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The principles that rule this blog

Principles that will govern my thoughts as I express them here (from my opening statement):


  • Freedom of the individual should be as total as possible, limited only by the fact that nobody should be free to cause physical injury to another, or to deprive another person of his freedoms.
  • Government is necessary primarily to provide those services that private enterprise won't, or won't at a price that people can afford.
  • No person has a right to have his own beliefs on religious, moral, political, or other controversial issues imposed on others who do not share those beliefs.

I believe that Abraham Lincoln expressed it very well:

“The legitimate object of government is to do for a community of people whatever they need to have done, but cannot do, at all, or cannot
so well do, for themselves — in their separate, individual capacities.”


Comments will be invited, and I will attempt to reply to any comments that are offered in a serious and non-abusive manner. However, I will not tolerate abusive or profane language (my reasoning is that this is my blog, and so I can control it; I wouldn't interfere with your using such language on your own!)

If anyone finds an opinion that I express to be contrary to my principles, they are welcome to point this out. I hope that I can make a rational case for my comments. Because, in fact, one label I'll happily accept is rationalist.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

The Health Care Debate -- more on the "public option" question

There are people like Howard Dean and the "progressive coalition" who are taking the position that no health-care bill without a "public option" will get their vote. Since there are others who have stated that no health-care bill with a "public option" will get their vote, the far-out left, by taking this position, may be doing us a favor, even if their position is diametrically opposed to mine. For it looks like a guarantee that no health-care bill, with or without a "public option," will pass this year.

And this may, in fact, be the best way to go. Ideally, we need more discussion. We need a plan that really guarantees people the right to have insurance at least as good as what they have already -- The bills that are before Congress, regardless of what President Obama says, do not. And we need limitations on malpractice awards (alias "tort reform") which Obama has refused to implement -- he's trying to make insurance companies the villains, while the real villains are trial lawyers who force medical doctors to institute all sorts of unnecessary defensive actions to prevent frivolous lawsuits, and who force insurance companies to raise their malpractice insurance rates to cover outrageous awards. But Obama and the Democrats won't do anything to curb those malicious trial lawyers: they are too big supporters of Democratic candidates!

So probably the best thing to do is make sure that no health care legislation gets passed in 2009, so that a real reform can be enacted later! And we can thank the Howard Deans of this country for making this more likely!




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