how you look at it, if you ‘really’ look at it, America cannot afford ObamaCare. Socialized medicine is one of the benefits that is killing the European Union and we only have to look as far as Canada to realize that the care is inferior to what we have now. And for anyone who still does not believe that there is an ulterior motive to ObamaCare, amazingly an Obama administration actually found the unsustainable status quo cheaper than Obamacare… but they moved ahead anyway.

So the GOP may look back on today (June 12th 2012)… this week and realize that they owe John Roberts and his court a debt of gratitude for revitalizing the tea party and re-energizing the American Spirit. In the end… the problem is not Chief Justice John Glover Roberts… it is President Barack Hussein Obama and it is the responsibility of the American people through elections to get rid of him and other Progressives in government if he is not what we want and the opportunity to replace both Obama and ObamaCare is only months away. With the new momentum created by the highly unpopular Supreme Court rulings that have come down this week plus the encouragement of the vote to hold AG Eric Holder in contempt, things are looking better than most expected.

The people have certainly already spoken, as reflected in @MittRomney‘s fundraising numbers (in one day) since the SCOTUS ruling came down. THREE AND HALF MILLION DOLLARS and counting in small individual contributions and some 49,000 people are reported to have registered to vote on June 12th 2012.  Seems the court may have awakened a sleeping giant and in the end this unpopular and questionable ruling may just save America.

We now need to replace the word Obamacare with Obamatax

Related:

Beck GBTV Video: Reaction to Court Upholding ObamaCare -  Glenn is encouraging everyone to help spread the word and to get people registered to vote - On "Real News from The Blaze" last night, the panel discussed some of the crass and surprising reactions from Democrats following the Supreme Court's ruling. Will their actions affect the outcome of the coming election? Watch the full segment HERE

Thanks Obamacare: 83% of Doctors Surveyed Say They May Quit

Palin: Thank you, SCOTUS!

Chief Justice Roberts Is a Genius?

Michael Savage: Roberts Epilepsy Medication Affects His Cognition

Krauthammer: Roberts "Concocted This Finesse" To Save Court's Reputation

Supreme Court Upholds Obamacare…

“Death Panel” Three Years Later

Taxation and regulation under the health care Act

Was Judge Roberts Just Playing Bridge?

11TH HOUR? Did Justice Roberts Change His Obamacare Vote At The Eleventh Hour?

Leftist TV Networks Gush Over Chief Justice Roberts: 'The Man of the Hour' Who 'Might Have Saved' the Supreme Court

Senate GOP Will Use Reconciliation in Attempt to Repeal Obamacare

Obamacare ruling: The liberal Apotheosis of John Roberts

Obamacare Has Literally Replaced the Constitution

The Crucifixion of Chief Justice John Glover Roberts

Health-Reform is Constitutional: Here are the Tax Implications (Taxes and more taxes)

What ‘Planned Parenthood’ is to parenthood, Obamacare is to care!

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And remember when the Republican leadership said they would not spike the ball should this decision go there way?  Well as usual the other side is doing just that:

While surfing the Obama campaign’s Twitter this evening, we came across the following:

New Line of T Shirts From Obama Campaign Proclaims Healthcare Still a BFD

Can’t read it? No problem. Let us help you out with this zoomed in version:

New Line of T Shirts From Obama Campaign Proclaims Healthcare Still a BFD

For those who don’t remember, “BFD” stands for “Big F***ing Deal,” which is a reference to a line that Vice President Joe Biden was caught uttering in Obama’s ear while the latter signed Obamacare into law. In other words, the Twitter feed for a sitting President just used an obscenity.

At first we thought this was probably the result of someone at Obama campaign headquarters having one too many celebratory beverages, or possibly the result of the account getting hacked. Unfortunately, not only is it not that, but it’s a deliberate fundraising ploy. The Obama campaign has literally created shirts to the effect of this simple Tweet, and the place to buy them is what the link leads to. Not convinced? Here’s a picture:

New Line of T Shirts From Obama Campaign Proclaims Healthcare Still a BFD

Dignity in victory is apparently a nonexistent concept at Obama campaign headquarters. And apparently this isn’t even the first time they’ve tweeted this exact message, with these exact shirts. Dignity in general may be a foreign concept as well.

H/T Twitchy and the Blaze

Solution: Repeal and replace Obama as well as Obamacare!

Freedom Works:

The Supreme Court this morning upheld Obamacare. They allowed the law to stand, including the individual mandate.

The Court has, in essence, given this decision back to Congress and the people, where political power ultimately resides.

The House of Representatives has done its duty in voting to repeal Obamacare. The American people have also spoken: They do not support Obamacare and fear its consequences more every day. In fact, a recent poll shows that two-thirds of Americans favor repeal of all or some part of the law.

With the outcome of the decision, The Heritage Foundation, America's leading conservative policy organization, has rallied and put together a Repeal Obamacare Project to raise the necessary funds to tirelessly fight for repeal.

We cannot allow Obamacare to stand, regardless of what the Court says. It must be repealed.

Your support is critical. Donate today to The Heritage Foundation's Repeal Obamacare Project.

Thank you for your support of conservative principles and the ideas that have made America great.

