Prop 100 (1% sales tax for schools)

There has been a lot of debate lately regarding Prop 100 leading up to the election on May 18th. As far as the opposing comments, I understand the reasoning of many of you, but I ask you to reexamine the repercussions of a “No” vote.

First of all, I completely agree that our government wastes an exorbitant amount of money on administrative costs and that it is something that needs to eventually be addressed. However, we now have an imminent crisis that requires immediate attention. Today’s students don’t have ten years to waste while we try to sort out a problem that was a hundred years in the making.

Some people have stated that they feel as though they shouldn’t have to be financially responsible for other people’s children, and when I was twenty years old watching half of my check go towards taxes, I would have agreed. Also, I have never understood a tax system that charges the least to those who use the most (dependent tax write-offs). And finally, there are a lot of people out there who irresponsibly choose to have far more children than they will ever be able to financially support. However, I don’t think there is anyone, whether they have children or not, who can honestly say they have not benefited from tax dollars. Whether it’s the roads they drive on, or the school they attended as a child, or the unseen protection they receive from public safety.

Others have also stated that schools should only offer the Three Rs and the rest is unnecessary. Well, as far as funding goes, the schools have pretty much already adopted that philosophy. All of the athletes already pay to play and the players are responsible for all of their travel and officiating expenses. In fact, my daughter Megan rose over $1400 in contributions and donations for her PHS Girls Basketball team this past season. And all of the players are required to participate in fundraisers to help pay for all of the sports programs at PHS.

The elementary subjects of school are essential to our survival in the “real world” but the extracurricular activities in school are just as important to a person’s development. It’s true that I could teach my child to read and write at home, but the one thing I can’t teach her is the social skills that she’ll also need to live a prosperous and fulfilling life.

Because of problems at home, I dropped out of school and moved out on my own when I was sixteen. And although I eventually obtained a college degree, I always wished that I had had been able to enjoy the benefits of being a teenager in high school. I think that it is essential that we teach our kids responsibility, but most of us will end up working over fifty years of our lives, so what is wrong with supporting our youth for a few years while they figure out what they want to do with their lives. Sadly, for the Al Bundys of the world, high school could be the last highlight of their lives, the one that gets replayed over and over again for the next eighty years.

And finally, also keep in mind that today’s youth will be the ones caring for us in a few years, so let’s prepare them properly. Someone was there to pay for all the opportunities we received in our youth, and it is our responsibility to repay those who paid our way by paying for the kids of today.

John Wayne 1971 Interview

While growing up my heroes were my grandfather, Elvis Presley, and John Wayne. The other day I found an article that featured a 1971 Playboy Magazine interview with John Wayne. Although I may not agree with all of Wayne’s political views, I did find the article very interesting, and it definitely reminded me of some of my own conservative views.

During the article Wayne talks about the demise of modern civilization and the lack of hope for the younger generation. It’s funny how history repeats itself over and over again, how every generation always thinks that the next generation is going to be the end of the world.

But from my perspective, I think America is better now than it has ever been. The older baby boomers like to think back to how wonderful the fifties were. But while some Americans were living in the suburbs watching “Leave It to Beaver” in the fifties, another portion of Americans were being forced into segregation and being deprived of their civil rights. Sadly, racism still exists, and even though we have a ways to go, I still believe that this point in our nation’s history is the closest we have ever been to “all men are created equal” actually being true.

The more I read about the founding of our nation the more I am amazed at how much we worship some our forefathers as if they were incapable of anything but perfection. Thomas Jefferson is a prime example. While penning “all men are created equal” he also elected to have 141 slaves and not allow women to vote. As Thomas Day so profoundly stated in 1776, “If there be an object truly ridiculous in nature, it is an American patriot, signing resolutions of independency with the one hand, and with the other brandishing a whip over his affrighted slaves. “ Thomas Jefferson was also the first President to propose the idea of a formal Indian removal plan. So much for everyone being equal!

I despise racism, but the one thing that I agreed with John Wayne on is the fact that no living person has ever been involved with slavery or any of the injustices inflicted upon the Indians. And there are also no surviving victims left of either crime. Consequently, I do believe that it’s time for our nation to move on and truly experience equality. It is time to put a stop to all the hyphenated names. It is time to end Indian reservations. It is time to end self-segregation, such as the Latin Grammy Awards or Miss Black USA Pageant. It is time to end Affirmative Action. It is time to quit focusing on the first Black this, or Hispanic that. I think that at a certain point in time some of the aforementioned served a purpose, but I think that they have all outlived their usefulness and now they do nothing more than cause divisiveness and resentment while promoting racism.

