ObamaCare The Most Important Supreme Court Decision in Decades

It's prediction time on one of the most important Supreme Court decision in the history of this nation. Do we continue as a nation where government has limited power and scope and where individual rights prevail? Or do we become a European state with more - or less - unlimited power delegated to the central government?

I've been optimistic from the start that the court would rule against the mandate. Although, I must admit, there were times when I wasn't so sure at all. After the oral arguments, and the reactions of Scalia and Roberts, I've been quite optimistic.

I'm hoping for a 7-2 ruling against the mandate but expect it to be 6-3. As far as the rest of the bill I think Scalia's point that it would be “cruel and unusual punishment” to expect the Court to read through 2000+ pages lends itself to a 5-4 decision. I think the no-severablity clause may lead to interesting results. The arrogance of that clause may be enough to enable Roberts to bring both Kennedy and Sotomayor to agree to a very narrow decision against the whole bill. How sweet it would be if we could get a 6-3 on this as well.

Reading back at this post I must add that I know so VERY, VERY little about the workings of the Supreme Court and the statements above sound so much more authorative than they were meant to be. The above are gut feelings based upon very little knowledge and insight.

A few other points. I keep hearing from my liberal/progressive friends that this bill is really very popular. If that is true why not ammend the constitution to clarify what is meant by the regulating interstate commerce? In other words amend the Constitution to give Congress the power to regulate any and all interactions.

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EDIT: June 28, 2012 From a comment at the Wall Street Journal:

Once everyone can have anything they want in regard to health care, I know they will be very frugal and only use the service the really need. So your worry about doctors is unfounded. After all history has shown when someone else pays the bills, people will naturally use the services provided in a thoughtful manner. We see this all the time. Take a look at Europe – a perfect example of shared sacrifice. I think the important thing to remember is that when some else is paying for your free lunch, it’s best not to worry about how much the check will be – after all that can only lead to indigestion.

It's slightly off topic, but a fantastic parody of the health care law.

Crashing the Congressional Black Caucus

At the start of the new year I was hoping that the number of elected Black Republicans would increase by 4 or more. Now, I barely see that one or two additional members will be elected. Mia Love has a long way to catch up, Allen West is being targeted by Democratic Party and there isn't anyone else that I know of who seems destined, as West, Ryan Frazier and Tim Scott, were in 2010.

On a side note I'm happy to see that Ted Cruz has a real chance to become a US Senator.

To Poll or Not to Poll

We don't have to parse polls too much longer - all we need to do is watch where the candidates are heading and the reception they are receiveing at these events. By the end of September or the beginning of October we will know who is ahead between Obama and Romney as neither candidate will be spending time and money in a state they think they are likely to lose.

If Romney is in North Carolina during the first week of October (which I don't think he will be), Romney is clearly losing. If Romney is in Virgina, Ohio or Florida that first week of October then he is behind as, for all practical purposes, those are three states Romney must carry. If, on the other hand, Romney is in smaller swing states such as New Hampshire, Iowa, Colorado, and Nevada the first week of Oct then Romney has a small lead. And, if Romney is in Wisconsin or Michigan then he is clearly winning.

Obama, on the other hand, may be in states he is losing - such as Virginia or Ohio simply because he must win those states. I personally don't know how he will react to being down. He doesn't seem to have the strength to handle such adversity gracefully. I think his rhetoric, and that of the press, will get ever more shrill, ever more outlandish. We may see the far left-wing of the Democratic Party suffer a nervous breakdown. four years earlier Democrats dreamed of their ultimate victory and now, everything falls apart.

Ban Indecent Books

I received a spam mail titled "help ban these indecent books". The entire post is presented exactly as I received it, including the INSERT NAME HERE.

Dear INSERT NAME HERE,

I think we should support the Friends of Decency and help ban these indecent books. The Friends of Decency website has more information about this month's "Top Five" indecent books: http://www.friendsofdecency.org/ We should start a local chapter of the Friends of Decency in our community. Please email me if you are willing to join and help ban indecent books. Together we can make a difference.

If you are a Friend of Decency, help get the word out and pass this email on. It is time for the decent people of our country to stand up and make oure voices heard!

Yours truly,

INSERT YOUR NAME HERE

I googled "friends of decency" and nothing popped up in the search results. My first thought was to snicker, especially after going to the page. It was a poorly designed site without anyplace to comment on the reviews. The only links were to Amazon. Then it occurred to me that this site might be a marketing ploy. People would click on the book from the banned site and purchase the book either because they're interested in it or to "stick it" to the ban-books-crowd and, in so doing, give the owner of the site an Amazon.com commission for helping sell the book.

There were 5 reviewed books. Here's the review of "The Hunger Games."

This book is very exciting and well written but encourages people to act in self-serving ways. This book is very dangerous because it is popular right now with the young people and might encourage defiance of government and other authority figures. This book glorifies selfish behavior and subversive activity.

Pros: Well written; Interesting story.

Cons: Violence; Defiance of authority; Sexuality; Encourages subversive behavior.