Sincerely,
Renew your membership
Edwin J. Feulner, Ph.D.
President, The Heritage Foundation

A vote has already been scheduled in the House of Representatives by Eric Cantor for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) for July 9th, and remember now that this is a tax issue we now only need 51 Senators to vote for repeal. But the big focus for the repeal and replacement of ObamaCare(ObamaTax) and the repeal of the Progressive ideology gripping our country is the repeal of Obama himself, his policies and his team in November at the ballot box. This video is absolutely the truth, the final verdict, the future of our country is up to us… and the moment is now! It is now in our hands to repeal ObamaCare in January 2013 and to do that we must elect Republicans far and wide who will repeal it. We have no choice this year but to win in November, and I mean win all around the country. We have to win Congressional seats and Senate seats and we must win the presidency. We don’t have any choice – the Supreme Court has seen to that. Time to put the petty bickering aside, get over the Romney wasn’t my first choice issue and the considerations of not voting because Romney is a Mormon or wanting to make a statement by voting for a 3rd party candidate . What is at stake is much bigger than any of that!

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Supreme Court Upholds Obamacare…

supreme.jpg

In a landmark 5-4 ruling, the court upheld the individual insurance requirement at the heart of Obamacare...[Full Story]

GOP Vows Repeal as Supreme Court Upholds Obamacare

Obamacare - The Latest News

Rep. Poe to Newsmax: US Can’t Afford Obamacare

6/28/2012 3:08:20 PM

Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld Obamacare, Congress must act quickly to repeal the legislation and stop the government from taking over patients health-care choices, Rep. Ted Poe told Newsmax in an exclusive interview Thursday.

Attorney Gen. Bondi: Our President Has Failed

6/28/2012 2:59:42 PM

The representative system of government only works when leaders are honest with the people, Florida Attorney Gen. Pam Bondi Thursday. The most sobering part of the Supreme Court decision (on Obamacare) is that it set Constitutional limits.

Attorney Gen. Cuccinelli: Ruling About Liberty, Not Healthcare

6/28/2012 2:52:58 PM

Virginia Attorney Gen. Ken Cuccinelli found the silver lining in Thursday s Supreme Court ruling, upholding the Affordable Care Act. This was about liberty and not about healthcare, Cuccinelli told Newsmax.TV.

Rep. Gardner to Newsmax: Election Will Right Court Mistake

6/28/2012 2:24:48 PM

Rep. Cory Gardner on Thursday denounced the U.S. Supreme Court s decision to uphold Obamacare, saying it gives the government an unprecedented power to tax Americans.

Rush: Obamacare 'Largest Tax Increase in the History of the World’

6/28/2012 2:16:55 PM

The Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Obamacare Thursday morning is an act of deception. Obamacare is simply a massive tax increase, talk radio host Rush Limbaugh said.

Rubio: Obamacare Is ‘Middle Class Tax Increase’

6/28/2012 2:05:47 PM

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a rising star in the Republican Party, said the Supreme Court ruling confirms that Obamacare is essentially a Middle Class Tax Increase, and predicted opponents will win new support for repealing the healthcare law.

Cassidy to Newsmax: Americans ‘Deliberately Deceived’

6/28/2012 2:00:21 PM

Rep. Bill Cassidy accused President Barack Obama Thursday of deliberately deceiving the American people about the individual mandate in Obamacare, saying the Supreme Court decision had finally revealed what it really is a new tax on Americans.

Dershowitz: The Healthcare Decision Is Good in the Short Term, Questionable in the Long Term

6/28/2012 1:56:36 PM

Alan M. Dershowitz's Perspective: When former President George W. Bush nominated John Roberts to become Chief Justice of the United States, a newly elected senator named Barak Obama voted against his confirmation.

Pelosi Calls Ruling a ‘Victory,’ Invokes Kennedy

6/28/2012 1:52:14 PM

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi invoked the memory of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy on Thursday as she hailed the U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding Obamacare as exciting and a victory for America's families.

WSJ: Court Ruling on Obamacare Vindicates Hospital Consolidation, Investments

6/28/2012 1:37:35 PM

The Supreme Court decision to uphold President Barack Obama s Affordable Care Act vindicates the hospital industry in its more than two year-strategy of consolidation and investment to control costs and gain better bargaining position with payers, the Wall Street Journal...

Tea Party Leader Martin to Newsmax: Court ‘Got It Wrong’

6/28/2012 1:32:16 PM

The head of the Tea Party Patriots said Thursday the U.S. Supreme Court was wrong to uphold Obamacare, and pledged that her group would help Americans correct this decision by repealing the law.

Gingrich: Obamacare Repeal 'Defining Issue of Fall Campaign'

6/28/2012 1:26:58 PM

The Supreme Court ruling in favor of President Barack Obama s healthcare overhaul will do little to reduce the uncertainty that is preventing employers filling job openings, former GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich predicted. Instead that doubt will continue at least...

Rep. Gardner: SCOTUS Decision 'Unprecedented'

6/28/2012 1:26:53 PM

Rep. Cory Gardner sounded a popular Republican theme Thursday in the wake of the Supreme Court decision upholding Obamacare.

Rep. Gohmert Calls for Justice Kagan’s Impeachment

6/28/2012 1:21:08 PM

Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert called the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Obamacare “illegitimate” and said Justice Elena Kagan should be impeached because she served as U.S. Solicitor General when the law was passed.

WSJ: Drugmakers Will Pay Billions in Fees, Price Cuts Due to Healthcare Ruling

6/28/2012 1:01:55 PM

The Supreme Court s decision to uphold Obamacare gives drug companies more certainty, The Wall Street Journal reported, even though drugmakers will spend billions of dollars in fees and price cuts. Beginning in 2014, individuals will be required to have health insurance...

