Affordable Health Care: Not a Moral Right

In the 9/24/09 issue of the Fluvanna Review someone stated, "Affordable health care is every American's moral right" and proceeded to reference the popular parable of "The Good Samaritan" and a quote from Christ. She asked if Jesus walked our streets today, teaching His parables, would He be branded as a socialist and jeered.

The problem I see with correlations such as these between Christ's teachings and social justice is the assumption that Christ was teaching these lessons to governmental institutions, but He wasn't. He was speaking to individuals, specifically His followers. It is not the Federal Government's role to "love their neighbor", but rather it is the role of Christians.

None of us are due bandaged wounds, continued care and a comfy bed all at the expense of another. Parables such as "The Good Samaritan" are talking about the voluntary expression of love and mercy toward one another.

While God has created all men equal and given us the inalienable rights to life and liberty as recognized by our founding fathers, He did not give us the "right" to affordable health care, and the US Constitution does not give the power to our government to bestow "affordable health care" on all Americans. The proper role of government is to protect equal rights, not provide equal things.

As for Christ being a socialist, absolutely not. He never taught to "steal from the rich to give to the poor".

Our federal government should not be taking money from select portions of society to redistribute to others in order to "make things fair". America is a free market economy and the only way for us to thrive as a nation is to minimize governmental regulations and let the market do its thing.

Affordable health care is not every American's moral right.

Fluvanna Fire Station Gets Stimulus Funds

In a press release dated September 24th, 2009 Congressman Tom Perriello announced over $1.4 million in Federal Stimulus money has been granted to Fluvanna County to construct a new Fire Station in Fork Union.

While the headline "Construction of New Fire Station Will Employ 100 People, Benefit Numerous Area Businesses" sounds wonderful, I feel very sick over the whole thing. How can we in good conscience take this money?

I fought hard against the Stimulus bill and I believe passing that legislation was absolutely reckless.

Perriello indicated at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon held at the Ashlawn Grille in Lake Monticello shortly after his vote for this horrendous pork-filled package that our taxes would not go up. Instead, he confessed that we would have to print money in order to pay for this bill. He evidently did not have a problem with this.

However, I did. I thought "printing money" was a crime. I mean, I'm not allowed to do that, so why is the privately owned Federal Reserve Bank allowed to do so?

My sister then asked the Congressman, "Well, wouldn't that lead to inflation?" His reply? "Yes, but not right away."

What!? Oh, I can't tell you how many shades of red I saw at that moment. I kept quiet because I was trying to refrain from exploding at the man, but I was livid. He saw nothing wrong with this!

But this is so wrong. The value of the dollar diminishes every time the printing presses fire up. We work hard to earn a living, but the cost of living goes up whenever inflation comes into play, so what we earned (and saved) yesterday can no longer pay for tomorrow. Whatever the difference is has been stolen from us. So someone please explain to me why our Congressman thinks this is okay.

It's not. Unfortunately though, it's the way of the world...we've accepted it in the past and for some odd reason most folks are content with just accepting it going forward. I say, NO!

Printing money (with nothing to back it up) leads to deflating dollars, which essentially is stealing and that is morally wrong.

So this brings me to...if we know that we are having to print money on the federal level in order to pay for this grant, then how on earth can we in Fluvanna County accept these funds in good faith?

"Oh, but it's for a new fire station," you might say.

It shouldn't matter what the money is for. The fact is we (at the local level, state level and federal level) don't have the money to pay for it, and we don't have the right to steal it from anyone else in order to satisfy our own needs/desires...no matter how noble the cause.

It looks like I will be paying my local Board of Supervisors a visit in the next few weeks to discuss my concern with them. If you feel the same and you reside here in Fluvanna County, join me at the New County Courthouse in Palmyra on Wednesday, October 7th at 2PM and share your thoughts as well.