It is time for all of us to come together as a nation of just Americans. Because for the first time in our history a citizen’s opportunities aren’t based off of their gender, race or creed. And for that reason, I believe that America is greater now that it has ever been.

And finally, even though I disagree with some of John Wayne’s views and I may cringe at his less than tactful way of stating a lot of them, I can definitely relate to his final statement.” I hope my family and my friends will be able to say that I was an honest, kind and fairly decent man.”

I’ve included the link to the article below:

http://www.playboy.com/articles/john-wayne-interview

Congresswoman Kirkpatrick Deserves 2nd Term

There has been a lot of hostility and derogatory comments directed at members of Congress because of the passing of the Health Care Reform Bill. Naturally, Ann Kirkpatrick has taken the brunt of criticism here in Yavapai County because she is the elected representative for our district. Most of the disparaging remarks claim that Congresswoman Kirkpatrick ignored all of her constituent’s pleas to vote against health care reform. However, this is a fallacy because there was an equal amount of people hoping that she would adhere to her campaign promise of health care reform. We can sit and debate the polls all day, but the truth is that our nation, for the most part, is equally divided on politics. In this case, I feel that Congresswoman Kirkpatrick owed it to her constituents, the ones who actually voted for her, to vote for the bill based on her campaign promise of health care reform.

Aside from health care reform, so far, Congresswoman Kirkpatrick has adhered to every campaign promise she made, and has not been afraid to go against Democratic Leadership. She has voted against every form of corporate bailout that has gone before Congress. She is a strong supporter of the right to bear arms. In fact, she served as a co-sponsor of the National Right to Carry Reciprocity Act. Congresswoman Kirkpatrick has also focused much of her efforts towards veterans including introducing and passing into law the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Act of 2009. She also is big advocate of renewable energy such as wind and solar, which would reduce our nation’s dependency on oil while also bringing thousands of high-paying jobs to Arizona. Ms. Kirkpatrick has also voluntarily returned 5% of her salary to help reduce the national debt, while also introducing a bill to Congress that would require all members of Congress to take a pay cut as well.

There are several issues that I don’t agree with Congresswoman Kirkpatrick on, including her opposition to place a ban on assault weapons. Although, I know that she rejects all attempts at gun control because of the strong Republican base in Arizona that would be ready to start a revolution at the mere mention of anyone taking away any of their weapons. I’m a supporter of the 2nd Amendment, I think everyone has the right to own a musket, but I’ll never understand why anyone would ever have a need for an assault rifle.

However, in recent times, it is very rare that we actually find a politician who does what they say they’re going to do. Therefore, I think it would be a mistake to not vote for her in the upcoming election. I’ll admit that I didn’t vote for Ann Kirkpatrick the first time around, but she has definitely won my vote for a second term.

Thoughts on U.S. Constitution

Today I received a phone call from my cousin in Florida regarding my previous blog on health care reform. We had a good conversation and he brought up many valid points which made for a good debate. I agree with him that the current bill has a lot to be desired, but as I said before, at least it’s a start. Hopefully, someday the Republicans and Democrats will set their differences aside long enough to work out a good plan that appeases everyone, but sadly, it’s probably not going to happen.

One thing that he mentioned during our conversation was what he felt was disrespect directed at the U.S. Constitution. He spoke of people who have claimed that the Constitution is out of date and does not apply to us today, and he asked if I felt the same way. Well, here is my response to his question. No, I don’t think the Constitution is outdated and I have the utmost respect for it and for what it stands for. However, I do believe people too conveniently yell “it’s unconstitutional” every time they don’t agree with something. Because just like the Bible, the Constitution is open to interpretation. The Constitution is there to protect “We the people,” but it is also a work in progress, the twenty-seven amendments attached to it indicate that. The original premise of the Constitution obviously still exists, but times change, people change, and technology has progressed to levels that our forefathers could have never even imagined. Our nation has evolved over the last three hundred, therefore, it is necessary for our Constitution to evolve and adapt as well.

So, the next time you find yourself compelled to voice your support for the sanctity of the Constitution just keep in mind that without change to the Constitution it would be illegal to drink alcohol, there would be no freedom of speech, no right to bear arms, no women’s right to vote, and slavery would still be legal.