Romney: I Will Repeal Obamacare as President

6/28/2012 12:56:03 PM

Reacting to the Supreme Court decision to uphold Obamacare, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney said he agreed with the dissenting justices and will act to repeal Obamacare if he is elected president. I agree with the dissent, and what the court did not do on the...

McConnell: Court Blew Obama’s Cover By Declaring Healthcare Overhaul a Tax

6/28/2012 12:41:20 PM

The Supreme Court blew the cover of President Barack Obama and the Democrats when it ruled that the provisions of the healthcare law are indeed a tax, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told Newsmax in an exclusive interview.

Court Ruling Lets More Than $800 Billion in Higher Taxes Proceed

6/28/2012 12:36:35 PM

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the bulk of the 2010 healthcare law means wealthy investors may sell assets before the end of the year as taxes in the overhaul remain in place and will take effect next year.

Roberts Based Ruling on Judicial Restraint

6/28/2012 12:36:02 PM

If the U.S. Supreme Court had wanted to make history, it could have: Striking down the individual mandate in the health-care law would have been the most weighty Supreme Court ruling since Franklin Roosevelt s first New Deal was ruled unconstitutional three-quarters of a...

Obamacare Ruling Helps Most, but Not All, Healthcare Niches

6/28/2012 12:33:16 PM

The Supreme Court's decision to uphold President Barack Obama's historic overhaul is expected to be a boon to most of the healthcare industry by making coverage affordable for millions of uninsured Americans.

Kudlow: Obamacare Taxes Bad for Economic Growth — and All Families

6/28/2012 12:26:46 PM

Twenty new or higher taxes across-the-board are bad for economic growth, bad for job hiring, bad for investors, and bad for families. A tax is a tax is a tax, according to Judge Roberts.

Huckabee: GOP Sweep Needed to Repeal Obamacare

6/28/2012 12:19:09 PM

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee denounced the U.S. Supreme Court s decision upholding the Affordable Health Care Act and called for donations to his super PAC to make sure that our Congress and the White House are in the right hands through a GOP sweep of the polls in...

Insurance Group: Obamacare Ruling Won't Lower Costs

6/28/2012 12:15:11 PM

A Supreme Court decision to uphold the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) won't do anything to lower healthcare costs, Janet Trautwein, CEO of the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU), said Thursday. The Supreme Court...

Bill McCollum: War Against Obamacare 'Has Just Begun'

6/28/2012 12:13:09 PM

Former Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, a leading figure in the legal challenge to Obamacare, tells Newsmax he is disappointed and shocked that Chief Justice John Roberts voted to uphold the individual mandate provision in the healthcare reform bill. But he...

Rep. Cassidy: 'American People Deliberately Deceived' By Obama

6/28/2012 12:13:05 PM

Rep. Bill Cassidy, a member of the GOP Doctors Caucus, called Thursday s Supreme Court decision, a bad day for fiscal responsibility.

More Special Coverage Stories — Click Here

Related:

Related Stories

h/t to  Newsmax.com – to AP for photo

Stay tuned… More to come on this shocking ruling…

Supreme Court Issues Huge Win for President Obama, and a huge loss for the American People!!

Or… Was Judge Roberts Just Playing Bridge?

SCOTUS ObamaCare Ruling creates largest tax increase on middle class ever and hands the GOP a second front issue for Election 2012: the repeal and replacement of ObamaCare and the loss of jobs (which this ruling will make worse) in a faux artificially propped up economy will energize Conservatives, Independents and Constitutionalists en masse~

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

“Death Panel” Three Years Later

by Sarah Palin on Monday, June 25, 2012 at 11:11am – on Facebook

Sarah Palin Gallup Photo

As we wait for the impending Supreme Court decision on Obamacare, I reiterate what I wrote in my first post on this topic nearly three years ago. I stand by everything I wrote in that warning to my fellow Americans because what was true then is true now, and it will remain true as we hear what the Supreme Court has to say.

It was a pretty long post, but a lot of people seem to have only read two words of it: “death panel.” Though I was called a liar for calling it like it is, many of these accusers finally saw that Obamacare did in fact create a panel of faceless bureaucrats who have the power to make life and death decisions about health care funding. It’s called the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), and its purpose all along has been to “keep costs down” by actually denying care via price controls and typically inefficient bureaucracy. This subjective rationing of care is what I was writing about in that first post:

The Democrats promise that a government health care system will reduce the cost of health care, but as the economist Thomas Sowell has pointed out, government health care will not reduce the cost; it will simply refuse to pay the cost. And who will suffer the most when they ration care? The sick, the elderly, and the disabled, of course. The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s “death panel” so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their “level of productivity in society,” whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil.

Health care by definition involves life and death decisions. Human rights and human dignity must be at the center of any health care discussion.

Rep. Michele Bachmann highlighted the Orwellian thinking of the president’s health care advisor, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, the brother of the White House chief of staff, in a floor speech to the House of Representatives. I commend her for being a voice for the most precious members of our society, our children and our seniors.

We must step up and engage in this most crucial debate. Nationalizing our health care system is a point of no return for government interference in the lives of its citizens. If we go down this path, there will be no turning back. Ronald Reagan once wrote, “Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth.” Let’s stop and think and make our voices heard before it’s too late.

If the Supreme Court doesn’t strike down Obamacare entirely, then Congress must act to repeal IPAB and Obamacare before it is indeed “too late.” All of Obamacare must go one way or another.