Congressman Tom Perriello: Oath of Office

I wrote a letter to my 5th District Congressman this evening. While I emailed a slightly abbreviated version to him, here is what I wrote in full:

Dear Congressman Perriello,

I contacted your office in DC today to follow up on my question that I posed to you at the Fluvanna Town Hall Meeting. The man who spoke before me pointed out the unconstitutionality of the Health Care Bill referencing the enumerated powers in Article 1 Section 8 of the US Constitution. He also pointed out that the 10th Amendment supports the idea of the federal government being limited in power to what is stated in the Constitution.

I considered the fact that this man spoke before me (I had no idea what he was going to say) and that there was a break in constituent comments/questions giving you an opportunity to respond to him was an act of God. Your response indicated that you were aware of constitutional issues concerning this bill but you were "willing to let the courts fight it out". Then it was my turn to speak.

I reminded you that you swore an oath to uphold the Constitution, and if you knew that there were constitutional issues concerning this piece of legislation, I asked why you were willing to let the courts fight it out. After addressing specific items in the bill and my personal concerns as a small business owner and tax-paying citizen, I asked the following question, "Knowing that this legislation without a shadow of a doubt is in violation of the US Constitution, who and/or what gives you the power to take away our God-given rights to life and liberty by casting anything but a "no" vote concerning this bill?"

To this you never replied.

So, I called your office in Washington today (9/4/09) and spoke with one of your staffers. I explained that I never got a response to my question. I said I could not understand why you would be willing to "let the courts fight it out" if you indeed recognized that this was unconstitutional. Perhaps you don't feel it is unconstitutional. Your staffer explained to me that there was an elastic clause at the end of Article 1 Section 8 that gives you the power to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper. However, I had a copy of the Constitution in my hand and read him the complete clause. It states,

"To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all the Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof."

Please note that it says "...the foregoing Powers..." referencing the enumerated powers laid out in the previous clauses. It also says "...the Powers vested by this Constitution..." reiterating that the powers being referred to are in the Constitution. It seems pretty clear to me that these are qualifiers in this "elastic clause". If you can make any law you feel like, then why did the founders lay out the specific powers in Article 1 Section 8 (to establish and maintain an army and navy, to establish post offices, to create courts, to regulate commerce between the states, to declare war, and to levy taxes for these purposes)?

Furthermore, your staffer mentioned "checks and balances" and that the Supreme Court was set up to be one of those when it comes to determining Constitutional power. I agree. However, the Legislative branch is a check as well. You don't have the right to do whatever you want and expect either the President or SCOTUS to step up and keep you in line. You swear an oath to uphold the Constitution for the purpose of stating your intention to act in a manner that supports the US Constitution. If you are willing to vote on a piece of legislation that knowingly conflicts with the Constitution, how are you upholding it?

Now if you honestly believe that the US Constitution gives you the power to lay and collect taxes for the purpose of providing a government-run health care option or dictating how the private sector will conduct its affairs, then please explain to me where you find that power listed in that binding document.

I also explained to your staffer the following, which I would like you to be aware of as well:

There are a few lawsuits pending right now in your district (Fluvanna County) as well as at the state level concerning the actions of our local Board of Supervisors who were willing to "let the courts decide" when they were served twice with a petition of more than 10% of the voters in the county requesting a referendum on the formation of a Joint Water Authority. The law gives the people the right to petition their government for this specific issue (formation of a Joint Water Authority)...they did it twice, but the County Attorney advised the Board to disregard the petitions due to a legal technicality in his mind. Now five months later, we, the taxpayers are still paying for the Board's "defense" in multiple courts since a citizen rose up to challenge the Board's decision to throw away our petitions...*and* we're paying for the formation of the Joint Water Authority. What if the courts decide the petitions were valid and a referendum should have been called? It is too late to have the referendum in the November election, so a special election will have to be called. This is going to cost even more money to the taxpayer. And this is a result of our governing body letting the courts fight it out.

Sir, you have an obligation to the people whom you represent as a US Congressman. You must uphold the US Constitution. The Constitution does not give you the power to make this Health Care Reform law. You know it. While a threat to not vote for you in November may not mean much to you (you already lost my vote when you voted "yes" on the Cap & Trade bill), I would hope doing what's right in the sight of God would matter more.

