How does the government differ from the mafia?

I'm not being 100% serious here, but I found myself thinking about this in the shower this morning. It humored me a little...

They both offer "protection" as one of their essential services (and both charge and arm and a leg for it).
Both are masters of extortion.
Both have extensive networks to help carry out the special interests of the bigwigs at the top.
Both have connections to certain industries and corporations, and both collude with the said corporations.
The list could just keep going...

But what's the difference?
One's legal, and the other isn't.

FOCA

The "Freedom of Choice Act" has sparked a lot of controversy lately, hasn't it?
It's quite the bill. I'm impressed that it hasn't been filled with pork yet.

Either way, I'm not gonna state an opinion on abortion. I can't have one anyway, so it really doesn't affect me so much. I'm concerned with infringements on everyone else's liberties.

In section four of this bill, a woman is given a right to abortion. Here's a quote:

"Statement of Policy- It is the policy of the United States that every woman has the fundamental right to choose to bear a child, to terminate a pregnancy prior to fetal viability, or to terminate a pregnancy after fetal viability when necessary to protect the life or health of the woman." (from the above link)

Now, what's the problem with that?
The word "right."

A right is defined as "A just or legal claim or title." (from Dictionary.com, since I have no other dictionary)

Why would this bother me?
An abortion is not something to which you have an unalienable right. In order to obtain an abortion, you must use up another being's resources. (unless, of course, you're performing an abortion on yourself) No one should have a right to another person's time or money.

So, how does that affect us?
Firstly, this act would allocate federal funding for abortion. That should not be. Why do honest taxpayers need to pay for another person's wants? I want a nice synthesizer, but the government is not allocating money for that.
Secondly, this act could have some serious repercussions for health workers that refuse to perform abortions on any occasion, even if they were morally opposed to the idea of removing the fetus.
In the event that this act makes a doctor's refusal to comply a crime, Catholic bishops have vowed to close down hospitals. That seems like an issue to me.

Regardless of your moral opinion on abortion, it is not a right. Rights are unalienable entitlements. You never have to earn rights. Women have a right to an abortion just as much as I have a right to Bill Gates' money. That wouldn't mean they aren't allowed to have one; it simply means they would have to pay for it (just as if I wanted Bill Gates' money, I would have to somehow earn it from him). No one has the right to force someone to go against their morals either.

Hopefully our lawmakers realize what rights are before this vote...

Either way, off to bed. I'm finally tired.

"Top Ten Myths About Health Care"

Here's an interesting book/pamphlet I found online. It's called the "Top Ten Myths About Health Care."

It made me think. Here's a brief topic list, and then I'll let you read the rest to yourself:
1) Government health care is more efficient,
2) We're spending too much on health care,
3) 46 million Americans cannot get health care,
4) High drug prices drive up health care costs,
5) Importing drugs will reduce health care costs,
6)Universal coverage can be achieved by forcing everyone to buy coverage,
7) Government prevention programs reduce health care costs,
8) We need more government to insure poor Americans
9) Health information technology is a silver bullet for reducing health care costs, and
10) Government run health care plans in other countries are better/less costly than those in America.

I only had a chance to read the first chapter since I'm supposed to be packing for San Diego, but it was pretty interesting. This really cleared up some areas of confusion for me.

Well, back to laundry...

Tolerance is a two-way street

I wrote something about the dangers of voting on rights and privileges a few weeks ago. I still hold the same opinion that I did then; the government needs to stay out.

I did, however, find something interesting about all the goings on in the aftermath of the passage of Prop 8.
Here's the article.

A basic summary:
After the passage of Proposition 8, many groups have been rather hateful toward the groups believed to be responsible for the bill's passage. That screams tolerance, now doesn't it?

Just something to consider and think about...

Again, I honestly have no opinion in the issue of gay-marriage. I don't think the government should be able to make decisions about that.
Unfortunately, we live in a democracy (well, sort of). That means, you get to vote on the rights of the masses. Sometimes, you vote things in that only affect others. Sometimes, people vote on things that affect you and not them. All too often, a vote hurts a smaller part of the population. It is the nature of the beast.

Alright, back to bed...

Global warming, a real threat or just straight-up fraud?

It's that question again... So what's the answer?

I don't know, but I did find a book about the other side of it. It is:
"The Deniers: The World Renowned Scientists Who Stood Up Against Global Warming Hysteria, Political Persecution, and Fraud" by Lawrence Solomon. Has anyone read it yet?

Supposedly, this guy used to be an environmental activist. Here's the link to the write up if anyone is interested.

"Why Do Intellectuals Oppose Capitalism?"

This is something that I stumbled across during my internet travels for the day. I found it rather interesting. Here it is:

"Why Do Intellectuals Oppose Capitalism?"

I never really thought of it this way, but this makes quite a bit of sense. Hope you enjoy it!

Change you can believe in!

I should be doing my homework, but I'm not. I have no desire to deal with MapleTA right now, but I need to. I need every point I can get so I can try to get an A in calculus. Unfortunately, I also need a break from this stuff or I'll lose my sanity...

Either way, I found a few interesting articles online that you should consider reading:

"Obama's stimulus package seeks to save jobs and energy"

Especially take note of the last bit of commentary. The money has to come from somewhere. But where?
Another part of the stimulus plan advocates using money (again, from where?) to help repair/remodel bridges, roads, schools, and other state owned furnishings. Now, this sounds peachy until you analyze the possible implications. The construction industry is contracting (the main reason for this part of the stimulus plan is out of work construction laborers) because it was too large. There were too many in the first place. Why would we want to sustain those extra jobs? The same workers will be out of work as soon as the stimulus plan ends. These men/women would be better off getting a different job now.

Also, why would we try to create an industry that has to be supported by the government? It's not as if it will just magically sustain itself once it's up and running...

Another interesting one:

"Obama shelves oil company tax after price fall: aide"

It appears that someone's been playing with the public a little on campaign promises, huh? At least he realized that it was
a really stupid idea...

And this should make you cringe... Reading this made me realize how little I want Tom Daschle to be in charge of anything:
"Daschle-Obama healthcare possibilities"

I don't think I need to say anything about that...