- Sarah Palin

Related:

Obamacare Has Literally Replaced the Constitution

Obamacare to Herd Disabled Seniors to Bare-Bones Medicaid Plans

Meet the ObamaCare Mandate Committee

Eugenics In Action: 3 Year Old Girl Denied Kidney Transplant …

"People 70 and over will not be treated under Obamacare… and you thought DEATH PANELS were gone"

Dirty Little Secret: Rationing is at Heart of ObamaCare

Obama “Fixed” Medicare…With Rationing

FYI: Every American Concerned With Health Care Needs To Read This Conversation

UPROAR OVER OBAMACARE‘S ’RATIONING PANELS’ INTENSIFIES

Obama Embraces 'Death Panel' Concept in Medicare Rule

ObamaCare and me – Doctor Zane F. Pollard, MD – For Anyone Who Still Doesn’t Believe in Rationing and Death Panels if ObamaCare Passes

Life With Trig: Sarah Palin on Raising a Special-Needs Child

Soylent Green Anyone???

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Obamacare Has Literally Replaced the Constitution

Written by Gary North on June 22, 2012   - Tea Party Economist

The textbook account of how laws are made is for children. It presents the procedure as if it were governed by the Constitution. This is silly. That went out with high-button shoes.

The legal system that prevails today is administrative law: rule by government bureaucracies that cannot be fired. The story of how this legal revolution has re-shaped law in the West, threatening a new tyranny, appears in the 45-page introduction to Law and Revolution (1983), a great book by Harvard University’s legal historian Harold Berman. Those 45 pages are among the most important that I have ever read.

A recent study by the Cato Institute describes one section of Obamacare: the creation of the Independent Payment Advisory Board, or IPAB. This unelected board will set prices and payment systems for medicine under the plan.

Obamacare was created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), which in turn creates IPAB. According to the Cato report, written by a lawyer,

When the unelected government officials on this board submit a legislative proposal to Congress, it automatically becomes law: PPACA requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to implement it. Blocking an IPAB “proposal” requires at a minimum that the House and the Senate and the president agree on a substitute. The Board’s edicts therefore can become law without congressional action, congressional approval, meaningful congressional oversight, or being subject to a presidential veto. Citizens will have no power to challenge IPAB’s edicts in court.

But what if — this is 99% hypothetical — a majority in Congress decides that the IPAB payment schedule (taxes) is not a good idea? Well, tough bananas.

PPACA forbids Congress from repealing IPAB outside of a seven-month window in the year 2017, and even then requires a three-fifths majority in both chambers. A heretofore unreported feature of PPACA dictates that if Congress misses that repeal window, PPACA prohibits Congress from ever altering an IPAB “proposal.” By restricting lawmaking powers of future Congresses, PPACA thus attempts to amend the Constitution by statute.

IPAB’s unelected members will have effectively unfettered power to impose taxes and ration care for all Americans, whether the government pays their medical bills or not. In some circumstances, just one political party or even one individual would have full command of IPAB’s lawmaking powers. IPAB truly is independent, but in the worst sense of the word. It wields power independent of Congress, independent of the president, independent of the judiciary, and independent of the will of the people.

This means that the Constitutional sovereignty is a dead concept, unless five people on the U.S. Supreme Court declare the law unconstitutional. (Therefore the ruling on Thursday 06.26.12 is the most important in America’s history… there is a lot more at stake than just healthcare!)

This will serve as a legal precedent. New laws will create similar boards.

Kiss the Constitution goodbye.

It was all so easy.

The 22-page report is here: Continue Reading on www.cato.org

Saturday, June 23, 2012

RIDING AS THERAPY

Riding as Therapy:

Equine therapy is catching on as a fun and helpful activity for many MS patients.

One to three times a week a growing group of MS patients across the country saddle up to relieve some of their symptoms and to boost their self-esteem. Equine therapy is used to treat a variety of diseases and disorders besides MS, including mental illness, cerebral palsy, and brain injury. According to the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association Inc. (NARHA) in Denver, Colorado, more than 26,000 riders with disabilities benefit from therapeutic horseback riding activities at NARHA centers.

Hippotherapy, which means "treatment with the help of a horse," has been widely practiced in this country since the 1960's. In 1952 at the Helsinki Olympic Games, Liz Hartel of Denmark garnered the silver medal for dressage (The execution by a trained horse of complex movements in response to barely perceptible signals from its rider.) despite being paralyzed from polio. Her victory helped focus the world on using horses to improve the health of those with various disabilities. As the experts investigated various ways for horses to help patients, they found that not all people can be aided in the same way.

"Hippotherapy is using the horse strictly as a modality for therapy, where the riders are not influencing the horse at all," explains Occupational Therapist Erin Hurley, director of the Unicorn Handicapped Riding Association in Medford, NJ. "Equestrian therapy is more of a global term. It combines therapy and recreation. That's what most people with MS do. I think they get more out of it if they are an active partner in the process."

According to the NARHA, research shows that all therapeutic riding participants can experience physical, emotional, and mental rewards. Because horseback riding gently and rhythmically moves the rider's body in a manner similar to a human gait, riders with physical disabilities often show improvement in flexibility, balance, and muscle strength. For those with mental or emotional problems, the unique relationship formed with the horse can lead to boosted confidence, patience, and self-esteem. All who ride also receive the benefit of a special sense of independence which comes from riding.