How can you in good conscience go against the US Constitution when you swore an oath to uphold it?

Sincerely,
Carrie Wigal

Fluvanna BOS: Public Prayer vs Moment of Silence

I spoke during the initial public comments section of this afternoon's (9/2/09) BOS meeting. Here's what I had to say:

My name is Carrie Wigal. I live at [edited for privacy purposes].

About a month or so ago there was an article in the Central Virginian that featured my plea to you to put prayer back into your public meetings. To be honest it surprised me that it received media coverage that long after my comments were made. But I read that piece and could hardly believe Attorney Tom Paine’s response. It was reported that he advised you a moment of silence would be more appropriate than prayer because he was afraid of litigation that might come as a result of public prayer in your meetings.

I have to tell you, I laughed out loud when I read this. Because as you know, my father, Doug Johnson is currently suing you for your failure to order a referendum over the formation of the Joint Water Authority. Your very own Mr. Ott warned you all at the public hearing in March that litigation might ensue if you didn’t act on the petitions of the people. Your attorney obviously didn’t fear that litigation when he advised you to disregard the two sets of petitions. So, needless to say, that particular statement struck me as rather funny.

But after my chuckle subsided, I thought to myself why does this man fear men over God? Wouldn’t God’s wrath cause more harm than some disgruntled citizen? Why are we more concerned about offending people than we are of offending the Almighty? Where are the priorities here?

Shortly after this article hit the newsstands I discovered that you all voted unanimously to include a moment of silence in your public agendas – and some thought I should be proud of my participation in getting this issue to the forefront. But I have to tell you, I was more proud of getting my concerns on the front page of the paper.

A moment of silence? My initial response…You all actually voted to have a moment of silence in your meetings? You already have a multitude of moments of silence in your meetings – everybody just needs to stop talking for a minute at the same time, and voila! There’s your moment of silence – you didn’t have to vote on it! This is crazy.

What purpose does this moment serve? Are you honoring fallen soldiers or mourning the loss of a loved one? – Or are you just trying to gather your thoughts for the next subject at hand? Maybe your honest intention was to allow individuals to pray if they chose to do so before you proceeded with your agendas. And I believe it was your honest intention. But, individuals can pray whenever they want – they don’t need a public “moment of silence” to permit that.

So many thoughts raced through my mind upon my hearing this news, but the most significant one was how much of a slap in the face to God this was.

Who do you think you’re fooling? Why are you afraid to talk to Him in public? Oh, it’s okay to publicly pledge allegiance to our nation – under God…and tender money publicly claiming we put our trust in God, but we just can’t publicly talk to Him. Can you see the lunacy in this?

He is the Creator of the Universe! When the sun goes down and you gaze up into the sky, marveling at the blanket of lights visible to the naked eye, know that he breathed them into existence…and the size of this little planet here pales in comparison to many of the stars flying around out there. Yet he knows each and every one of us. He knows the number of hairs on our head at any given moment of the day, and He knows our innermost thoughts, desires and fears. He designed us – and He loves us – even when we screw up!

God wants good things for us – He wants to help us. We have so much evidence in our nation’s history of his divine intervention. The Revolutionary War was won because He stepped in as a result of prayer. The huge success in the birth and life of our nation is a direct result of His providence and our recognition of Him and obedience to His laws. The Abolition of Slavery was realized because He intervened on the hearts of men.

God is real – He is all-knowing, all-powerful and willing to give wisdom to those who ask Him. He sees the big picture. He knows what goes on in the homes and hearts of every citizen in this county, and He not only knows what’s best for us, He wants it.

Quit ignoring Him. Quit dismissing Him. Quit offending Him.

Please, throw away your “moment of silence” – get a backbone when it comes to standing up for God in this county and exercise some humility by calling on His wisdom and direction through public prayer.

Thank you.