Health Care Reform Lawsuits

In regard to the all the Republican initiated litigation directed at the recently passed health care reform, do we really need to spend what little money the state has left on frivolous lawsuits? It’s just another way to make the rich richer and poor poorer. This nonsense is exactly why we ended up with the health care reform that we did. The reason polls indicated less than a majority support for the bill was because the Democrats spent way too much time jumping through Republican hoops trying futile attempts at making them happy. By President Obama trying to please everyone, he ended up pleasing no one. Even though the ultimate outcome reflects much more of a Republican influence than a Democratic one, there was absolutely nothing the Democrats could have done to please the Republicans. I myself was not supportive of the bill because it did not include a public option and there isn’t anything in the plan to help reduce the continually increasing outrageous cost of health care. There is no reason it should cost $50K to spend a week in the hospital or $100K for a two hour operation.

But at least the reform is a start, it beats just having the Republicans and Democrats butting heads over it for another hundred years. I think most of us are in the middle and just want our politicians to be somewhat productive for a change and quit adhering to party lines and do what is morally correct and actually good for the nation for a change, instead of continuing to pamper the upper 1%. For the price of either the Iraq war or the tax cuts Bush enacted for the upper 1% we could have already paid for national health care.

It would be great if health care was self-sustaining, and it was just a matter of everyone taking personal responsibility for themselves. But the sad fact is that it is not that simple. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. And hardworking responsible people should not have to lose everything they have spent a lifetime acquiring just because they or a family member gets injured or becomes ill. And people should not be denied health care just because of an existing condition or prior ailment.

As far as mandated health insurance being any different from mandated auto insurance, I fail to see the difference. What difference does it make whether it was mandated at the federal level or state level, the money still comes from our wallets. If we lived in New York City I could somewhat understand the argument, but in Arizona where public transportation is all but none existent, a vehicle is nearly a necessity of life.

But auto insurance aside, how about the tax on, our homes, the utilities in our homes, on food, all of these are essential to are well-being. We could choose to live without these items, but we wouldn’t survive very long.

If mandated health care insurance is unconstitutional, then judging by that logic, Social Security and Medicare are as well. I don’t choose to contribute to Social Security or Medicare, it is mandated by federal law that I do so. I would much prefer to direct that money towards my own investments. But the sad truth is, if we all did that, the majority of U.S. citizens would not have a dime to their names when they retired, even if they were not taxed a single cent for the rest of their lives. Plus the fact, there would not be a single insurance company willing to provide them with affordable health care coverage because of their age.

Most everyone chooses to be vocal about their personal freedoms, whether it’s the biker who doesn’t want to wear a helmet, the driver who doesn’t wear a seatbelt, the smoker, the alcoholic, or the obese person. But in the end, after they smash their brain, go through a windshield, get lung cancer, receive a liver transplant, or get diabetes, they end up costing the rest of us for their irresponsible behavior. Because not one of them is going to decline treatment when their poor decisions come back to haunt them. And the same is true for those who choose not to buy health care insurance. At some point in their lives they’re going to end up in the hospital and the rest of us who have been paying all along will end up paying for them as well.

Older Republicans are willing to complain endlessly about socialized care, but don’t even think about cutting their Social Security or Medicare benefits. And I have heard all the arguments regarding the fact that these people have contributed to these programs for their entire lives and therefore are entitled to them, and I agree completely. However, I cared for my elderly uncle the last three years of his life and I know that with the astronomical healthcare bills that he accumulated in just a six-month period, he more than exhausted all the contributions he made during his lifetime.

So, basically the way I see it, before any health care reform was enacted, the elderly were allowed to receive healthcare through Medicare and the poor were eligible for healthcare through Medicaid, which left those of us in the middle, who actually pay the nations bills, to either find an employer who provides us with health care insurance or fend for ourselves and hope that we never get sick.

I would think that most Republicans would like the idea of mandatory insurance because it requires everyone to be responsible for themselves. But the reason Republican politicians don’t support it is because they didn’t sponsor the bill. Former Republican Presidential Candidate, Mitt Romney, enacted basically the same health care plan for Massachusetts while he was governor in 2006, and at that time he referred to mandated health insure as “being personally responsible.” Now that the Democrats have enacted the same plan at the national level, it’s unconstitutional. So, in essence the only difference between right and wrong when it comes to Republicans and Democrats is whose idea it was at the time.

Almost a third of Arizona voters are now registered Independents because people are fed up with the constant bickering of the Republicans and Democrats. Hopefully, this trend will continue and we can start voting in politicians who are willing to work for the people and not just their wealthy contributors. Hopefully, there will come a day when people will actually research a candidate and elect a person based on their character and ideology as opposed to just checking a Democrat or Republican box on a ballot.