Equine therapy can provide certain benefits to MS patients. "The benefits from the therapy depend on the disability. With MS, it's a physical disability in which case there are a lot of different benefits. For example, if you have an MS patient in a wheelchair, he (or she) is not getting a lot of stimulation to the spine," Ms. Hurley says. "The horse's movement stimulates the human movement in the way the horse walks. If you're sitting on the horse's back, you're getting those benefits of side to side movement and rotation movement each time the horse steps forward. Just the sensory input helps to stimulate the muscles in different ways. At the other end of the spectrum with spascity, equestrian therapy helps to loosen tight muscles especially through the hip area, lower extremities, and through the trunk."

The MS patients who ride at Ms. Hurley's center come either once or twice a week. They ride for 30 minutes with the help of two side walkers, a person who leads the horse, and an instructor. By having the four people work alongside the rider, safety is ensured. Since these helpers are trained to work with MS patients who have weakness and balance problems, no one should be afraid to give horse therapy a try, say the experts.

"Each person works on different goals as we walk through the woods or inside our indoor arena depending on the weather," she says. "One woman with MS who started with us this year was having trouble walking. After a ride she says she can walk much better."

The experts and MS patients say that equestrian therapy offers much more to MS patients then symptom relief. "It raises their self-esteem and gives them something to do for recreation. They love it and really look forward to it," says Ms. Hurley.

Just getting out in the fresh air and doing something physical can do wonders for MS patients say the experts. "One of the most frustrating aspects of chronic illness or disability is the effect it has on leisure-time activities. Just when a person would benefit most from the relaxation, enjoyment, and socialization that come from recreation, he is limited in what he can do. It is important, however, despite what limitations may exist, to maintain existing or find new interests," write Dr. Robert Shuman and Dr. Janice Schwartz in their book, Understanding Multiple Sclerosis: A Handbook for Families (Charles Scribner's Sons, 1988). "There is a network of horseback riding programs for the physically challenged. Many people with MS find that riding builds back abdominal muscles, strengthens weak legs, and is a terrific source of self-confidence."

"Don't defy the diagnosis, try to defy the verdict."
- Norman Cousins

For Rita McGinley, 44, of Westmont, NJ, equestrian therapy helped many of her symptoms and also raised her spirits. She rode every week for about a year at the Pegasus Riding Academy in Philadelphia. Diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS four years ago, the registered nurse was forced to quit her job and later counseled patients at MSAA headquarters in Cherry Hill. Now undergoing intense physical therapy, she plans to return to equestrian therapy at the end of her current regimen. "It is so enjoyable. I ride bareback where there's just a blanket between me and the horse. I feel every movement of those four hooves, and I can feel the muscles in my pelvic floor moving. I have problems with my bladder, and after I ride I can feel much improvement," she says. "It's also great for strengthening and balance. There's a general feeling of well-being on a horse and that another living being is helping me. I love it."

Members of the Montville, NJ MS Support Group have saddled up for a therapeutic ride at the Handicapped Riding Center at West Orange, NJ, part of the Montclair Riding Academy, for the past nine years. Dedicated to the development of horseback riding as a therapeutic, recreational, and social activity for people with disabilities, the academy hosts these MS patients every Wednesday morning at its gorgeous grounds.

"We really don't know how it works. But from talking with different people, it seems that the horse helps them to move some of their muscles that they cannot move on their own. Most of the people with MS who come here think they are getting some benefit out of it. Some people insist on riding bareback so they have closer contact with the horse, but most people use the western saddle because it's safer and easier to use," says John Sinico, a spokesperson for center. "They love it. They swear by it. They also tell us that mentally it's a nice relief from their everyday worries. Instead of sitting home and feeling sorry for themselves they are out doing something. It's active, not passive. All in all, it's very beneficial."

Montville MS Support Group Leader Tom Hinkey says that some of the group members receive some relief from their spascity through riding, but they all get emotional benefits from it. By getting out and socializing and focusing on the horse, he says, they can forget about their problems and enjoy the day.

"If you don't have a fear of horses, it can probably help some of your symptoms. It's a lot of fun," says Ms. McGinley. "Whenever I rode, I would come home with a 'horse healthy high.' I miss it and can't wait to do it again once my current physical therapy is over."
- Christine Norris

PROMOTING A SAFE RIDE

The North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA) was founded in 1969 to promote and support therapeutic horseback riding programs throughout the U.S. and Canada. Comprised of more than 500 riding centers, the NARHA helps ensure safe instruction by administering a certification program for riding instructors. NARHA also offers an accreditation program to riding centers to promote excellence in providing therapeutically-valid services. The association provides riding centers with guidelines for selecting riders who are suitable and appropriate for therapeutic riding activities.

To learn more about therapeutic riding or for a list of centers in your area, contact NAHRA at:

PO Box 33150
Denver, CO 80233

(800) 369-7433

(303) 452-1212

You may also visit NARHA on the world wide web at: http://www.NARHA.org.

What is Therapeutic Riding?

GMO Grass Kills Cows In Texas: Cyanide Gas!

Video:  GMO Grass Kills Cows In Texas: Cyanide Gas!

Friday, June 22, 2012

Vagina, Vagina, Wherefore Art Thou Vagina?

The Real War Against Women

Actually I am quite well aware of my anatomy. The problem I have is why does everyone else think what I do with my vagina is their business? No I am not talking just about the “right,” which tells me what I can do and cannot do with my choices, nor the “left,” which tells me if I don’t follow their line of thinking then I am not standing up for well… my vagina. I am talking about everyone out there who thinks its their business about other people’s business.

