Is Healthcare a basic need?

That seems to be the debate of the day. Is heath care a basic need that should be provided for everyone (free of charge for those that cannot afford it), or is it a privilege? Let me ask another question. Is water a basic right? I would say yes, since we cannot survive without it. How come we do not provide water to everyone free of charge? I would vote for fee water before free health care. What about heat? Is that a basic right? It should be in Cleveland, the winters are pretty nasty there. Are water and heat more important or less so than health care? Why don't we nationalize those first? And why stop there? What about shelter, clothing, electricity and transportation? Where is the line drawn (if anywhere)? And more importantly, who is going to pay for it? We could cut all of our military spending, along with world aid we supply and redirect (or redistribute for all you lefties) those funds to provide a free nationalist society where no one has to pay for anything. I am sure that would foster a desire to work in those that are already less than motivated. So with no military, and a Utopian society, I am sure the rest of the world will leave us alone. Laissez-faire, if you please. Then we can all sit around and sing koombaya with our neighbors. Yes, that sounds realistic. Let me know how it works out.

Health Insurance - you want it, you got it... and you just have to pay for those that can't

The latest proposed legislation regarding health insurance is a costly one. I am sure everyone was excited about Obama's promise of insurance for everyone, including the alleged 50 million uninsured Americans. Well, that reality may be just around the corner. In a time where the economy seems to be shrinking, this legislation proposes that carrying health insurance be required for everyone, all the time, just like car insurance. Additionally, those that choose not to purchase health care will be fined ($1,000 fine per individual, more for families). There will be government subsidies available or the poor, and it will be interesting to see how they use (if they use it). Finally, there will be still be increased taxes to offset the costs of the health care system and cuts for Medicaid and Medicare. So if you have made the choice not to carry health insurance up to this point, the decision is no longer yours (for all you pro-choice folks out there). Hopefully the health care system works a bit better than the car insurance system. I just wonder if there will be a "Safe Auto" or a "Geico" option out there...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090703/ap_on_go_co/us_health_care_overhaul

Who wants a divorce?

Always fun to come across these:


DIVORCE AGREEMENT

Dear American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists, Obama supporters, et al:We have stuck together since the late 1950's, but the whole of this latest election process has made me realize that I want a divorce. I know we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly, this relationship has run its course. Our two ideological sides of America cannot and will not ever agree on what is right so let's just end it on friendly terms. We can smile and chalk it up to irreconcilable differences and go our own way.Here is a model separation agreement:Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by landmass each taking a portion. That will be the difficult part, but I am sure our two sides can come to a friendly agreement. After that, it should be relatively easy! Our respective representatives can effort les sly divide other assets since both sides have such distinct and disparate tastes.We don't like redistributive taxes so you can keep them. You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU. Since you hate guns and war, we'll take our firearms, the cops, the NRA and the military. You can keep Oprah, Michael Moore and Rosie O'Donnell (You are, how ever, responsible for finding a bio-diesel vehicle big enough to move all three of them).We'll keep the capitalism, greedy corporations, pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart and Wall Street. You can have your beloved home les s, homeboys, hippies and illegal aliens. We'll keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, greedy CEO's and rednecks. We'll keep the Bib les and give you NBC and Hollywood . You can make nice with Iran and Pa les tine and we'll retain the right to invade and hammer places that threaten us. You can have the peaceniks and war protesters. When our allies or our way of life are under assault, we'll help provide them security.We'll keep our Judeo-Christian values... You are welcome to Islam, Scientology, Humanism and Shirley McClain. You can also have the U.N.. But we will no longer be paying the bill. We'll keep the SUVs, pickup trucks and oversized luxury cars. You can take every Subaru station wagon you can find. You can give everyone healthcare if you can find any practicing doctors. We'll continue to believe healthcare is a luxury and not a right. We'll keep The Battle Hymn of the Republic and the National Anthem. I'm sure you'll be happy to substitute Imagine, I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing, Kum Ba Ya or We Are the World. We'll practice trickle down economics and you can give trickle up poverty your best shot. Since it often so offends you, we'll keep our history, our name and our flag. Would you agree to this? If so, please pass it along to other like minded liberal and conservative patriots and if you do not agree, just hit delete. In the spirit of friendly parting, I'll bet you ANWAR which one of us will need whose help in 15 years..

Sincerely, John J. Wall
Law Student and an American

P.S. Also, please take Barbara Streisand & Jane Fonda with you.

Great call by Pixar

This is a wonderful story of a company that went the extra mile to fulfill a little girl's dream. I have attached the link: http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=415257&GT1=28101

It is nice to see this kind of thing in today's world. If you don't have a tear in your eye after reading it, you may not have a soul.

Whose fault is it really?

I understand there is a significant amount of people who are unhappy with the current President. Additionally, based on the current divorce rate, there seems to be a significant amount of people who are unhappy with their current/ex spouse. I always find it interesting when those people (in either scenario) start passing around the blame for their current unhappy circumstances. Here is an interesting thought: you picked them. Does that make it your fault then if it doesn't work out? Or are you one of those people (I believe some would call you an "optimist") who really believes people will change? I understand that the correlation is a bit indirect in relation to the President, so let me explain. You chose to live in a democracy where the majority makes the decisions. The current majority selected the current President. Therefore, whether you voted for him or not, you still "chose" him, by living in a country that abides by such a process. For those of you that do not vote, again, that was your choice, and by making that choice, you implicitly agreed to accept the outcome based on those who did vote. So in essence, all of you who are unhappy with your choices in life (whether your spouse, President, or even a pet), maybe just look in the mirror next time you are looking for someone to blame.

Summer

So it is summer in Cleveland, and oddly enough, the hottest days on record this year all occurred in April. Perfect. The mayflies are in off the lake which makes walking around downtown a pleasant experience full of chances to inhale tasty little bugs. I have been spending a large amount of time at the Justice Center and have come to two realizations: (1) generally criminal defense attorneys do not make a great deal of money and (2) there is nothing like hearing the gavel hit the bench after being sentenced to prison for 21 to life. I watched a kid (yes, they sentence the young) walk out of the courtroom after being convicted for murder as his mother cried in the background. At first I felt sorry for the family and the defendant. That feeling was quickly replaced with, "what gives one the right to walk into a store and shoot two people?" I don't care what type of neighborhood you grew up in, you are not privileged to take the life of another. Maybe I should be at the prosecutor's office. Now I am going to floss the mayflies out of my teeth.

2 more to go

3 exams done, and 2 more to go. Still hard to believe that the first year of law school has been completed. So as I prepare to re-read my 27 page Contracts outline (while ignoring the urge to watch the NBA playoffs), I look back and am completely content with the decision to pursue this dream. Although there are more years to complete, and more experience to be gained, I am thoroughly enjoying the journey. My advice to you (faithful readers that you are) is this: Do not wait for your dreams to find you. If you are unhappy with the choices you have made at this point, stop complaining and start making different (and presumably better) choices. Go after the career you dream of. Get back in school (if that is required). Stop procrastinating and start living. Don't wait until you wake up one morning at 70 years old and regret everything you didn't do. And don't buy a red, convertible miata. That's just sad.