Our founding fathers in 1776 penned a document that was the first of its kind and served to birth the freest, most powerful and some would say the most blessed nation this world has ever seen.  That document we all know is the Declaration of Independence. 

There was a time in our nation when the text of that revered document was memorized by every school age student.  But many Americans have forgotten, or perhaps not even been taught, the words of our nation’s founding document.

  Even more importantly, the truthful events that led 56 men in 1776 to place their “lives, fortunes and sacred honor” on the line have been largely dismissed or even worse, distorted by many in our nation today.

Following today’s errant ruling by the Supreme Court to uphold Obamacare, I am reminded of one particular phrase in the Declaration of Independence.  It is the phrase upon which our Founding Fathers based their decision to stand against the tyrannical rule of a government that was out of touch with its citizens.  That phrase is: “...when a long train of abuses and usurpations pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their (the citizens’) right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new guards for their future security.”

I would contend that Obamacare is yet another abuse and usurpation in the “long train of abuses and usurpations” over the last number of decades by our Federal Government.  This abuse has been foisted upon the American people by a government composed of power hungry men and women who are for the most part out of touch with those whom they allege to represent. 

While Obamacare is an abuse, I would contend that it is not just “another” abuse by those in Washington.  Rather I would assert that Obamacare may in fact be the abusive “final nail” in the coffin of the Republic we know as the United States of America. 

While some may say, “well let’s just boot Obama and his Obamacare partners out of office and replace them with Republicans” I would contend that achieving that result would be no cause for celebration or certainty.  While Mitt Romney and the Republicans have affirmed their commitment to the repeal of Obamacare, their own track records are a cause for dire concern.  It was many of these same men and women who either contributed to or participated in many of the “abuses” over the last number of decades, whether at the state level or in Washington.  The first lesson we must learn is that party affiliation is no guarantee that the “train of abuses” will cease.

So what is the solution? 

Step one: Obamacare must be killed!  Not revised, reformed or diminished.  Killed!  When a cancer is alive in one’s body the goal is to kill it entirely - not to partially remove.  So Congress must repeal the cancer of Obamacare.  And if Romney is elected, he must sign the legislation to completely and permanently extricate this abuse from our nation.

But that is only step one.  Step two, which may be the more difficult and demanding effort is to daily hold our elected officials to account and in so doing put an end to the “train of abuses” that have become commonplace in Washington.  This requires a participatory republic, where our elected officials know that “We the People” are intimately aware of their positions, votes and rhetoric.  When any of these do not align with the Constitution they must be notified and made aware.  And if and when our elected officials choose to remain misaligned and out of step with our governing document then they must understand that “We the People” intend to replace them during the next election cycle.

Fellow Americans, we are at a tipping point in our nation, not too dissimilar from that which our Founding Fathers faced in the 1770’s.  The question now is will we acquiesce to this most recent and destructive abuse known as Obamacare or will we rise up and “throw off such government?” 

I pray it is the later.  But each of us must choose, and choose wisely, for our successors will either suffer the consequences or enjoy the blessings of such a choice.

Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.

Mark D. West

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Thanks, John Roberts, for putting us well on our way to totalitarianism. You get a standing "O" from Josef Stalin.

This isn't about healthcare. It is about total control of the individual. Something I actually learned about from Mrs. McCashin in the ninth grade Civics at Brainerd Jr. High School.
 
Brian Foley

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Today’s SCOTUS’ ruling has left the entire nation in shock.  Republicans are in consternation because of the sell-out of a supposedly conservative chief justice, and Democrats have been taken by surprise because they hardly expected to have the signature program of the Obama Administration passed on the grounds that it was.

 And that is just the point.  Conservatives on the Court made it abundantly clear that the individual mandate could not pass Constitutional muster because it violated the Commerce Clause that would require every American to buy a product he might not want.  So while ruling on this issue as conservatives wanted, the chief justice introduced a new element into the debate that completely changed the Affordable Care Act from being a health care law into a law that embraced the intent that even its founders rejected.  The Justices made the Affordable Care Act into a tax law.

 For more than a year Obama and his fellow Democrats had responded to criticism that this law was really a tax on non-compliance disguised as a fine on the American people for non-compliance.  In every situation, Democrats and the President rejected that appraisal and vehemently denied in print, in the media, and in campaign speeches that the Act included a tax element.

 Today, the Affordable Care Act was passed only on the basis that Chief Justice Roberts in effect re-wrote the law to define the fine on those who did not go along as a tax, thus finding that it was not un-Constitutional because Congress has the power to write tax law.