I understand that the issue is truly abortion. And no there is no simple answer. The answer is one of science not of faith. As science improves and the ability of the baby to live outside the mother’s womb increases, society’s reluctance to back abortion on demand or any abortion at all increases. As science improves and we learn about the baby’s gestational nervous system and its ability to feel pain, society becomes less and less inclined to accept abortion as a solution.

Personally I am tired of those who self-righteously say..”..its my body.” Sorry but, it’s also that baby’s body.

Personally I am tired of those who self-righteously say..”..God has decreed…” Human beings are fallible and as such can always misinterpret God’s word… so I am loathe to believe anyone but my own heart.

No I do not have an answer for society. I have an answer for myself and that is all. I know in my heart what I would do under certain circumstances and I am grateful everyday that I have not had to make such a decision.

But people really need to get over the word vagina. For heaven’s sake… a  Michigan state representative was banned from speaking for two days because she used the word vagina on the legislature floor. Granted she said it for maximum obnoxiousness. There was no real need. Her point was spoken and well said actually up until that moment. But really gentlemen of Michigan… isn’t it time you grew up? Hey wonder what would happen if that legislator came back and used the word penis in discussing a father’s responsibility to pay child support? Of course there are many words used to describe those who don’t follow through on their obligations to take care of their children, and a slang variation of the word penis is just one of those words….

Meanwhile, if you really want to discuss vaginas and some cockamamie “war on women” its time to discuss the usurpation of a women’s sexual rights in the Moslem (Muslim) world. It is time to learn about female genital mutilation. This is the real “war on women.” Honestly I dislike the term genital cutting. FGM is the removal of the labia, the clitoris and the sewing together of the outer walls of the vagina leaving a small hole where pee can escape. It is not a paper-cut.

Not only can’t you say vagina in those cultures, but when they ripout a woman’s vagina and clitoris, they also take any sense a woman may have of sexual enjoyment. So worried about the sexuality of their women as it relates to their honor, men happily mutilate their women and the women comply. Of course, not certain that these women actually have too much of a choice in the matter really. FGM can lead to premature labor, fistula and higher maternal and infant mortality. Statistics say that 98% of women in Egypt have had the procedure. As an aside, funny how a man’s sexuality and actions do not reflect on his honor at all. Just saying.

In fact FGM is so prevalent in immigrant communities that European parliaments have outlawed the procedure. Activists are trying to accomplish the same here. But considering the Congress can’t even pass a law preventing gendercide I doubt anything will really happen.

Meanwhile, Americans can run around obsessed with everyone else’s vaginas except the vaginas of the women in the world who really need our help. Saying or not saying vagina is the least of these women’s issues. Seriously some people in the US need to get some perspective.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali Foundation

Stop FGM Now

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Judge Napolitano Predicts That the Supreme Court Will ‘Strike Down’ Obamacare

Supreme Court Ruling on ObamaCare Expected as Early as Thursday 6/21 or Next Monday 6/25

by Happening Now

Judge Napolitano

Earlier on Happening Now, Judge Andrew Napolitano discussed the two big decisions we are waiting for from the Supreme Court: one decision on President Obama’s health care law, particularly the individual mandate, and the other decision on the challenge over Arizona’s immigration law, which would require that anyone stopped by police prove their immigration status

Napolitano thinks the Supreme Court is going to strike down Obamacare, saying, “It directly extends the power of the Congress beyond anything contemplated by the Constitution.” He believes we will know the answer to this question soon.

“Either this will be a monumental decision that will restrain the Congress from interfering in the personal lives of individuals or it will be a dud, and it will basically say that Congress can write any law that it wants, regulate any behavior that it wants, tax any event that it wants and call it a fine or call it a tax, depending upon how it wants it,” he said.

Napolitano expects the court to restrain the Congress and set guidelines about just how far Congress can go.

In discussing the Arizona law requiring enforcement officers to check the immigration status of any person or persons pulled over, he said, “The president has added a very complicated gloss to that by the decision that he announced last Friday when he, on his own, re-wrote immigration regulations.”

Napolitano said that if the Supreme Court upholds the Arizona law, he foresees it’ll be extremely complex. “Which federal law will they enforce: The laws written by the Congress or the laws re-written by the president?,” Napolitano asked.

Hear what else Napolitano had to say here: Video

Thanks Obamacare: 83% of Doctors Surveyed Say They May Quit

Thanks Obamacare: 83% of Doctors Surveyed Say They May Quit

Kate Hicks – TownHall.com

The Doctor Patient Medical Association has released a new survey of about 700 doctors, and the results are bleak. Scary bleak. Among other dismal figures, Doctors' Attitudes on the Future of Medicine: What’s Wrong, Who’s to Blame, and What Will Fix It found that 83% of respondents are contemplating leaving the industry if Obamacare is fully implemented, owing to its disastrous projected consequences. Indeed, they openly blame the healthcare law for their industry's woes:

KEY FINDINGS

  • 90% say the medical system is on the WRONG TRACK
  • 83% say they are thinking about QUITTING
  • 61% say the system challenges their ETHICS
  • 85% say the patient-physician relationship is in a TAILSPIN
  • 65% say GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT is most to blame for current problems
  • 72% say individual insurance mandate will NOT result in improved access care
  • 49% say they will STOP accepting Medicaid patients
  • 74% say they will STOP ACCEPTING Medicare patients, or leave Medicare completely
  • 52% say they would rather treat some Medicaid/Medicare patient for FREE
  • 57% give the AMA a FAILING GRADE representing them
  • 1 out of 3 doctors is HESITANT to voice their opinion
  • 2 out of 3 say they are JUST SQUEAKING BY OR IN THE RED financially
  • 95% say private practice is losing out to CORPORATE MEDICINE
  • 80% say DOCTORS/MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS are most likely to help solve things
  • 70% say REDUCING GOVERNMENT would be single best fix.

