Immigration, Health Care and the Supremes... dancing around the real world issues...

I'm not a lawyer. I don't claim to fully understand all the nuances of even a traffic stop, much less the legalese that many are seeming to enjoy parsing after this weeks Supreme Court rulings. I know the US has an enormous deficit and that there are limits to what a society will turn over to a central government in both taxes and control. But I also know that people with no hope in the future get discouraged, give up and can easily be cast aside by a system that fails to take into account the personal side of political and legal decisions. That is part of what Justice Antonin Scalia was saying in his dissent Monday regarding SB 1070, popularly known as the Arizona Immigration Bill. He was trying to speak for the ranchers and farmers in Arizona who are feeling overwhelmed by what they see as rampant illegal immigration into their state. Many of those farmer and ranchers are at ground zero in the immigration wars.  With isolated plots of land, they have been surprised upon many a night to see someone using their out buildings as a camp, or makeshift home. Why they ask, has the federal government, across many administrations seemingly turned a blind eye to their struggle to feel safe and secure in their own homes? It is a good question... but it's not the only question worth pondering as we close out one of the most watched Supreme Court sessions in years. We should also ask if government has a role in making sure all Americans have access, not theoretical, but real access to quality health care in this country. Seemingly, both Presidential contenders agree.  Even though he disagrees with the route President Obama took, Mitt Romney's plan is to repeal and replace.  Clearly that says he too sees some role for the federal government in this area. There are millions of us who would love to buy health insurance.  And I say us because, like many, my family is uninsured. Because of a doctor approved procedure done 25 years ago, my wife is unable to get insurance in the private market.  She has a preexisting condition.  And with that, few, if any companies will offer her insurance at a rate we can afford. The current health care act gives people like us hope.  Hope that we will not have to forever lie awake at night wondering if we are just a little achy, or if something is seriously wrong inside the wonderful bodies that God gave us. We have hope that one day soon, when the entire law takes effect, that we will finally be able to gain real access to some of the best health care in the world.  At a cost that will not bankrupt us. Justice Scalia said the citizens of Arizona were feeling "under seige" against the effects of illegal immigration. Many of us have also felt under siege against the effects of having to live with a health care system that seems built to do everything possible to maximize profits and minimize access to all but the approved. The Supreme Court has given us lots to think about this week.  I hope we can move past the political rhetoric and seek some real solutions that are designed to both protect and serve the all of the American people.

President Obama Drones On... profiling his way to a lower civilian body count in the Middle East...

President Barack Obama, channeling all the insipidness of the Bush Administration foreign policy, has himself adopted a policy of engagement, that when done by domestic law-enforcement agencies, is tantamount to profiling. Now this might not be such a big deal if the Obama Administration was not in the middle of chastising the State of Arizona for what they believe is a policy that will lead to racial profiling. Here's the background... As many are aware, the US is increasingly relying on drone strikes to kill terrorists in the Middle East.  The problem is that, like any bombing plan, sometimes things do not always go as planned. That has led to numerous civilian deaths as those drones kill everyone in sight, even when they hit their exact target. Except the Obama Administration has decided that those civilian deaths are not really civilian deaths when the dead are men of military age. President Obama has decided that any military age men killed when we are bombing known terrorists are also to be classified as terrorists and not innocent civilians.  And here is his logic.  You are known by the company you keep. You read that right.  Here, from an article by Chris Woods, is what has been discovered about the Obama Administration's views on enemy combatants. President Obama and his administration have adopted a policy that calls people terrorists simply because they were in contact with, or in the same general vicinity of a known terrorist, even though there may be no evidence whatsoever to make that charge. I call that profiling.  As have Democratic lawmakers for years, who now are choosing for some reason to quietly ignore the reality of the situation. I am not sure what the President and his team of advisers call it, but it does seem to be keeping the civilian death numbers down, which was the objective. I cannot imagine a more cynical way of changing the metrics of a discussion then this. President Obama, whose campaign pushed back vehemently against the charge that he was complicit with the ideas of known domestic terrorist Bill Ayers clearly is holding men of the Middle East to a different standard. President Obama, clearly would fight back against police forces around the country if they tried to use the very same strategy in communities where they risk their lives on a daily basis. Eric Holder. Attorney General of the United States argued that the Arizona statute, SB 1070, which calls for checking the immigration status of people suspected of committing other crimes, would lead to profiling. Making matters worse, the only way a family can clear the name of a dead relative, who just may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, is by posthumously presenting contrary evidence. I bet that will make people feel better. At least in Arizona, if someone is profiled and mistakenly arrested, they can present their evidence personally and not have to rely on a posthumous finding. President Obama, you should be ashamed, and so should the rest of Congress for working to avoid accountability for a growing number of civilian deaths worldwide as a result of our actions in this so called war on terrorism.