 Only one word can describe what was perpetrated on the American public today.  It is the word fraud.  Had it been called a tax when it was voted on in Congress, it could never have passed.  The justices who voted with the chief justice knew that, but they have in effect strapped the public with a fraudulent law.  

 The real tragedy here is that those who have been defrauded have no recourse to throw out the five judges who have blatantly deceived the American people.  Not even Eric Holder has committed a crime as great as they.

Jim West

* * *

Finally. Someone in Washington did something to change the ridiculous health care system we as a nation have suffered for decades. Republicans and conservatives who support the past system - yes the past system - that provided us with the most expensive health system ranked 37th in the world in efficiency are crying foul.

Even those who will benefit from the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are grousing simply because it is an act that was championed by a president - a president who no matter what he does is obstructed and disrespected by the right.  Speaking of the right; where was the Republican health care plan? There was or is none. The party is content to continue to allow insurance companies command what we do with our medical care. They decide what you can do or not do. And their record on preventive care is abysmal. There are many middle class Americans who will now be able to obtain insurance. And those that can afford it but abuse the system will have to appropriately pay their medical share.

If Mr. West or others want to call it a tax, so be it. Whatever works for the betterment of all Americans, and not just some. Republicans and conservatives who want to guess what the founding fathers wanted or just the wave the flag need to get with the 21st Century. The ACA is here. It may not be perfect, but it’s a start, which is more than I can say about any Republican ideology.

All Republican politicians talk about now is “repealing Obamacare.” They have no clue where to take this nation when it comes to health care. They offer no alternatives. They drag their feet. They obstruct progress. They just don’t get it.

Greg Williams

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Please, President Obama:  Do not force insurance on people who don't want it.
 
If they choose not to obtain health insurance, force them to pay cash if they need medical services.  No more "free emergency care"!  If you choose not to purchase your own insurance...too bad.  Guess you'll just have to die.  I'm tired of paying for it!
 
No more taxpayer funded Medicaid!  Let me keep my own money and buy whatever I want with it.  I'm sick and tired of taking care of all the girls who have one baby after another and then get a free ride...and free food.  It's not my problem.
 
I'm tired of supporting non-U.S. citizens who don't pay into the tax system. Women from other countries will tell you that they come to the United States because it's "free" to have children here.  Make them stay in their own countries and suffer.
 
No more Medicare for the "not truly disabled".  Let Medicare go only to the people who have fully paid into it.  I am truly disgusted with the number of people on disability who are "obese" or "bipolar" or have "headaches".  Get a grip and get a job.  I'm sick of all your bellyaching that you're entitled to free medical and food.
 
They are people who don't want to be forced to buy health insurance.  If they don't want it, son't let them use the health system. Easy enough.
 
Ginger F. Dahlin

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To Brian Foley,

Without commenting on the opinions here, thanks so much for the reference to my mom. She was always hopeful that she had caused students to think and remember during her many years of teaching.

George McCashin
Eldest son of the late Mrs. McCashin

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It's not that simple, Ms. Dahlin. I carried private insurance through my employers all of my adult life. Sometimes working three jobs; two full-time and one par-time. At least at two of those jobs I was doubly covered by health-care insurance. Then I was forced to cut back and down to one job, then I one day I lost that only job I had. Then I was without any insurance coverage.....then things started to snowball.
 
I once worked both at a Family and Children's Services facility and also at a major hospital simultaneously. At the hospital, I often worked double shifts. I'd go in at 3 in the afternoon and was suppose to clock out around 7 a.m. the next morning. That's impossible though, especially on weekends when all the shootings, stabbings, domestic violence, drunks having accidents are taking place. So instead of leaving work at my scheduled 7 a.m. end of shift on a Saturday morning after a harried Friday night, I sometimes didn't leave until 10 or 11 a.m. the following Saturday morning. Only to start the routine back over at 11 p.m. Saturday night. Sleep? Impossible. At some point, even when you do sleep you really don't sleep. You're body starts to always be in overdrive mode.
 