If this isn't an airtight argument for the repeal of Obamacare, nothing is. When the people providing the actual healthcare are thinking of getting out of the game, the system is clearly broken. Here's hoping the Supreme Court strikes down Obamacare this month.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Stolen Freedoms Regained in Stunning Blow to State Lawmakers

Story at-a-glance
  • Since 1982, NVIC’s mission has been to prevent vaccine injuries and deaths through public education and we have defended without compromise the ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk-taking, which is a human right
  • NVIC is giving their 2012 Health Liberty Award to the independent-thinking, high spirited citizens of Vermont, who in January successfully defended their informed consent rights by intelligently and responsibly participating in the democratic process, defeating Vermont Senate bill S199, which would have eliminated the philosophical exemption to vaccination
  • The battle to protect vaccine freedom of choice continues. In California, Assemblyman Richard Pan, M.D. has introduced a bill to impose restrictions on the personal belief exemption to vaccination, which was passed by the Assembly and is rapidly moving through the Senate. The California bill (AB2109) will force parents, who are filing a personal belief exemption for children to attend school, to pay a medical doctor or other designated medical practitioner

Video:  Vermonters Defend Health Liberty & Vaccine Choices, June 19, 2012

By Barbara Loe Fisher

This month, the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) joins with our Health Liberty partners to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the founding of the Health Liberty Coalition by Mercola.com.

For many years, NVIC and the non-profit Consumers for Dental Choice, Organic Consumers Association (OCA), Fluoride Action Network (FAN) and Institute for Responsible Technology have each worked to protect human health through public education and informed choice advocacy.i

At the heart of Health Liberty is respect for the informed consent and precautionary principles, which together serve as an ethical foundation for protecting consumer rights and ensuring product safety.

Whether it is the freedom to eat food that has not been genetically modified, drink water without fluoride in it, make voluntary vaccine choices, have access to affordable mercury free dental amalgams, or exercise the right to choose safer medical tests and options for healing and staying well, the partners of the Health Liberty coalition founded by Mercola.com are committed to protecting the consumer's right to know and freedom to choose.

Defending Informed Consent to Vaccination

Since 1982, NVIC's mission has been to prevent vaccine injuries and deaths through public education and we have defended without compromise the ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk-taking, which is a human right.ii

The consumer's right to know and freedom to make voluntary vaccine choices serves as a vital counterweight to lack of transparency and unchecked profit-making by pharmaceutical corporations shielded from civil liability for selling a growing list of vaccines that medical doctors and government officials insist every American should be legally required to buy and use.

This year, we are celebrating an awakening among Americans, who are rediscovering the power they individually have to make a difference by participating in the democratic process. That power was exercised in Vermont this year, when parents and enlightened health care professionals joined together to face down wealthy Pharma-funded medical trade lobbyists and influential state public health employees trying to take away the philosophical exemption to vaccination.

Health Liberty Award Goes to Citizens of Vermont

That is why NVIC is giving our 2012 Health Liberty Award to the independent-thinking, high spirited citizens of Vermont, who quickly organized this past January and successfully defended their informed consent rights by intelligently and responsibly participating in the democratic process.

For the past two years, the state of Vermont has been ranked as the number one "healthiest" state.iii Only 360 school children in Vermont had philosophical exemptions on file during the 2010-2011 school year,iv and we don't know how many parents filed a philosophical exemption because they could not find a pediatrician to write a medical exemption for their child. v Most pediatricians refuse to write medical exemptions because, in 2012, almost no vaccine reaction symptom or medical condition qualifies as an official reason to exempt a child medically. vi, vii,

But, even though only 360 school children in Vermont were exempted from vaccination for philosophical belief reasons, that did not stop the Pharma/Medical Trade lobby from attacking the legal right for Vermonters to obtain a non-medical exemption to vaccination for their children. Clearly, they thought it would be easy to quickly ram anti-informed consent legislation through the Vermont legislature.

What they didn't count on was outraged Vermonters defending their right to know and freedom to choose.viii The legislative attack on the philosophical exemption to vaccination in Vermont generated heated political debate, national publicity and, in the end, was not only defeated but gave birth to a new public consciousness about what it takes to defend health liberty. As one of the bill's primary sponsors admitted: "I never thought this would turn into the mess it turned into."

