1865- HEALTH CARE RULING- AND A BED

Okay- before we get to the health care ruling- let’s do some spiritual stuff.

When I got up yesterday morning- I determined not to listen to too much news before I go to the homeless spot.

I mean I like keeping my mind free- at least until I get back from visiting with the homeless.

On my way to the mission- I put on the Christian music station [I listen to classic rock- talk radio- news- and Christian stuff at various times].

I was in such a spiritual state of mind- avoiding all the political stuff.

Then my music station broke in- yeah- one of those ‘breaking news’ type things- like CNN did one day- in the middle of real news- they broke in ‘BREAKING NEWS’- gee- what could it be that’s so important- I mean they were already covering real time important stuff- Syria shooting down a Turkish jet- you know- stuff like that.

Then the urgent story broke ‘Obama rose 2 % in a poll’.

Sad- so sad.

So my Christian station ‘broke in’ I mean I was in a good state of mind- free from Rush [on the right] and NPR [a little left].

It was short- and well- sweet ‘the Supreme Court has upheld all of the Obama care law- yes- all of it’.

Now- go back to your spiritual state of mind.

Thanks a lot.

Actually- at first I was surprised- and thought for a moment ‘am I mad’ ?

You know- I wasn’t.

Am I in shock?

No.

I was just surprised.

Those of you who have followed my posts this last year realize that I was not a total rejecter of Obama Care.

I did feel that the main justification for the mandate- the way Obama used the Commerce Clause- was a mistake.

The administration said they had the right to make people buy insurance because the Fed. Govt. has the right to regulate commerce [under the clause].

And that health care is ‘commerce’ that takes place between the states- so they are ‘regulating’ it by telling you to buy insurance.

In short- this seemed like a stretch to me.

I also wrote that the pres does have the authority to pass a law that could tax people for health care.

But Obama- and the Solicitor General [the lawyer who argued the govts. case before the court] chose to reject the ‘we have the right to tax you’ law- and instead argued the ‘we have the commerce clause right to regulate you’.

So- that’s really why I thought the law would get rejected by the court.

But who am I- just some arm chair peon who watches the news- a lot.

When I got home from the mission- I caught the latest and realized that I was actually right.

The court did reject the Commerce Clause argument.

The 5 more conservative justices did in fact shoot down the Commerce Clause argument.

Hum?

Then how did it pass constitutional muster?

John Roberts [the chief justice] then sided with the 4 more liberal justices- and said in essence ‘you [Pres and Congress] do have the right to tax [which we all agree on] therefore- Obama Care passes because it’s just a tax’.

Huh?

The Solicitor General- and the President- have argued- time and again- that this is not a tax.

Yet Roberts said ‘we pass the law [mandate part] because it’s a tax’.

It seems like a contradiction to me.

Then- when I read/heard the dissenting opinion- from the 4 ‘conservative’ justices- they ripped into Roberts.

They basically said what I just told you.

They said Roberts and the 4 libs did indeed change the law- by saying in their ruling that it is a tax.

The 4 dissenters said it is the courts job to simply rule on the law- the way it was written- and the way it was argued- and that both said this was not a tax.

So- in the end- for some reason- Roberts took it upon himself to kind of be a ‘judicial activist’ and in a way re write the rule himself.

This is a little strange to be honest.

And it confuses the public.

There are now many Obama supporters who are saying ‘see- we told you it was constitutional all along’.

But actually- the way it was written- the Commerce Clause thing- was said to be unconstitutional.

Yes- the majority says the way the law was initially written was unconstitutional.

So- those who said this from the start- were proved right.

Yet- those who defend the law are skipping that [as they make the rounds on the news] and are simply saying ‘see- it was constitutional all along’.

What a mess.

I fear Roberts- in his desire to make the court look like it’s not too political- might have made one of the worst decisions- that is- a decision that seems to be political.

From the start I was [and am still] not someone who outright rejects the goal of universal care.

I never made the strong right argument that what Obama did was socialized medicine.

In actuality the law is simply a mandate for citizens to buy private insurance- without limiting what private insurance can charge.

I think in a way this is a boom for the private insurance industry.

I would have preferred a more European style thing [see- you guys who think I’m all ‘right’ have not read my blog too long].

Yes- I know both sides of the issue- and realize that true universal care- Canadian style- has its good and bad.

I just felt from the start if you are going to shoot for universal coverage [a noble goal] that the way Obama went about it was not the best way.

Okay- enough of that.

I hung out at the mission for a few hours- had a good talk with Dirk and a few other friends.

Around 1 o’clock one of the new ladies that has been coming the last few weeks- she had a free bag of goods that the mission gave her- and had to walk a few blocks in the heat.

She’s also pregnant- so I offered to give her a ride home.

Tammy also asked if I could give her a ride and I said sure.

Most of the times I will leave with Henry- and he comes back to the house and hangs out for the rest of the day.

But he was not around so I just gave the girls a ride home.

It’s been real hot in Corpus the last few weeks- we have been breaking records.

Anyway as I was dropping off Tammy she was telling Johnaa that she is sleeping on the floor of her trailer- she has no bed.

Right at that point I make the turn to get to Tammy’s street and some people look like their moving out and have about 5 beds right there on the street.

So Johnna says ‘hey look- there’s a bed’.

I asked Tammy if she wanted to turn around and see if they want to sell one.

Of course she was broke- but I told her maybe I can get a deal and I’ll buy it for her.

So I did the U turn and asked the guy- he said they were moving out and we could take one.

I’m like ‘praise God brother’.

I noticed he had on that little Elder tag that the Mormons where.

Now- I like Mormon people- and over the years I have had very open and honest discussions about their faith.

I do try to be nice when I refute some of their teachings- and have really made headway with them over the years- being open too- and willing to hear both sides.

So the guy I talked too had the badge on- plus there were about 5 more of them standing in the garage.

It must have been some missionary house that they were moving out of.

So I told them I just left the mission- I gave the Elder my ministry card [so he knew I wasn’t making stuff up].

And I kinda saw the whole thing as God working it out.

They seemed to not take it the same way.

I mean- they didn’t say anything- but it’s almost like the elder didn’t even want to touch the card.

I realize why they are like this- and if any of you guys are Mormons- I’m glad you read the site.

Yet- I felt they just were not that ‘into me’.

Anyway- far be it from me to hold a grudge- I mean that’s childish.

So we got the bed.

Oh yeah- one more thing.

If Romney thinks I’m gonna vote for him now- well he better think again.

www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com

Note- Do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on. Thanks- John. Don’t forget to ‘click’ the note App on my Facebook Profile- I have posted lots.