Now, maybe I'm getting off track a little, so I'll cut to the quick. In early or mid 2000 I was working only one job, having to cut back due to a serious illness. I lost that only job (by the way, I'm fully invested having paid all my quarters into Social Security and Medicare) and also lost my insurance coverage. COBRA can be extremely expensive and is out of reach when  you're only getting a few bucks a week in unemployment and still have bills to pay. But I'd put aside some rainy day money for medical emergencies. Which, low and behold I would have a serious medical emergency right in the middle of being unemployed. Now, when I had all that private insurance, in fact more than enough (double, sometimes triple coverage), my doctor's office often call me sometimes twice or more within one week to come in for this or that test, or a follow up on something. After I lost my job and my insurance coverage, I became very ill and attempted to make an appointment. I explained over the phone that I no longer had medical insurance, but I was willing to pay in cash. The receptionist said, "sure! You can come on in." But when I got there and signed in, and marked (none) in the blank slated for insurance, another individual in the office, over the receptionist and I'll assume was the front office supervisor or something, refused to allow me to see the doctor. I was so sick I could barely stand without assistance. Now, I had about 400+ bucks on me and was prepared to pay that and more if possible, because I was just that sick. But since I was turned away, I ended up in the emergency room where I also ended up with a bill that was well over three-thousand dollars. An emergency room doctor's charge can sometimes be as high as over 600 bucks alone, and that doesn't include any testing, x-rays, lab work etc.
 
My point is, 1.  like my situation, you  and most anyone could one day find yourselves in the same or similar situation as mine. Would you still want the doctors to just ignore you and "let you die" because of lack of insurance? 2. Many who have suddenly found themselves without insurance, and was willing to pay in cash to visit a doctors' office will tell you they too were turned away because they didn't have insurance. Although they were willing to pay in cash.
 
I don't mind paying taxes....we're going to pay them anyway. So don't be fooled. One tax seemingly taken away will only show up somewhere else and under a different heading.
 
 Now, there is one thing about the federal insurance Affordable Care Act  that I find troubling, and that's the penalty part. But that was a condition drawn up by republicans who stated that was the only way they'd "consider" supporting the Bill. Which I felt was a trap from the start. The reason I find that penalty, or that citizens can be fined, troubling is: I fear anything we Americans can be fined for, at some point we can be arrested and jailed for. After all, they're already arresting and fining people in some cities because their lawn turned brown in the summer heat.
 
Several times, I've gotten this image in my mind of an individual being in a serious car accident and transported to the emergency room. Then when it's realized he/she doesn't have medical insurance,  cops are called and they're handcuffed to the gurney while unconscious. After they regain consciousness, and after a brief stay, they're hauled off to the local jail. Seriously!
 
Taxes are inevitable. I like having all the quirks and comforts of being taxed. I like not having to dump my own chamber pot and that we have flushing toilets and even rules to make sure they flush right. I like not having to dump my own garbage, that a garbage truck comes by weekly to pick it up.  That I can flick a switch and my lights come on. I like there's oversight too if only to make sure I don't get electrocuted when turn something on or off. I like that my tax dollar might help someone who would otherwise be homeless, going without food to eat. I like that my tax dollar might help someone get a better education than I was able to obtain. I like all those little and not so little conveniences my tax dollars afford us although some of us take for granted and other parts of the world envy. That there are federal organizations that keep things in check. Like making sure our drinking water is up to standards. You know, if one thing we humans aren't always capable of doing is being honest when that green eyed devil takes hold and seduce us into cutting corners.
 
Now, there are things about both parties I've found extremely disturbing throughout the years. However, there's one side that has always turned up the "hate the poor" mantra. Firing everyone up, blaming the poor for all the ills and missteps. They know when and how to click on the right buttons and at just the right time  to get everyone foaming at the mouth and forming a posse; gathering up their pitchforks, shovels, sticks and whatever else they can find to turn everyone against one another, especially the poor, the immigrants, gays and anyone else they can find. Where have we all seen or read about this before? 1930s Germany? One segment of the population was blamed for all the ills of a country. The high crime rate, troubling economy, baby pooped his diaper; any and everything to get the masses up in harms and turn them on a targeted segment of the population. Which led to what? "History repeats itself, because no one ever listens!"
 
So, at the end of the day, everyone can kick and scream about "their tax dollars this, and their tax dollars that" and kick people who receive food-stamps (no I don't receive food-stamps, but I don't lose any sleep over those that do) and other subsidies, but look at all the jobs that will be lost, are being lost, when those things are cut. Even you will be affected, if  only indirectly. Just wait! You'll see! America has been down this same road before. In fact, America has been down this same road, bashing and ready to lynch the poor and one another numerous times.
 
Good Day/God Bless/I'm at peace with my  "God"/hoping one day others can find peace with theirs and learn to count their blessings. {wink}

Brenda Manghane~Washington