Powerful Doctors Push Eliminating Personal Belief Exemption

The bill to eliminate the philosophical exemption to vaccination in Vermont (S199) was introduced on Jan. 3, 2012 in the state Senateix by Kevin Mullin (R-Rutland), who is VT chair of the Pharma-funded American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).x It was introduced in the state House by Representative George Till, M.D. (D-Chittenden), at the request of Harry Chen, M.D., Vermont's Health Commissioner. Dr. Chen was a Vermont state representative and former chair of the Vermont House Health Care Committee for four years and has publicly downplayed vaccine risks.xi

The bill was supported by the VT Dept. of Health and many medical trade associations and special interest groups, including those that receive money from pharmaceutical corporations selling vaccines in the U.S., such as the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), March of Dimes, Every Child by Two and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

After S199 was quickly rammed through the Senate without a public hearing and passed with a nearly unanimous 25-4 vote, Vermont parents quickly organized and founded the Vermont Coalition for Vaccine Choice.xii The new Coalition's co-founder, Jennifer Stella, volunteered to be NVIC's Vermont state director and work with Dawn Richardson, NVIC's Director of Advocacy, who led a seven-year effort to obtain conscientious belief exemption to vaccination in Texas in 2003 and manages the online NVIC Advocacy Portal to educate citizens about how to become effective vaccine choice advocates."

By the end of February, the parents of seven-year old Kaylynne Matten, who died in Vermont after a routine flu shot in December 2011, began speaking out about the need to keep the philosophical exemption intact.

To learn more, please watch the following videoxiii, which includes an interview with Kaylynne's parents.

Video: Vermont Parents Defend Vaccine Exemption Rights, February 21, 2012

By March 15, the newly formed Vermont Coalition for Vaccine Choice held a public demonstration in Montpelier, the state Capitol.xiv The Vermont Coalition founders created a website and Facebook page and secured 1500 signatures on a petition opposing the bill.

After Vermont parents protested that the VT Senate had held no public hearings on the bill, House hearings were held March 21 evening meeting was packed with Vermont families and health professionals opposing the bill.xv

Bill Rammed Through in the Senate

An amended version of S199 retaining the philosophical exemption was overwhelmingly approved by the full House on April 13.xvi While the amended version kept the philosophical exemption intact, it required parents to review vaccine benefit information and sign a statement every year acknowledging that taking the exemption will pose a risk to the health of their child and society.

On April 30, a specially appointed House and Senate Conference Committee was created. The Committee voted to keep the philosophical exemption unless the statewide vaccination rate drops below 90 percent for pertussis and MMR vaccine and, then, the Health Commissioner would suspend the philosophical exemption for those vaccines. xvii,xviii

The Vermont Coalition for Vaccination Choice and NVIC opposed the compromise. Jennifer Stella commented: "It basically says that only 10 percent of Vermonters get to use that right."

On May 3, behind the scenes modifications to the bill were made that removed the 90 percent vaccination rate cap and kept the philosophical exemption intact. However, the language, which forces parents to sign a statement that they agree that taking the exemption endangers their child and society, remained in the bill.

In addition, a "feasibility study" was added by bill supporters to pave the way for teachers and all school personnel to be required to show proof they are up-to-date on all government recommended vaccines in order to stay employed.

Philosophical Exemption Saved, Bill Signed by Governor

Without public hearings on the amended bill, it passed the House with a nearly unanimous 133-6 vote on May 3. On May 5, the Senate followed suit with a 20-5 vote and the bill was signed by Governor Peter Shumlin on May 16.

It was a victory for Vermont parents, who saved the exemption. Tom McLeod, a key member of the Vermont Coalition for Vaccine Choice, observed that "The most dangerous place in the woods is between a mother bear and her cubs." xix

The philosophical exemption to vaccination was saved because enough citizens in Vermont woke up to the very real threat posed by multi-national corporations, which have no restrictions on the aggressive marketing of liability-free vaccine products they want every American to be legally required to buy and use. Once Vermonters saw the threat, they did not sit back and let their informed consent rights be taken from them. Because they fought for their health liberty, they became an inspiration to all Americans, who want to be free to make informed, voluntary health choices.

Battle for Vaccine Choice Being Waged in Other States

The battle to protect vaccine freedom of choice in Vermont is not over, and it continues in states like West Virginia, Kansas, Michigan, New Jersey, New York and others. In California, a pediatrician legislator, Assemblyman Richard Pan, M.D., introduced a bill in February to impose restrictions on the personal belief exemption to vaccination and it was quickly passed by the Assembly and is rapidly moving through the Senate.

The California bill (AB2109) will force parents, who are filing a personal belief exemption for children to attend school, to pay a medical doctor or other designated medical practitioner (D.O., medical assistant, nurse practitioner or N.D. under the supervision of an M.D.) for an appointment to have the personal belief exemption form signed. Without a medical provider signature, the personal belief exemption form will not be valid and the child will be barred from attending school.

Watch an NVIC public service message about California Assembly bill AB2109.

 

Video: Defend CA Vaccine Exemptions - Oppose AB 2109

 

Watch a public hearing on the CA bill.

Video:  CA Health Committee Hearing on Vaccine Exemption Bill AB2109 April 27, 2012 Part 1

Empower Yourself with Information and Take Action Now!

NVIC was on the front lines defending health liberty in 2011, as we have been for 30 years:

You can be a vaccine safety and choice advocate today by becoming a user of the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal and participating in the democratic process. Go to www.NVICAdvocacy.org and use the Portal to contact your legislators with the touch of an iPhone screen or click of a computer mouse and make your voice heard.

Be part of the growing, state-based national network of concerned families and health care professionals working with NVIC and Mercola.com to protect vaccine choices in America. If we all fight for the consumer's right to know and freedom to choose, we can win back health liberty in the states, where it has been lost, and protect it in states, like Vermont, where citizens care enough and are brave enough to stand their ground.

Our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America.

References:


Dr. Mercola

Related:

Katie Couric Reports on Serious Vaccine Safety Issues – Finally!!

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